Gambling Bill Goes to Senate

The House approved a gaming expansion bill, and the Senate will probably take a floor vote on it before adjournment, according to Illinois Issues. Sponsors say they think Senate Bill 1849 would pass in the Senate. However, Quinn is opposed to the bill, so supporters would likely be seeking support to override a veto sometime down the road.

Sen. Lou Lang (D-Skokie) defended his bill last week during a floor debate, according to Illinois Issues.

“When we have almost 8 percent of our people out of work, when we can’t cobble a state budget because we don’t have enough revenue, when the 30,000 or 40,000 jobs in the horse racing industry are disappearing, when our convention and trade shows are down—when they should be up—when thousands of our people every day get in their cars and drive through Chicago and the south suburbs of Cook County and spend their money in Indiana, I think this is much more than a bright shiny object. I think this is an imperative for state government to move this forward.”

The measure aims to open five casinos statewide: in Chicago, Park City, Danville, Rockford and in the south suburbs of Chicago. The exact location of the fifth casino would be up to the Illinois Gaming Board to decide. The bill includes slots at horse racing tracks but does not allow for slots at the Illinois State Fairgrounds or Chicago airports, which Quinn previously bashed publicly.

The bill also aims to reduce the number of gaming positions available from 2,000 in the original bill to 1,600. Casinos currently are allowed 1,200 positions. The Chicago-owned casino proposed in the plan would be allowed 4,000 positions. Lang said the bill clarifies language about the oversight of the Chicago casino, something Quinn had cited previously as a concern.