End of Month Sees First Hearing on IL Casino Matter
The state of Illinois, which has long been toying with the idea of allowing the construction of new land-based casinos, may be inching closer to the long-held plan becoming a reality.
A series of hearings on the matter have been scheduled, with the kickoff hearing set for the end of the month, according to ProgressIllinois.com via the Associated Press.
The initial hearing will be held on January 28 in the city of East St. Louis at the Casino Queen, a riverboat casino.
Effort to put in five new properties
Last spring, a bill that would have permitted five new land-based casino properties to be built in addition to allowing the placement of slot machines in Chicago’s two major airports, Midway and O’Hare, as well as the installation of such machines at Illinois horse racing tracks, failed to make it to a vote and died in the state legislature.
Supporters of that bill, including sponsoring Representative Bob Rita (D-Blue Island), are keen to see the legislation get back on track this year. The previous bill called for the construction of five casinos in and around the Chicagoland area, including one casino for downtown Chicago, the nation’s third largest city.
An earlier component of the bill that would have cleared the way for regulated real money online poker and Internet casino games was removed from the bill as a means of making it more appealing to the state’s governor, Pat Quinn.
Gubernatorial candidates address gambling in this week’s downstate debate
Ahead of a March primary election to determine which candidate Republicans in the Land of Lincoln will put up against incumbent Democratic Governor Quinn in the November gubernatorial election, GOP candidates met for a debate earlier this week in the central Illinois city of Peoria, perhaps most famous for the phrase “if it plays in Peoria…”
In Peoria on Thursday, the Republican party candidates touched upon another form of playing, that of casino gaming, the Daily Journal reported.
When asked whether they would like to see additional casinos built in the state, which is the fifth most populous in the nation, candidates Kirk Dillard and Bill Brady, both of whom are Illinois State Senators, spoke out in support of the state’s horse racing industry.
Candidate Rutherford, the State Treasurer, expressed no opposition to land-based casino expansion but stressed the importance of proper oversight in the process.
“I’ve never believed expansion of gaming is going to solve Illinois’ economic woes,” the paper quoted Brady as saying.
Speaking to Illinois’ deeply entrenched horse racing industry, Brady said, “Horse racing, it’s an important part of our economy. We must come up with some sort of solution.”
Standing Governor has not been supportive of measures
For his part, first term Governor Quinn has never been known for being in favor of gambling expansion, though he has been rumored to have softened his position somewhat in the face of the continuing fiscal problems Illinois faces.
Though legislation was passed last year to address the state’s underfunded public employee pension system, the state retains the worst credit rating in the U.S. And, it remains unknown whether the slashes to employee pensions will withstand judicial and legal scrutiny.
Governor Quinn has twice before vetoed casino expansion legislation, pointing to concerns about problem gambling, oversight, and ethical matters as the reasons for the vetoes.
