Illinois Casino Expansion Bill A Dead Deal
After weeks of speculation as to its eventual fate, a proposed bill in Illinois that would have permitted five new land-based casinos to be built in addition to clearing the way for the installation of slots machines in the two Chicago-area airports, O’Hare International and Midway, was declared dead on Friday evening by its House sponsor, Democratic Representative Bob Rita, after failing to come to a vote.
Late change in House sponsorship of measure
Rita was an eleventh-hour addition to the team backing the bill, having stepped in to take the place of the bill’s previous House sponsor, Representative Lou Lang (D-Skokie), after Lang backed away from his support of the measure upon revelation of the fact that he has been working with a law firm to help a local municipality, Calumet City, acquire a casino license. Calumet City is a south suburb of Chicago, located close to Illinois’ border with neighboring Indiana.
Friday was the last day in the legislative session. A handful of controversial bills were being considered in the state in addition to that of casino expansion, including measures addressing concealed firearms carrying, hydraulic fracturing, and gay marriage.
Bill was highly contentious
The bill, called Senate Bill 1739, or SB1739, was a highly divisive issue in the state. The usual moral qualms that often arise with regard to expanded gambling aside, powerful business interests in the state opposed the bill for a number of reasons.
For example, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce ran radio ads criticizing the measure, in part because the group believed that the five new casino properties would “poach” customers from the existing land-based casinos in the state.
Chicago casino also a big issue
Another issue that caused much back-and-forth was that of the Chicago casino. Chicago’s upstart mayor, former Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, was one of the most vocal backers of the Chicago casino plan, noting on several occasions that gambling money would be used toward education.
The mayor even released a video describing how he would use revenue generated by the casino to help improve the city’s school public school system.
Opponents of the Chicago casino were mostly concerned with oversight of the property, which was to be regulated separately from its four suburban counterparts, one of which was designated for the far northwestern city of Rockford, near the Wisconsin border.
Up until the last minute, rumors were circulating that the measure might have been stripped of the Chicago casino, which would have been spun off into a separate bill, though this did not occur. For his part, Representative Rita has said he will spend the summer canvassing the state to hear citizens’ opinions on the proposed legislation, and working to make it a more perfect bill.
Bill failed despite removal of Internet gambling component
Language in an earlier draft of SB1739 that would have permitted a wide range of online gambling options for Illinoisans was struck from the measure, in part to pacify powerful racetrack interests in the state and in part to make it more appealing to Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, who has not been a supporter of expanding gambling in his state in the past, having vetoed several similar measures previously, including one earlier this spring that had been delayed in reaching his desk for nearly two years owing to parliamentary maneuvering.
At the time the online wagering component of the bill was removed back in late April, sponsors of the legislation said that a standalone Internet gambling bill would be introduced prior to the end of the legislative session. That failed to happen, with no such bill being presented before the term drew to a close on Friday evening.
