Quinn-Emanuel Spat Continues: "I Mean, Come On."

By Samantha Abernethy in News on Aug 24, 2011 6:20PM

The relationship between Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Gov. Pat Quinn is being tested over the issue of a Chicago casino. Emanuel contends that casinos are a necessary source of revenue to shore up Chicago's sagging infrastructure and create jobs. But Quinn says the casino bill doesn't do enough to regulate casinos.

The two have been publicly exchanging harsh words for the last week, and Emanuel used the recent sinkhole that swallowed a car on the Northwest side as an opportunity to point out infrastructure problems and to take another jab at Quinn. "It's very simple. I think all of you saw the car that fell through. It's not just a pothole. It's because the pipes and water system in Chicago, parts of Chicago, are a hundred years old," Emanuel told the Tribune.

The state has about $1 billion earmarked for Chicago's infrastructure, and Emanuel says that is nowhere near enough. "The capital shortfall at CTA alone is in the multi-billions. That doesn't count what I have to do for the roads, the 25 new schools, the 40 miles of new water infrastructure," he said.

Quinn's response? A very Gob Bluth-esque "I mean, come on." Via the Tribune:

"There is a role for municipalities to pay attention," Quinn said. "We're not going to have a situation where every community in Illinois that wants to fill its sinkholes or potholes wants a casino. I mean, come on."

"They're reviving the drive, and who do you think is paying for it? The state of Illinois is the big investor in that," Quinn said, while also taking a swipe and Emanuel for placing his name on construction signs in the city, a practice Quinn banned at the state level. "My name ain't on that road, and I don't want it to be, but the fact of the matter is we're putting, I think, $300 million into a major endeavor to fix up a thoroughfare in the city of Chicago that needed radical improvement."

Emanuel said he "will not let the City of Chicago be held hostage" by Springfield. Quinn says he hasn't even received the bill yet, and Emanuel "is putting the cart before the horse" in his plans to spend the potential casino revenue. "The sponsors of the bill that passed on May 31 believe so much in their bill they’ve kept it in their own pocket," Quinn said. "The bill isn't even on my desk." Senate Pres. John Cullerton has been holding onto the bill because of fears that Quinn would veto it outright.

Below are two videos via NBC Chicago, one of each official bickering speaking on the topic.