Quinn, Emanuel Embrace Chicago Casino Dream

By Chuck Sudo in News on May 20, 2011 1:48PM

The on-again, off-again proposal for a Chicago casino, which appears to be on again, is getting a boost from "strong allies" Gov. Quinn and Mayor Emanuel.

in voicing his support for a Chicago casino, Mayor Emanuel used the "we're losing money to Hammond" argument.

“We have gambling, or casinos rather, in Chicago. It happens to be in Hammond, Ind. We’re losing that revenue. We can’t continue to do that."

Right, Your Honor. Because there's a never-ending caravan of vehicles clogging Indianapolis Boulevard and the Skyway solely to cross the state line for cheaper gas, a round of blackjack and, oooooohhhhh, Schoop's is just over the border.

Emanuel did echo certain "conditions" that were championed by his predecessor if a Chicago casino became a reality. Foremost among them being that the casino falls under municipal ownership, a bargaining point that held up moving the idea forward under previous governors. Quinn spokeswoman Annie Thompson said that the governor is open to the idea of a Chicago casino.

“The governor has made no secret of his priority to bring jobs to Illinois and to invest in education. If there were a proposal on the table that would help raise the revenue to do that, he would be open to that.”

Emanuel's comments come just as the General Assembly is struggling to tie up loose ends before they adjourn at the end of the month. Loose ends such as approving new legislative maps , pension and workers comp reforms and, oh yeah, a budget.