Casino Bill Now in Quinn's Hands
By Chuck Sudo in News on Jun 1, 2011 3:00PM
As expected, the casino bill approved by the State Legislature is now only awaiting Gov. Quinn's signature. There's still speculation that Quinn may veto the bill, because he considers the wide expansion of gambling in Illinois proposed by it to be what he calls "top-heavy" and fears it would turn Illinois into "the Las Vegas of the Midwest."
We've written before that legalized gambling is the last resort for politicians who can't find better solutions to the problems that plague their constituencies. A Sun-Times editorial today advises that Quinn sign the bill, pointing out that the city and state are in such a bad financial position that both could use the shot in the arm provided by casino licensing fees and gambling revenues. But the editorial also echoes some of our sentiments.
Nobody should view this as a cure-all for what ails our public finances. Even if Quinn signs the bill, it could be years before the tax revenue flows, if ever it does. Current casino operators almost certainly will try to kill the measure in the courts, a process that could drag on for years. Consider how litigation held up the use of the state’s 10th casino license, which in 1996 was supposed to go to Rosemont, for more than 12 years, costing the state an estimated $1.3 billion in lost gambling taxes.Though Chicago would actually own its casino — a departure from the practice of private ownership for the state’s other casinos — we trust the Illinois Gaming Board would play just as strong a role in policing its operations.
And, as we’ve said before, the casino must be located in an area that capitalizes more on the tourist trade than the Regular Joe down the block. Like the anti-gambling absolutists, we do worry about addictive power of a slot machine.
Quinn also reiterated his vow to veto the smart-grid rate hike bill that passed the State Senate yesterday, which would make it easier for ComEd and other electricity utilities in Illinois to obtain rate hikes to fund smart-grid improvements.
During the debate on the smart-grid bill, a heated argument between Moline Democrat Sen. Mike Jacobs and Lebanon GOP Sen. Kyle McCarter over McCarter's insinuation that Jacobs's supported the bill because his father Denny, a former state Senator, also lobbied for the it on behalf of ComEd. Jacobs and McCarter got into a fistfight on the Senate floor. Fox News Chicago Political Editor Mike Flannery tweeted that his crew's cameras captured Jacobs saying that McCarter is "full of shit" and "not fit to shine (his) shoes." Capitol police have requested Flannery's video of the confrontation on the Senate floor between Jacobs and McCarter.