Gov. Pat Quinn scored a victory Wednesday night during an otherwise difficult fall session by helping to defeat a controversial gambling expansion bill in the Illinois House.
The revised gambling bill sponsored by state Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie) incorporated many changes Quinn requested, including granting the Illinois Gaming Board tighter control over five proposed casinos in Chicago, the south suburbs, Danville, Lake County and Rockford.
But the legislation kept a provision allowing slot machines to be installed at the state’s five race tracks, which was a deal-breaker for Quinn and for a few lawmakers who changed their minds since the original measure passed in May. The revised bill failed by a vote of 58-53. A roll call vote was not immediately available. The original gambling expansion measure passed in May with 65 votes.
Lang swiftly moved the failed bill to “postponed consideration,” a parliamentary move that would allow him to bring it back for a vote. But Wednesday’s vote may table the controversial legislation for the time being.
Quinn spent part of the afternoon summoning lawmakers to his office one by one to chip away support from Lang’s bill. While the new bill, Senate Bill 1849, included many provisions Quinn outlined during an October news conference, it was far from the framework the governor deemed acceptable. The new measure allowed for slot machines to be installed at racetracks, kept Park City as a designated host town for a casino and it did not prohibit lawmakers from accepting campaign contributions from gambling interests — all of which defied Quinn’s demands.
The new bill did tighten the rules for video poker machines, which are soon to come on-line, and it reduced the total statewide gambling positions by about 25 percent. It also eliminated slots at Chicago airports, cut a planned racing facility at the Illinois State Fairgrounds and it clarified the role of the Illinois Gaming Board as the final word on a Chicago casino and all vendors and contracts awarded. Quinn favored all of those measures.
Lang said he thought he had the votes to pass the new bill. During debate, he played to downstate lawmakers’ agricultural interests by repeatedly listing the the bill’s benefits: more money for county fairs, improvements at the Illinois State fairgrounds and resources for 4-H programs. At one point, he bartered openly with state Rep. Dwight Kay (R – Glen Carbon), who mentioned the need for a road improvement in his district.
“I will help you with that,” Lang said.
Kay voted against the bill anyway after bickering with Lang, calling the legislation “not right for Illinois, not right for the people of Illinois. We are putting them at risk for the sake of a greenback, and we should be ashamed of that.”
The bill also lost support due to lawmaker absences. State Rep. Connie Howard (D-Chicago) supported the bill but was an “excused absence” for Wednesday’s session. Rep. Mark Beaubien (R-Barrington) voted for the bill in May but died unexpectedly in June. His replacement, Rep. Kent Gaffney (R-Wauconda), voted “no” Wednesday night.
While the gambling bill suffered a setback, a bill championed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to allow the Chicago City Council to install speed cameras throughout the city passed the House with votes to spare.
It now heads to Quinn’s desk for his signature.
The bill allows the City Council to decide by July 1 whether to install speed-detection cameras near schools and parks to slow down drivers. The cameras would use technology—either in the pavement or on red-light cameras already installed at intersections —to catch motorists, who would receive a ticket in the mail of up to $100.
Money generated from the cameras would be devoted to public safety and after-school programs, according to bill sponsor, state Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago).
Opponents, who included many suburban and downstate Republicans, called the bill heavy-handed and flawed. And even some Democrats questioned whether it was really about public safety.
“This is a huge money grab for the municipality that installs them,” said state Rep. Jack Franks (D-Marengo), who voted against the bill.
Kristen McQueary covers state government for The Chicago News Cooperative and WBEZ.