Amid charges of insincerity on both sides, supporters of gambling expansion unveiled new legislation Wednesday that meets many of the terms Gov. Pat Quinn said he wanted in order to prevent his veto.
Yet Quinn said he was not involved in drafting the new bill and his spokeswoman derided it as a “charade.”
“We laid out a framework for gambling expansion,” Quinn spokeswoman Brooke Anderson said. “You don’t plop it in a bill and call it a day without the participation of the governor’s office.”
The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Terry Link (D-Waukegan), insisted the new measure is a sincere effort to get gambling expansion passed in Illinois. Link and Senate President John Cullerton, who has been in a standoff with Quinn over the gambling bill, said they want the bill to pass and would vote for it, though they doubted its chances without the inclusion of slot machines at horse racing tracks. Quinn opposed adding slots at the tracks when he announced his framework for acceptable gambling expansion last week.
The governor wanted to sit down with lawmakers and negotiate a compromise bill after releasing his terms. So far, it has not happened. Link said he did not speak with Quinn about the bill but said he and Senate Democratic staff had been working with the governor’s staff. A Cullerton spokesman said Cullerton and Quinn spoke last week.
Quinn spokeswoman Anderson said Link’s new bill was “not a legitimate proposal” and that the governor’s office only received a copy of the language last night.
The new bill includes the following:
-More time for the Illinois Gaming Board to review casino license applications.
-Increased oversight of a Chicago Casino Development Authority, which would be created to administer a new Chicago casino created by the bill, including an Illinois Gaming Board review of all contracts; a new inspector general to oversee gambling operations and the gaming board; allowing the gaming board to withdraw the Chicago-owned casino license in cases of wrongdoing.
-The Chicago casino would undergo license renewal every four years, just like the other Illinois casinos.
-The Illinois Gaming Board would get $50 million more in state money to hire additional staff.
-Park City, which is in Link’s legislative district, would no longer automatically be awarded a casino license. Any community in Lake County will be eligible to compete for the license.
-No slot machines at Chicago airports.
-All existing casinos and the five proposed new ones created by the bill would contribute up to $330 million annually to the horse racing industry. The provision is meant as a substitute for adding slot machines at the tracks—a measure Quinn opposed. Cullerton indicated the contribution amount could be tweaked if it would help bring the existing casinos on board with the new bill.
-Casinos would pay an additional impact fee to go toward education.
-Lawmakers would no longer be allowed to accept campaign contributions from the casino industry.
-The new Des Plaines Rivers Casino would no longer qualify for a $4 million credit.
Kristen McQueary covers state government as part of a partnership between CNC and WBEZ