Waukegan Talk

Now this goes to the House...

Senate approves new casinos for Chicago, Waukegan, two other cities but prospects doubtful in House

Posted by Ray Long at 10:42 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD---The Democratic-led Senate voted late tonight to expand the state's casino industry into Chicago and three other cities, though the idea is far from becoming reality.

The 30-28 vote sends the measure to the Illinois House, where Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) had expressed reservations about approving a casino expansion this spring.
The General Assembly earlier this month approved a major expansion of gambling by legalizing video poker at bars, restaurants and truck stops.

The riverboat gambling measure, sponsored Sen. Terry Link (D-Waukegan), would allow Chicago to have a land-based casino and Waukegan, Rockford and Danville to get new boats.

Link added Danville to the legislation following a previous roll call that fell two votes short.

Democratic Sen. Michael Frerichs, whose district includes the Danville area, said he looks forward to drawing Indiana residents into Illinois. "The best dollars we could raise in our state are Hoosier dollars," Frerichs said.

Nine riverboat operators have boats on the water in Illinois, but proponents argued Indiana and Wisconsin are luring Illinois players' dollars across state borders.

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Senate Committee Approves Four New Casinos For Illinois
Play at Golden Casino

The casino explosion in the US could be making its way to Illinois in the near future. A state Senate committee on Friday approved a measure that would bring four new casinos to the state, one of which would be in Chicago.

"These other states with casinos on the Illinois border are going after Illinois residents," said Senator Dave Syverson of Rockford, "With this Bill, we'll now be going after their money instead."

Competition has been one of the main reasons that casino gambling expansion is taking place throughout the country. Many states can no longer afford to lose entertainment dollars from their residents. They used to be able to absorb the loss, but now states must try to keep every dollar within their borders.

The other main reason that lawmakers are moving towards expansion is to grow their own tourism industry. There are other businesses that begin to prosper when a casino is added to an area.

"If the casino gets approved, there's a series of other investments that will follow," said Syverson, "With this addition, you'll suddenly have another half billion dollars in construction and over a thousand new jobs for the region."

The plan that would bring new casinos to Chicago, Rockford, Waukegan, and Danville, is not without opposition. Video poker machines are now legal in the state after a law passed last week, and some lawmakers believe this is too much gambling expansion too fast.

May 31, 2009
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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