Dec 11, 2007 6:33 pm US/Central
Daley: No Casino In 'My Beautiful Park'
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Mayor Daley talks about where a Chicago casino would not be located, including Northerly Island, which he called "my beautiful park."
CBS
Squabbling among lawmakers could derail plans to bring a casino to Chicago.
If it were to happen though, Mayor Richard M. Daley was emphatic Tuesday about where any city-owned casino would not be located.
"Well, it's not going to be near the lakefront, of course. It's not going to be in communities, it's not going to be I Navy Pier, it's not going to be in my beautiful park, Northerly Island," he said with a smile and added it would also not be at McCormick Place or Block 37.
The mayor did not mention Michigan avenue locations as among those on the outs. CBS 2 reported Monday night the old Congress Hotel is among those under consideration.
CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery also reported the plan could bring seven new casinos to the Chicago area.
Chicago would become the first American city to own a casino. In the suburbs, four existing riverboats would each get hundreds of new gambling positions. Two more boats would go to sites chosen by the Illinois Gaming Board, and four suburban Horse tracks would each get hundreds of slot machines.
An estimated $1 billion in new state government revenue is the payoff for flip-flops by legislative leaders and a governor who long claimed to oppose gambling expansion.
The State House hopes to vote on the gambling expansion plan and mass transit aid early next week.
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