Sep 26, 2007 7:13 pm US/Central
State Plan For Casinos Runs Into Trouble
Madigan: Chicago Would Become Major Gambling Area, Second To Vegas
CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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State House Speaker Michael Madigan (File)
CBS
New trouble has arisen for a plan to expand casino gambling to pay for construction and public transportation.
Gov. Rod Blageojevich, state Senate President Emil Jones and House Speaker Michael Madigan, met Wednesday in the Thompson Center to discuss a new Senate-approved plan to expand gambling in the Chicago area.
The governor called the talks the most productive all year.
As CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports, each of the leaders, who haven't been together in a room for a very long time, would love to spend billions of dollars on such new capital projects as bridges, roads and school construction.
But House leaders have not yet signed off on a plan to pay for it all backed by the Senate and the governor. That plan would more than double the amount of casino gambling in Illinois.
The Senate narrowly approved the gambling plan 37-15 last week. The deal worked out by Blagojevich and top Senate leaders would create three new casinos, including one in Chicago, and allow existing casinos to expand to pay for a roughly $13 billion state construction program.
The plan includes $300 million more for education, millions for school construction projects and a $200 million bailout for the Chicago area's struggling mass transit systems.
Madigan told reporters he is skeptical of the new plan, saying it would make Chicago a major gambling area, second only to Las Vegas.
"I don't think the people of Illinois have had an adequate opportunity to learn what's in this bill," Madigan said.
As a result, Madigan said he would convene public hearings "within days" to let the public learn what's in the bill, suggesting there may be alternative ways to raise money, rather than to simply double the amount of casino gambling in Illinois.
"As long as the means don't include taxes on people, I'd be happy to consider other alternatives," Blagojevich said.
Sources told CBS 2 alternative sources instead of gambling could include taxes on cigarettes. The governor still wants to increase taxes on businesses.
All at Wednesday's meeting said that even if the gigantic gambling expansion plan is scaled back, a land-based casino in Chicago is the most likely part of the plan to survive.
Speaker Madigan said he would soon release details of the public hearings on the casino plan.
Currently, the largest city with a land-based casino is Detroit, which has three casinos in its downtown. In 2006, Detroit's three casinos brought in $1.3 billion in revenue, with about 24 percent split between the city and the State of Michigan, according to the Detroit News. Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino also wants a casino in his city, the Boston Globe reported.
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