Jan 30, 2007 6:48 pm US/Central
State Rep. Betting On Casinos To Help Budget Woes
Skokie's Lou Lang Wants To Expand Gambling In Chicago Area To Help Fund State Programs
by Mike Parker
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie) is proposing the expansion of gambling in the Chicago area to help fund state programs.
CBS
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Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie)
CBS
State Representative Lou Lang is betting on casinos to ensure the state's financial future.
CBS 2's Mike Parker reports on the latest plan to expand gambling in the Chicago area.
"Gambling is here to stay whether we have 10 riverboats or 14 or a thousand..." Lang, a Democrat representing Skokie, said Tuesday.
Lang doesn't want a thousand new casinos in Illinois, but he is proposing four new ones in the Chicago area.
One would be built in Waukegan, another near O'Hare International Airport, another somewhere in the south suburbs of cook County, and a possible giant land-based casino in the Chicago.
His proposal would also allow each existing casino to expand to bring in more gamblers, and would allow the state's five racetracks to install almost 4,000 slot machines.
Lang predicts yearly state revenues of up to $3.5 billion, and he says that could pay for the governor's health care program and stave off budget deficits.
Lang says those who oppose gambling on moral grounds have already lost that argument.
"We already have more ways to gamble legally in the state of Illinois today than they have in the state of Nevada," Lang said.
Mayor Daley is not thrilled with the proposal. He has always wanted a Chicago casino owned by the city.
"Once you give that license out to any one individual, they in turn flip it for millions and millions of dollars. You never get the profits. Why not let the taxpayers keep the profit. Simple as that," Daley said.
Lang's giant gambling expansion plan still has to clear any number of hurdles in Springfield.
"I think city ownership would make it very, very difficult to pass this bill," he said.
He not only has to sell his plan to Speaker Mike Madigan and Senate President Emil Jones, Governor Rod Blagojevich has to come on board.
Blagojevich has single handedly shot down ideas like this before. Late Tuesday a spokesman for the governor said he is keeping an open mind.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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