Casinos want their smokes
SPRINGFIELD -- A statewide smoking ban has yet to snuff a single cigarette and already repeal efforts are afoot at the Capitol.
The gambling industry is actively lobbying lawmakers to let casino patrons keep smoking come Jan. 1, seeking to put such an exemption into a possible casino expansion deal the Illinois Senate could consider this week.
Tom Swoik, executive director of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association, predicted the state would see its annual casino tax take drop 20 percent next year, or nearly $144 million, if patrons can't smoke.
"If there is a capital bill and there is a casino expansion bill, we'd like to see that exemption put in there," Swoik said.
Needless to say, smoking opponents think this would be a bad move, especially coming just months after the ban was approved and still months from its start date.
"We're just trying to show them that the people that work there (in casinos) deserve as much protection as everyone else in Illinois," said Kathy Drea, policy director for the American Lung Association's Illinois chapter.
The Illinois Senate is expected back at the Capitol today, possibly to consider adding up to three new casinos and expanding existing gambling operations to finance billions of dollars worth of construction and repairs to schools, roads and bridges.
The gambling industry sees it as an opportunity to repeal the casino portion of the ban, telling lawmakers smokers will gamble in other states and Illinois will lose millions in tax revenue at a time when it needs every cent.
Drea and other smoking opponents worry such a provision will mysteriously find its way into the fine print of a massive gambling plan with no warning and no debate. Such practices aren't uncommon in the General Assembly, where legislation containing thousands of pages often emerges with little notice.
Riverboat gambling in particular has an infamous history dating to its inception. In the weeks leading up to approval of the 1990 law that first allowed casinos to open in Illinois, lawmakers talked about ensuring patrons would only be able to lose so much during each visit. Opponents asked about the limits during the floor debate and were assured the provisions were included in the voluminous proposal.
It turned out they weren't, and Illinois has never limited the amount gamblers can lose.
However, in the case of the pending smoking ban, it is the gambling industry that likely faces an uphill legislative battle. The ban was approved this spring despite opposition from the casino industry and many lawmakers from border regions.
One of the key supporters of gambling expansion is state Sen. Terry Link, a Waukegan Democrat. But Link also sponsored the statewide smoking ban and has previously said he's opposed to exempting casinos, fearing it'll lead to others seeking exemptions and water down the ban.
Plus, the General Assembly mustered the votes to approve the smoking ban despite the casino concerns. In fact, Link had a backup plan that would have exempted casinos -- a move that would have won support from some border region lawmakers. But he ended up not needing it.
If a casino smoking exemption doesn't become part of gambling expansion, Swoik is pushing lawmakers to repeal the ban for five years for casinos, or until casinos in a nearby neighboring state -- all of which currently allow smoking -- also go smoke free.