Tech glitches, politics delay Senate action

SPRINGFIELD -- Senate leaders continued talking Monday about adding casinos and spending billions on road, bridge and school construction, but the much-touted deal has yet to emerge.

"We're wasting our time," said Senate Republican leader Frank Watson of downstate Greenville. "Even these two days, I wonder why we're here."

The Senate had announced it would be in session Monday and today in anticipation of voting to add up to three casinos to finance construction and also consider a financial bailout of the Chicago region's transit agencies.

But technical glitches with the Senate's sound system delayed the start of Monday's session by several hours, and lingering political differences among legislative leaders appear to make any final deal unlikely soon.

Although Senate and union leaders huddled in the governor's office for several hours, the House was not in session Monday, and House leaders were not part of the talks.

That's crucial, as those Republican and Democratic House leaders have said there is little support among their members for expanding the state's gambling fleet.

Meanwhile, state Sen. James DeLeo, a Chicago Democrat and member of Senate leadership, said lawmakers planned to focus on the casino issue before turning to mass transit funding in hopes of being able to provide more money if a casino deal can be struck, possibly in Senate action today.