Foes agree casino in Chicago would be best

The state's budget crisis has Republican state Sen. Matt Murphy and Democratic challenger Peter Gutzmer softening their stances on gambling expansion.

Both say they could back building a casino in Chicago, the location best suited to bring in out-of-state dollars.

"Put (a casino) downtown or someplace nice where you're going to have tourists and people with some means," said Murphy, who in 2006 edged Gutzmer 53 percent to 47 percent to replace retiring state Sen. Wendell Jones of Palatine.

Adds Gutzmer: "We want dollars that aren't already here just recirculating."

The candidates vying for the 27th state Senate District seat don't differ much on the issue of gambling in Illinois, with a couple of exceptions.

"A publicly owned Chicago casino like what we saw in Rosemont strikes me as maybe the worst idea I've heard of in my two years down (in Springfield)," said Murphy, who instead backs private ownership and an overhaul of the Illinois Gaming Board. "The potential for government patronage could be really unseemly."

Gutzmer's support, meanwhile, is dependent on the venue being state-owned, with a "private entity contracted to administer its operations" and maximize returns. Another condition is that revenue be earmarked for specific items, primarily paying down pension debts.

And unlike Gutzmer, Murphy would prefer an exchange instead of outright expansion. Should Chicago get a casino, the attorney from Palatine would look to pull the license from Elgin, Aurora or Joliet within five years, a move he acknowledges would be unpopular in the affected region.

He thinks casinos in the collar counties prey on the poor.

"We put them in towns where people are driving past the Grand Victoria on their way home from work with a check already not big enough, enticing them to turn it into some real money," said Murphy.

Gutzmer, who lives in Hoffman Estates and works as a firefighter in Elk Grove Village, says gambling expansion is a dishonest way to fund state programs, with addiction and strapped family budgets the unfortunate results.

Slots at Arlington Park racetrack are off the table for both. The're also against leasing out the lottery.

"The poorest areas of the state are feeding this thing," said Murphy, "and to make it more profitable will prey on people most unable to afford it."

The 27th state Senate district stretches from Chicago Executive Airport on the east to the Cook-Kane county line on the west. It includes most of Palatine, northern Arlington Heights and parts of Barrington, Barrington Hills, Buffalo Grove, Hoffman Estates, Inverness, Prospect Heights, Rolling Meadows, South Barrington and Wheeling.