Rookie Mayor Emanuel outdoes Daley on gambling
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel accomplished on his 16th day in office what eluded his predecessor for almost two decades -- state legislative approval of a downtown casino and slot machines for the city's two airports.
His muscle-flexing didn't go unnoticed by Democratic Governor Pat Quinn, who criticized as “excessive” the proposal to give the third-largest U.S. city its first casino and expand gaming elsewhere in Illinois. Asked whether he was concerned about angering Emanuel if he were to veto the Chicago casino, Quinn reminded reporters, “I'm the governor of Illinois.”
“The people of Illinois are the only ones I'm beholden to,” he said yesterday.
Lawmakers credited Emanuel with helping get the measure to Quinn's desk, saying it signaled that they and the governor will be hearing more from the former White House chief of staff than they ever did from Mayor Richard M. Daley.
Emanuel, who as a congressman from Chicago was a top deputy of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, worked Springfield as he once worked Washington, said Senator Terry Link, a Democrat from Chicago's north suburbs who sponsored the gambling bill.
“He made a huge difference,” Link said. “He understands how to pass a bill, and he worked the General Assembly.”
Emanuel also lobbied on education reform and changes in the state's worker compensation system. Both of those bills passed, too.
Daley's Ambivalence
Daley, who governed the city for 22 years before deciding not to run for a seventh term, repeatedly voiced support for a Chicago-based casino. Yet Link, a longtime advocate for casino gambling, said he never got the impression that Daley truly wanted a gaming house in his hometown.
“I think Daley had mixed emotions,” Link said. “He didn't want to be perceived as the guy who put gambling in Chicago.”
Illinois has nine riverboat casinos in suburban Chicago and elsewhere across the state. They're operated by Ameristar Casinos Inc., Bally Technologies Inc., Boyd Gaming Corp., Caesars Entertainment Corp., International Game Technology, Penn National Gaming, Shuffle Master Inc. and WMS Industries Inc.
Economic circumstances may have boosted the political prospects for expanded gambling, Link and others said, as cities struggle with the effects of declining taxes and the loss of state and federal financial aid. Chicago faces a projected 2012 budget deficit of $587 million, and the casino will create 7,000 to 10,000 jobs while helping “energize our city's economy,” the mayor said May 31.
Property-Tax Promise
Emanuel has ruled out a property-tax increase to close the city's budget shortfall, effectively adding to the financial importance of new developments, such as a casino.
Quinn, who said he met with Emanuel shortly after he took office May 16 to talk about gambling and other issues, stopped short of a veto threat. He said he would support a Chicago casino “if it's properly done.” Quinn has amendatory veto power, meaning he can eliminate certain items in a bill while keeping others.
Representative Louis Lang, who moved the gambling bill through the state House of Representatives, said everyone in politics has a different style and Emanuel's is defined by personal involvement.
The mayor in conversations “made it very clear that he wasn't just going to talk about it,” Lang said.
“He's a guy who's not worried about failing and getting egg on his face,” Lang said.