Gambling's future brighter in Illinois, but still uncertain

SPRINGFIELD -- All the pieces could be, just might be, falling into place for major gambling expansion in Illinois.

Lawmakers desperately want money for transportation projects throughout the state and mass transit in Chicago. Ways to provide that money are limited. And gambling expansion often is seen as the least painful avenue for taxpayers and politicians.

While plenty of hurdles remain, the Illinois Senate's approval of three new casinos last week brings the idea closer to reality than it's been in a long time.

Supporters hope careful negotiations produce an expansion plan that can pick up enough votes to pass after years of false starts.

"There is a gaming bill that can be crafted that can be passed," said Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie. "There's a lot of questions to be asked."

Talk of expanding gambling has become as inevitable as death and taxes at the Illinois statehouse. But in the past, gambling measures usually died because they got so loaded up with goodies that legislators backed away.

This year could be different, though, because circumstances behind the gambling push are different.

It's being offered as the answer to two specific problems-- repairing roads and bridges and bailing out Chicago's aging mass transit system -- instead of as a source of money for state programs in general.

The deadly collapse of a Minneapolis bridge has driven home the need for Illinois to repair its transportation infrastructure and the financial problems with Chicago's mass transit are scaring the area's lawmakers.

The proposal the Senate approved last week would create three new casinos, including a land-based site in Chicago, and allow existing riverboat casinos to expand by several thousand gaming positions, such as slot machines.

The money generated would help fund a $13 billion state borrowing program for road and school construction projects and mass transit in Chicago. Schools would also see $300 million more, much of that for the base-level classroom spending per student.

A similar casino plan passed the Senate in May but died in the House and, despite the differences this time around, House Speaker Michael Madigan predicts the latest proposal likely will meet the same fate.

Madigan spokesman Steve Brown says House members simply haven't shown much interest in big gambling expansion and might not favor a plan that doesn't pump most of the new money into education.

"I'm not sure how comfortable House members will be with that," Brown said.

Others hope some outside factors will force reconsideration.

Lawmakers and Blagojevich haven't approved a new "capital" plan for construction projects since the governor took office in 2003. Roads and bridges continue to deteriorate, new corridors and spans remain on the drawing board and school buildings in need of repair or replacement are repeatedly sidelined. As the years pass, pressure grows for action.

Meanwhile, lawmakers have a dwindling number of funding options.

They need a big pile of cash, so raising user fees a few bucks won't cut it. Income or sales tax increases have been floated, but Blagojevich adamantly opposes those and many lawmakers are wary of them. The governor favors ending some business tax breaks, but business-friendly legislators usually block those moves.

Adding another wrinkle is a desperate plea for financial help from the Chicago area's mass transit systems, which are facing severe service cuts and fare increases soon.

The House is considering a plan to raise sales and real estate taxes in the region to provide $430 million in aid. But Blagojevich opposes the plan, as do some key Senate Democrats who instead included a $200 million mass transit bailout in the capital package.

They turned to gambling expansion for capital and mass transit needs, arguing it's less painful than raising taxes on the working poor.

"I think they would prefer that it comes from the gamblers and not from everybody," said Sen. Rickey Hendon, D-Chicago. "If you don't play, you don't pay. If you don't go to the boats, it's not costing you a nickel."

Another part of the mix is the more than $400 million in cuts to the state budget that Blagojevich made last month. The cuts hit projects pushed by House Democrats especially hard, but some lawmakers suggest they could be rolled back if the House will negotiate on a capital-gaming package.

"If Madigan was smart I think he'd start making a deal with the governor," said Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson, D-Crete. "I think that's what's left on the table. Some of those could be overridden if he gives. You have to give in order to get."

The governor himself struck a conciliatory tone after the Senate approved the capital plan, suggesting it could be one area for agreement in a year where bickering and arguing has been the norm.

"I think he (Madigan) is going to be as interested as us in solving these problems, and I don't believe he's interested in just being against everything and not for anything," Blagojevich said Wednesday in Chicago. "So I'm confident he will work for us to get this done."

But there likely won't be an easy path for gambling expansion when the Legislature returns to work in early October for its two-week fall veto session.

Any proposal that makes it to the governor's desk will need to satisfy a variety of gambling interests, such as casino owners, horse tracks and Chicago officials who would run the new mega-casino in the city.

It will need to ease legislators' concerns about the possible social problems of allowing more gambling.

Enough lawmakers will have to receive construction projects for their areas to win their support. And the administration will need to make solid promises that those projects will actually become reality.

There's also the chance the House will advance its own gambling-for-capital proposal that the Senate doesn't like, delaying agreement on anything for at least a while longer.

"I just hope the House doesn't tweak it so much till it's dead on arrival when it gets over here," Hendon said.