Legislators, challengers share views on gaming

Expanding gambling has been proposed as one method of potentially propping up state spending, and financing billions of dollars for a capital spending plan to fix roads and bridges, improve transit, build schools and undertake other long-range needs.

The Daily Herald asked area state legislators and their challengers in the Nov. 4 general election whether they support the expansion of gambling by adding slot machines at racetracks, or licensing and building new casinos.

Here are their responses from candidate questionnaires and interviews:

State Senate District 26:

Democrat Bill Gentes and Republican Dan Duffy clash when it comes to casino gambling and adding slot machines at horse race tracks such as Arlington Park.

Gentes and Duffy are each making their first run for a state senate seat.

"I am supportive of casino gambling with maybe three more licenses," said Gentes, 49, who's mayor of Round Lake. "We also need to support the horse racing industry with some component of revenue or support, and that can include slots."

Duffy, 42, of unincorporated Lake Barrington, disagrees.

"Illinois should not become dependent on gambling to pay our bills since it is a very risky and unreliable revenue source," said Duffy, co-owner of Effective Data Inc. in Schaumburg.

The 26th District stretches from Libertyville Township in Lake County west to Nunda, McHenry and Dorr townships in McHenry County, and part of Palatine Township in Cook County.

State Senate District 30:

State Sen. Terry Link unequivocally supports gambling expansion, while his Republican challenger Keith Gray begrudgingly accepts it as a "necessary evil."

Link, 61, a Waukegan Democrat who leads the party's Lake County wing and is the Senate majority caucus chairman, has repeatedly voted in favor of adding casinos.

"One of the original goals of the boat licenses was to place boats in communities that were economically depressed so that the community could share in the profit thus building a better economic situation for itself," the four-term incumbent said. "And that is exactly what it has done. Look at Metropolis, Elgin, Aurora, or Joliet and you will see that these communities have prospered with the help of these boats. It has also helped the state economy."

Link and Gray agreed they would not support a state-owned casino, saying the government should stay out of the gaming operations business.

Gray, 47, a small-business owner from Mettawa, said he believes gambling would be detrimental for the local economy for communities like Waukegan.

"People least able to afford it will probably be the most frequent visitors," he said. "The social cost I think will be too great."

Yet, Gray said, the horses are already out of the gates on the issue.

Gray said he is not opposed to limited gambling expansion at existing venues, such as adding slots at racetracks and destination points such as O'Hare International Airport, convention centers and Navy Pier, where patrons are primarily from out of town.

The 30th District covers eastern Lake County from Waukegan south to North Chicago and southwest to Green Oaks, Mettawa, Lincolnshire and Riverwoods and a small portion of Cook County.

State House District 51:

Republican state Rep. Ed Sullivan Jr. favors the expansion of legalized gambling. Democratic challenger Amanda Howland isn't opposed to it, and said it doesn't appear to be a top concern for residents.

Sullivan, 39, is running for a fourth term. He's facing a second challenge from Howland, whom he defeated in 2006.

Sullivan, a Mundelein resident who's also Fremont Township's assessor, would support adding slot machines at racetracks and giving existing casinos the ability to add more gambling positions. He also would back a casino in Chicago.

Sullivan has received campaign donations from a variety of casino and gambling interests, including Arlington Park racecourse and the Hollywood Casino in Aurora, according to state records. His support of legalized gambling has limits, however.

"My support is predicated on a few issues," he said. "One, there must be a revamped gaming board similar to the one proposed by Speaker (Michael) Madigan. And two, any revenue generated by expanded gaming must be used to fund a capital construction plan, education, and pension deficits."

Sullivan is not in favor of placing slot machines in bars and restaurants.

Howland, 56, an attorney from Lake Zurich, said most voters she's talked to aren't concerned about gambling. If gambling is expanded, she said, she'd want to ensure provisions are included that restrict who gets licenses. And, gambling facilities should be monitored to prevent the growth of organized crime, she said.

"We also need to be sure we have provision to deal with gambling addiction problems," Howland said.

The 51st District includes much of central and southern Lake County and a small portion of Cook County.

State House District 52:

Incumbent Republican Mark Beaubien and Democrat challenger Richard Garling are on opposite sides regarding gambling in the state.

Beaubien, 65, of Barrington, said while he's against gambling and its expansion, change is unlikely because of existing casinos. He said Wisconsin casinos on the Illinois border also are a concern.

"I would consider increasing the number of (gambling) positions at existing casinos and slots at racetracks. ... As existing casino licenses come up for renewal, they should be auctioned and awarded to the highest qualified bidder," Beaubien said.

Garling, 52, an Island Lake trustee, said gambling doesn't offer much to Illinois residents.

"A government dependent on gambling to support itself is a sign of a weak state economy," Garling said.

The 52nd District includes west and southwest Lake County from Fox Lake, Round Lake, Island Lake and Wauconda south to Barrington in Cook County and Crystal Lake, Cary, and Fox River Grove in McHenry County.

State House District 53:

None of the three candidates here supports a general expansion of statewide gambling, although the sitting representative, Republican Sid Mathias, adds he would not oppose slot machines at Arlington Park racetrack if the community supported the idea.

"The track has provided substantial economic benefits to our area," Mathias writes in his Q&A. "I would not vote to deny the race tracks the ability to add slot machines as long as local control is not pre-empted."

Mathias, who was the mayor of Buffalo Grove before he was elected to the state House 10 years ago, said additional casinos in the Chicago region would harm the area's racetracks.

"Rather than granting additional casino licenses I would be supportive of allowing additional positions at our current casinos which should be sold at auction and would bring in revenues to our state," he added.

Carol Javens of Wheeling, the Democratic candidate, has not been impressed with how the state's current casinos have been managed.

"There is much too little support for gambling addiction and the state has a tendency of using gambling revenues to replace GRF funding for programs instead of supplementing it as originally intended," she responded in her Q&A.

She added gambling is not a "sound solution" to Illinois' budget problems, "especially as gambling revenues are declining along with the economy."

Rob Sherman of Buffalo Grove, the Green Party candidate, is strongly opposed to gambling expansion, saying it harms the disenfranchised to a much greater degree than the Illinois State Lottery.

"I've visited our casinos," he writes. "The customers are, generally, pathetic, dysfunctional zombies who are being intentionally and severely manipulated psychologically to throw away their money. It's just not fair to allow the mentally fragile to be victimized like this."

Instead, he said, he would support more mega-jackpot Lotto games, because they can be played for fun at relatively low cost. "You can get in at a very reasonable cost and still have fun fantasizing about being a gazillionaire," Sherman added.

District 53 covers a large portion of Buffalo Grove, as well as Arlington Heights, Wheeling and Prospect Heights.

State House District 59:

Incumbent state Rep. Kathleen Ryg supports gaming expansion as long as profits fund social service programs to help gaming and substance abusers, while her Republican opponent Daniel J. Sugrue is against building new casinos.

"I believe we must carefully consider the opportunities to insure that gaming revenues benefit the communities where casinos and tracks are located and not just the gaming owners and operators," said Ryg, 56, a Vernon Hills Democrat.

Ryg said she would consider allowing new casinos, adding slots at racetracks, or even expanding existing casinos as long as there is adequate oversight by an independent board of experts.

"There are certainly protections, accountability and reforms that need to be in place and understanding where the money is going to benefit the state and local economies," she said. "I'm open to expansion as a revenue source. I'm not just going to blanketly say sure we should have more licenses."

Sugrue, 44, a Green Oaks attorney said, "nine casinos in Illinois are enough."

Sugrue said he isn't sure if he would oppose having more slots at racetracks or allowing existing casinos to expand.

"We rush into these things without really taking a good cost-benefit analysis," he said. "There is some social cost that we need to take a look at too, where we build casinos. Let's just not assume that this is simply a windfall for the state and not think of the consequences that come (with it)."

Sugrue said he may reconsider his position on gaming expansion, if the profits would fund education or major expansion in roads/transit.

He agrees with Ryg on principle that there should be more funding for programs to help gambling addicts, yet questions how it would impact other state-funded programs.

"We have a $45 billion debt in the state and a $3 billion deficit, and the main problem we have is runaway spending," he said.

The 59th District is in east central Lake County and northern Cook County from Park City south to Green Oaks, Vernon Hills, Lincolnshire, Riverwoods and Wheeling.

State House District 61:

Republican Incumbent JoAnn Osmond of Antioch and her Democratic challenger, James H. Parks, also of Antioch, favor gambling - to different extents.

"I do not have a problem with adding slots at racetracks, as they are already a form of gaming," said Osmond, 62. Some of the proceeds would assist in the purses for horseowners, she added

"I do not support any further expansion of gaming as I have been openly working against a casino in Kenosha for the past three years, as my district will get all the problems from the casino and no help."

Those problems include traffic congestion, and increased wear and tear on roads and gambling-related social issues.

Parks, 60, an independent sales representative, said expanding gambling is not the preferable solution, but is necessary for a quick infusion of new revenue to support social programs and schools. A broad capital program also would be an "obvious use" of those resources, he added.

He said the impact of gaming revenues would be felt quickly and eliminate the need to cut programs and services.

"I know casino gambling causes problems and issues, but I guess it's a quick fix to a shortage of funds. I wish there were other options," he said.

He acknowledges gambling also can pose problems and said some of the revenues would need to be steered toward helping gambling addicts, for example.

"I'm very much concerned about addictive gambling," he said.

The 61st District covers northern Lake County from Lake Michigan to the county line.