Madigan: No override if Quinn vetoes slots at Arlington, more casinos
SPRINGFIELD — House Speaker Michael Madigan had a concise answer for whether he thought lawmakers could override a veto by Gov. Pat Quinn of a major gambling expansion package.
“No,” the powerful Chicago Democrat said.
Lawmakers earlier this year sent Quinn a proposal that would put up to 1,200 slot machines at Arlington Park and new casinos in Lake County, Chicago, the south suburbs and elsewhere.
Quinn has a deadline to either sign or veto that legislation by the end of the month, and the Democratic governor has expressed no interest in signing it into law.
Quinn could rewrite the plan, adding ethics provisions he’s championed, but lawmakers would then have to approve it again, which is no sure thing.
State Rep. Lou Lang, a Skokie Democrat and architect of the expansion proposal, disagreed with Madigan about the chances of a successful override vote if Quinn vetoes the bill.
“I think the speaker’s wrong,” he said.
Madigan talked to reporters before Democrats’ day at the Illinois State Fair, two days before lawmakers are set to return to Springfield to debate how to fix the state’s massive pension debt.