Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » Jaffe’s storm creation method

Thursday, Jun 16, 2011

* We talked about this yesterday, but it’s worth going over again…

The state’s top gambling regulator blasted the large gambling expansion lawmakers approved last month, saying it was not well thought out and would erode oversight.

Illinois Gaming Board Chairman Aaron Jaffe criticized the way the proposal made its way through the General Assembly in the waning days of session, saying the bill is too big and too technical to have been approved in just two days. He also questioned efforts since then to re-shape the bill to avoid a possible veto from Gov. Pat Quinn, saying those conversations should have taken place before a vote, not after.

“You can’t make perfume out of a pile of garbage,” Jaffe said.

“I realize that the state is in financial trouble, if gaming is the way that our leaders want to go, so be it. But they should do it in a fashion other than the way they did this particular bill,” he added. “It’s chock-full of items, that in my opinion, would never pass on their own.”

* If you listen to the raw audio of the meeting, you’ll hear Chairman Jaffe say some other things that mostly went unreported.

For instance, Jaffe criticized the General Assembly on several points, and offered up some suggestions, including “Make sure that other legitimate businesses are not cannibalized.”

Jaffe didn’t specify whether these “legitimate businesses” were other casinos or whether they were restaurants, nightclubs, etc. near the new casinos. Either way, that sentiment does seem outside his purview.

* “I would like to know how these areas were selected and why they have come to life at this particular time,” Jaffe said about the bill’s site-specific language, adding “This board spent months finding the proper place for the tenth license.”

He’s right about that, but the General Assembly has picked sites in the past. They chose Rosemont, but the gaming board declined to site a casino there, claiming mob influence. Instead, they put the casino next door in Des Plaines, even though an internal report I obtained years ago warned that there would be little difference in problems by placing a casino in that town. By the way, the process to open that casino has taken more than a decade, not just months.

But the General Assembly also designated East St. Louis as a riverboat host many years ago. The chairman may have forgotten that.

And I’m not sure whether the chairman reads the newspapers, but Rockford, Danville the south suburbs (not site specific) and Park City have all been in the running for a casino for years, if not decades. This was no evil, underhanded ploy.

* “This bill was passed in two days,” Jaffe said, adding “They don’t follow parliamentary procedures as they should.”

Actually, the bill took about 20 years to pass. You run the bill when you have the votes, and that’s what they did. And, as far as I can tell, parliamentary procedures were followed.

* The chairman also seemed to be confused about the governor’s amendatory veto powers. He said the AV is only supposed to be used for “tweaks,” and that if they do a major AV, “I think we can only be assured that there will be another court case.”

First of all, the governor’s AV powers are extraordinary in this state. Secondly, the idea is not to do an AV, but to pass a trailer bill.

* Jaffe also said the General Assembly should make sure to “minimize social ills.” That’s not a bad idea at all, but I’m not sure how this is Jaffe’s business.

* That’s not to say that Chairman Jaffe didn’t make some good points. For instance…

Jaffe said the staff of the Gaming Board, which now numbers 210 people, would have to “double in size” in order to do an adequate job of policing the state’s expansive gambling industry, and no funding exists to permit that possibility.

He also said the drafters of the bill crafted it in a way that would lead to inevitable turf battles between the Gaming Board, the Illinois Racing Board and new boards that would be created to oversee casino gambling in Chicago and at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

The board should have more oversight funds. And the complicated new board structure may, indeed, cause some problems, although some believe he’s just trying to protect his own turf.

* Even so, this rebuke by Lou Lang is a bit much…

“I have grave concerns about [Jaffe’s] comments. It’s clear he’s gone way beyond the borders of his job as a regulator,” [sponsoring Rep. Lou Lang] said Wednesday. “If he wants to go back and be a legislator, he ought to run for the Legislature. If he wants to postulate on the constitutionality of a bill, he ought to go back to being a judge. But he’s neither of those things.”

Jaffe does have a duty to blow the whistle when he thinks he sees something untoward. Not everything is his business, so he should confine it to his role. If he’d just made his points without going into all the extraneous sideshow, I’d have an easier time backing him up. But that wouldn’t have generated nearly as much media coverage. The guy knows what he’s doing. Give him credit for that.

* Meanwhile, as subscribers already know, Lang, Sen. Terry Link and other top legislators are meeting with the governor today to discuss the gaming bill…

Link said he is open to talking with Quinn if the governor has any suggestions on how to downsize the measure. But said the casino set to go in his district near Waukegan would have to remain.

House sponsor Lou Lang (D-16th) will also be in on talks with Quinn.

“To the extent that I can accommodate the governor, I’m willing to listen to him. Willing to hear what he wants to do. But I’m not willing to state upfront that I’m prepared to shrink the bill down,” Lang said.

However, Lang said he won’t accept substantial changes.

- Posted by Rich Miller

18 Comments

- CircularFiringSquad - Thursday, Jun 16, 11 @ 12:04 pm:
Jaffe just added about 75 staffers to police video poker —- two years after bill was passed and who know how long before the first coins are plunked into a machine

How big does he want to build his empire before a new casino is sited and licensed and in need of inpection or before the racinos are ready
Does anybody check his spending, travel, credit card use, hires and fires or do we just sit back and listen to the nonsense while the state loses millions through his inaction and nonsense?

- Cincinnatus - Thursday, Jun 16, 11 @ 12:18 pm:
“There is hereby established the Illinois Gaming Board, which shall have the powers and duties specified in this Act, and all other powers necessary and proper to fully and effectively execute this Act for the purpose of administering, regulating, and enforcing the system of riverboat gambling established by this Act.”

- Anonymous - Thursday, Jun 16, 11 @ 12:23 pm:
Here’s some facts:
1) It’s taken years to get the 10th license off the ground because the Flynn’s and others (Rosemont) dragged it out in court for years. The IGB has had the license free and clear for about two years now. You can’t oipen up a casino in a few months. It’s takes time to build, etc. The IGB has been working on this non-stop since all the litigation involving the license ended. What internal report do you have Rich?
2.) Video poker is a good six to nine months behind because the General Assembly failed to give the IGB any $$$ to get it off the ground. Video Poker won’t go forward until the Supremes weigh in. The IGB will not license anyone until it knows if its legal or not. The IGB would be inviting lawsuits if it licensed applicants and then the law was found unconstitutional. There are companies out there that have already invested millions in something that might not happen.
3.) Jaffe’s not building an empire. The man knows his recent comments most likely will cost him his job because it’s doubtful if he’s re-nominated by Quinn that Link and company would approve his nomination. He gets paid $300 a meeting like every other IGB Board member.

- Voice of Experience - Thursday, Jun 16, 11 @ 12:25 pm:
Interesting comments from a former legislator. I wonder where they put the plaque honoring Jaffee for his unflinching defense of parliamentary procedures while he was in the House?

- D.P. Gumby - Thursday, Jun 16, 11 @ 12:31 pm:
Whether w/in his technical purview or not, Jaffe’s saying what needs to be said about a seriously flawed bill. It’s too big and it’s bad public policy to be betting the budget on gambling $. The State isn’t the house that is going to win on this.

- Quiet Sage - Thursday, Jun 16, 11 @ 12:32 pm:
Re: Amendatory veto. The Governor’s amendatory veto powers are far from unlimited. He cannot rewrite a bill, but only make relatively minor changes. For years, Speaker Madigan challenged amendatory vetoes on the grounds they were too extensive and therefore unconstitutional.

- Rich Miller - Thursday, Jun 16, 11 @ 12:38 pm:
===only make relatively minor changes===

Read the constitution.

===For years, Speaker Madigan challenged amendatory vetoes on the grounds they were too extensive and therefore unconstitutional. ===

Yeah, but he let the “seniors ride free” AV go through, among others.

- Rich Miller - Thursday, Jun 16, 11 @ 12:39 pm:
===to be betting the budget on gambling $===

Nobody is doing that. Contain your hyperbole, please.

- Rich Miller - Thursday, Jun 16, 11 @ 12:40 pm:
===What internal report do you have Rich?===

I wrote about it years ago. It was an internal investigator’s report. You’re at the IGB, go look it up yourself.

- steve schnorf - Thursday, Jun 16, 11 @ 12:42 pm:
Thanks, Rich. Every now and then you do have to out the shills, and we’ve all been watching that guy for two days.

- Cincinnatus - Thursday, Jun 16, 11 @ 1:02 pm:
D.P. Gumby - Thursday, Jun 16, 11 @ 12:31 pm:

“Whether w/in his technical purview or not, Jaffe’s saying what needs to be said about a seriously flawed bill.”

If it is in his purview, he is right to speak out. If it is not in his purview, he should either be fired or step down.

- Doug Dobmeyer - Thursday, Jun 16, 11 @ 2:26 pm:
I wish there was a medal that citizens could give to Jaffe for protecting the interests of regular folks. This gambling expansion issue is about how the state is going to be changed by the likes of a link and lang.

People in S’fld will have to endure slots at the State Fair if this bill is signed (see my column in this week’s Illinois Times). Little kids will grow up thinking that slots are normal and be expected to support a corrupt system by playing the slots.

Thank God for people like Jaffe…at least he can get his views in the media, while most citizens can’t.

Doug Dobmeyer

- Been There - Thursday, Jun 16, 11 @ 2:34 pm:
===and offered up some suggestions, including “Make sure that other legitimate businesses are not cannibalized.”===

Like his friends the Pritzkers. Who just happen to own half of the Elgin Grand Vic casino.

- BolandFan - Thursday, Jun 16, 11 @ 2:39 pm:
Jaffe should be fired for speaking in such a reckless manner. Jaffe is not a lawmaker, he is a bureaucrat. His job is to implement the law, not point out criticism. This guys head is only as big as the number of cops padding his payroll.

- wordslinger - Thursday, Jun 16, 11 @ 2:42 pm:
Authorization is no guarantee of expansion. Somebody has to put up the money first.

If I recall, the GA picked the first sites for the “riverboats.” They had to be on a navigable body of water and be “economically distressed.” That’s how you got Rock Island, East Dubuque, Joliet, Aurora, East St. Louis, Alton and Metropolis.

Jaffe sure is making some noise on his way out the door, though. Does he have a personal beef with Lang. They’re from the same neck of the woods.

- Cincinnatus - Thursday, Jun 16, 11 @ 2:43 pm:
I agree with BolandFan wholeheartedly except he should also be fired for cause. Why does it take so many years to issue licenses?

- Chicago Cynic - Thursday, Jun 16, 11 @ 8:24 pm:
While he may have technically exceeded his domain, I’m very glad he is speaking up. This gaming bill stinks to high heaven and nobody seems to know what’s really in it.

Yes Rich you’re right. Various forms of the bill have been around for 20 years and you call it when you have the votes. But, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t applaud all who expose what’s in the darn thing since other than Greg Hinz, nobody else seems to care. It raises revenue so why are you getting in the way.

For example, how many of the posters calling for his head know the downtown casino will be the largest casino in the COUNTRY? How many know the revenue at the airports can’t be used outside the airports? How many know this bill represents the largest gaming expansion in Illinois history?

We’ve barely scratched the surface on the problems this bill will create. It can’t be fixed. Quinn should veto this in its entirety and then negotiate with legislative leaders, Lang and Link for a reasonable bill with a reasonably sized casino.

- park - Friday, Jun 17, 11 @ 9:06 am:
Also very glad Jaffe’s speaking up. The ‘powers that be’ haven’t exactly done things right the past 8 years. Take his comments for what they’re worth, but the last thing we need is good people staying silent on major issues. With Blago, the first time we heard about the bad stuff from otherwise solid people was their testimony at trial. too late then.

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