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* Finally, somebody in the mainstream media caught on to some of the crazier hype about the gaming expansion bill. Kristen McQueary at the Chicago News Cooperative decided to take a look at what the bill actually says and then compared it to the fear-mongering…
Former Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis joined the chorus of opposition to the state’s gambling expansion bill last week, warning that if it is implemented, “political corruption and crime syndicate infiltration will follow.”
Yet the concerns of Weis and other critics are largely addressed in the actual text of the legislation, a Chicago News Cooperative analysis of claims about the 400-page bill found.
Weis, who is now deputy director of the Chicago Crime Commission, called the bill “critically flawed due to lack of regulatory safeguards” and said it was “beyond my comprehension how the Illinois legislature passed this bill.” Chicago Crime Commission Executive Vice President Art Bilek said the bill is a “quagmire of gambling sinkholes and hidden reductions of regulatory control.” Members of the mob would be “standing in line” to apply for licenses, he warned.
Jaffe has said the separate oversight creates a dangerous situation by dividing regulatory authority.
But the bill calls for the following checks and balances:
* The five Chicago Casino Development Board members who would oversee development of a casino would be subject to background checks and approval by the Illinois Gaming Board. They could be removed at any time by the mayor or the gaming board if they failed to execute their duties appropriately. Strict rules require them to report any communication between themselves and any entity that could be construed as a conflict of interest.
* An executive director overseeing the Chicago casino would undergo background checks and also must be approved by the Illinois Gaming Board.
There’s more, much more, so go read the whole thing.
More like this, please.
* In other news, the Tribune adds a little more to the Sun-Times scoop about the federal investigation of former legislator and current gaming lobbyist Bob Molaro…
Former state Rep. Robert Molaro is facing an investigation into legislative scholarships he awarded to a longtime supporter’s family following a Tribune report on how he doled out the publicly funded tuition waivers.
Newly released records and interviews reveal a federal grand jury has subpoenaed the Illinois State Board of Education and at least one university for documents related to scholarships Molaro awarded to Phillip Bruno’s four children.
The newspaper reported last year that Bruno’s family members had more than $94,000 in college tuition waived in recent years despite questions about the children’s eligibility.
The controversial scholarships came with just one legal requirement: that the students lived in Molaro’s Southwest Side district. The Bruno siblings signed notarized documents stating they resided within the representative’s boundaries, while other public records — including the addresses registered with their universities — indicated they lived with their mother in Oak Lawn, outside Molaro’s district. Their father didn’t live in the district either.
* Other stuff…
* Hundreds of cops could be punished for not filing ethics statements: sources
* Ind. casinos see revenues drop, brace for rivals
* Quinn insider tapped for tollway job
* Kadner: Closing Oak Forest a political farce
* O’Hare Lawsuit Is All About The Money
* Local ice cream makers face shutdown by state - Health department says rules the same for cottage industries as for corporations
* Illinois govenor signs Uhl bill to deny workers’ comp for criminals
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Aug 9, 11 @ 3:20 am
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Typical bureaucratic ploy to treat small businesses like large corporations.
Do you think this will help with job creation? There is a way to provide safe food without adding unnecessary costs.
Comment by Plutocrat03 Tuesday, Aug 9, 11 @ 8:04 am
Any chance the feds are tweaking Molaro to go after bigger fish?
Comment by Meanderthal Tuesday, Aug 9, 11 @ 9:21 am
Wow..it is August 9th, the GA adjourned in May so it only took MORETHANTWOMONTHS for the media to read the bill and ignore Foot Dragger Jaffe and internation gaming Expert and Man of Intrigue Jody Weiss and determine that all the safeguards that have kept gaming mob free for the past 20 years will apply to the new venues.
Good Job Kristen! Gosh it is hard to be a cheerleader.
Now let’s start the countdown clock on how long it takes the rest of the media( i.e. those with their own newspapers, tv or radio stations) to follow-up
Who will be first?
The drama is nearly intoxicating
Comment by CircularFiringSquad Tuesday, Aug 9, 11 @ 10:35 am
Nice job by McQueary. At least somebody’s read the bill.
Comment by Cam McAndrews Tuesday, Aug 9, 11 @ 10:42 am
Chicago and the state need the revenue, yet from what I’ve read the bill hasn’t even been sent to Quinn to sign or veto. I’m in favor of a casino for Chicago and the airports getting slots and video poker, hopefully the issue can be worked out.
Comment by Fed up Tuesday, Aug 9, 11 @ 11:32 am
Plutocrat3,
Following up, since Domino’s pizza offers so many combinations of ingredients, it is estimated that they will spend $5M to comply with ObamaCare’s requirements for nutritional labeling. These same requirements will be imposed on all food-service businesses, large and small alike. Apparently the tofu/arugula-laden boot of government will remain on the throat of business for some time to come.
Comment by Cincinnatus Tuesday, Aug 9, 11 @ 12:01 pm
C, I weep for Domino’s. Will we be needing to hold a tag day anytime soon?
Comment by steve schnorf Tuesday, Aug 9, 11 @ 12:30 pm
steve schnorf,
I’m a bit disappointed that you do not see this is a problem for Mom & Pop Pizza, and any other small retailer, like the one mentioned in the article.
To use Domino’s again, the average sized Domino’s Pizza storefront makes about $50k a year in profit and is owned by an individual, not the corporation. It will be the individual owners that will need to absorb these costs. Furthermore, anytime an individual owner adapts the ingredients to their local clientele, they need to change the signage, and any other collateral. So instead of hiring another person, or having more profit to plow into expanding the business, they can instead spend the money on telling people that pepperoni has fat and salt in it. But what the heck, huh?
Comment by Cincinnatus Tuesday, Aug 9, 11 @ 12:58 pm
If you were a Domino’s store owner, chances are you figured you were about to go under a couple years ago because the product you sold was terrible.
That’s an ownership chain that has shown it can adapt to challenging times and do what’s needed to stay alive.
Comment by Michelle Flaherty Tuesday, Aug 9, 11 @ 1:15 pm
C, it will be somewhat burdensome, more so in some cases than in others. However, so are prohibitions on child labor and excessively long work days without overtime, worker’s compensation laws, workplace safety standards, etc.
The labeling pursues a legitimate public good, and the workplace will accommodate to it. You and I simply disagree on how far survival of the fittest should go in this country. I support reasonable regulation.
Comment by steve schnorf Tuesday, Aug 9, 11 @ 1:16 pm
and, by the way, I have no problem with giving very small businesses longer to comply.
Comment by steve schnorf Tuesday, Aug 9, 11 @ 1:17 pm
Reasonable, as defined by you, Steve…
Comment by Cincinnatus Tuesday, Aug 9, 11 @ 1:27 pm
Cinci,
Potbelly has a nifty web tool that can easily satisfy the new law’s requirements without slapping individual labels on custom orders.
http://www.potbelly.com/Food/Nutrition.aspx
Dominoes and other chains can easily do this too. Mom and pop stores might take a bit longer, but this isn’t terribly onerous and the public benefit is large.
All restaurants print menus, even if it’s just on a chalk board. Adding some basic nutritional info isn’t going to be the end of the world. Diabetes is growing as fast as our waist bands. That’s a public health threat that’s worth fighting even if it means some extra steps for businesses.
Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Aug 9, 11 @ 1:46 pm
So, how the heck did a post about gaming become a comment section about pizza? lol
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Aug 9, 11 @ 1:55 pm
It was lunchtime Rich.
Mmmm, pizza.
Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Aug 9, 11 @ 2:09 pm
Schnorf - Please never run for public office because I’d hate to have to vote for a Republican.
Comment by Small Town Liberal Tuesday, Aug 9, 11 @ 2:31 pm
Maybe Chicago Tonight could spend some time gaming with McQuery…a few weeks ago they did…
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Illinois Gaming Chair
A brand new casino opens to great fanfare. Are more on the way? Carol Marin sits down with the head of the Illinois gaming board, who has called the state’s new gambling bill “garbage.”
Do you think casinos belong in Chicago?
Illinois Gaming Board
More on Aaron Jaffe
Summary of 2009 Video Gaming Act
Summary of Illinois Gaming Expansion Bill
Chicago News Cooperative article
Comment by CircularFiringSquad Tuesday, Aug 9, 11 @ 3:26 pm
How do slots in a public place like an airport prevent minors from playing?
Comment by Bonsaso Tuesday, Aug 9, 11 @ 3:51 pm
#
–So, how the heck did a post about gaming become a comment section about pizza? lol–
Cincy and Pluto like to lurk about to plug in the latest Fox national talking points, irregardless of the issue at hand.
Be sure to let us know what the Rupert company line is in on business ethics and privacy, in light of recent events in the UK.
Speaking of Rotis though, did anyone catch this in the Sun-Times CPD restructuring story:
–Chiefs Tom Byrne, Nicholas Roti and Juan Rivera will remain heads of the detective, organized crime and internal affairs bureaus, respectively, McCarthy said.–
Nicholas Roti remains head of the CPD Organized Crime Bureau?
Um, it’s not possible that he’s from the Roti family that for 100 years…….
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Aug 9, 11 @ 9:59 pm
Just in case you didn’t bother to look at:
“Local ice cream makers face shutdown by state - Health department says rules the same for cottage industries as for corporations”
we were talking about the effects of government on business.
I don’t watch FOX except for the 5:00 news. If they happen to make the same points, so be it. I’m pretty sure I can find most of your talking points coming from HuffPo…
Comment by Cincinnatus Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 7:35 am
Cincy, I went on Huffington Post a couple of times at the start to see what the hubbub was about. Not much there of interest to me.
I go to Drudge for quick links, news on Madonna, strange weather patterns and “Headless Corpse in Topless Bar” stories
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Aug 10, 11 @ 8:19 am