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Stuck in Exec

Thursday, May 12, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The press tables at yesterday’s Senate Executive Committee hearing were both completely full. That’s not unusual. Senate Exec is a very powerful committee and as the session grows late Rm. 212 is the place to be.

But most reporters appeared to be waiting for a bill to be called which would lift the casino smoking ban. The AP ran a huge story on the hearing yesterday morning

An Illinois Senate committee could deliberate Wednesday on a bill to allow smoking in casinos so gamblers don’t escape to Indiana, Iowa and Missouri.

Casino owners blame the bans for the loss of millions of dollars in revenues and the subsequent fall in tax receipts. The American Gaming Association estimates that about 20 percent of casino patrons smoke.

But gambling and smoking opponents say the loss claims are exaggerated and that the loopholes are bad public health policy. The Illinois bill passed the House 62-52, but faces stiff opposition from key senators and Gov. Pat Quinn.

“It’s discrimination against the people who work in casinos,” said Kathy Drea, vice president of advocacy for the American Lung Association in Illinois. “They’re saying their health isn’t worth the same as everyone else’s.”

* I didn’t play up the story much because I looked at the bill status yesterday morning to see where it had been assigned

Traditionally, the chamber’s leader controls Exec with an iron grip. Bills go there to pass or to die based on orders from on-high. Senate President John Cullerton hates cigarettes with every fiber of his being. He once said he’d support a tax hike on cigs even if it wouldn’t raise a dime in new revenues.

* So, it was no surprise at all that the bill’s sponsor didn’t even show up yesterday

Health activists say they have the votes to snuff out legislation that would allow smoking at Illinois casinos, but they didn’t get a chance to prove it Wednesday.

Sen. Martin Sandoval did not call his bill for a committee vote. The Chicago Democrat said he’s still building support by arguing the change would help create jobs.

Kathy Drea of the American Lung Association did not declare victory, but said she assumes Sandoval knows the bill would fail in the Senate.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has said he opposes the exemption for casinos, and Senate President John Cullerton actually was the sponsor of the statewide smoking ban. Cullerton has said he is “wildly opposed” to making any exemptions in the legislation.

This is precious

Sandoval said he thinks he can gin up enough support from Republicans and Democrats to clear committee next week, and then take it up in the full Senate.

“I have a significant number of supporters on lifting the smoking ban, and I just want to work over the weekend to continue to solidify those votes,” Sandoval said. “I never underestimate the power of the Senate president. This is his committee. Nonetheless, at the end of the day, we may be able to find a balance.”

Sandoval pointed out that the other chamber’s leader, Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, voted for the measure when it passed the House.

“If it’s good enough for the speaker, it’s good enough for me,” Sandoval said.

That bill will get out of Senate Exec if and only if Cullerton says so

The sponsor of a proposal allowing smoking in Illinois casinos said the idea might be dead because of opposition in the Senate.

State Rep. Daniel Burke, D-Chicago, said Wednesday he thought Senate President John Cullerton would not allow the legislation exempting casinos from the statewide indoor smoking ban to be called for a vote in a Senate committee. The Illinois House already has approved the measure.

* Non-budget Statehouse roundup…

* Study smokes out why casinos see fewer people

* Energy Rate Bill Gets Changed

* Chicago school closing bill appears stalled

* Showdown Looms in Illinois - Civil union law threatens Catholic Charities involvement in adoptions.

* Dispute over the governor’s appointments

* Sheriff Dart fights rollback of cemetery reforms - But legislator calls 2009 measures ‘overbearing’ for smaller graveyards

       

13 Comments
  1. - Seriously??? - Thursday, May 12, 11 @ 10:12 am:

    Couldn’t it be possible that casino revenues are down due to the crappy economy and people have less disposable income to gamble with? How does the loss in IL casinos compare with other states that have gaming? Does anyone know?


  2. - Yellow dog democrat - Thursday, May 12, 11 @ 10:12 am:

    The Catholic Register piece contains some truly amazing mental gymnastics.

    I especially love the argument that couples who are joined by a civil union are “cohabitating”, and that’s the reason they would refuse to place an abused kid with a relative for foster care.

    Never mind that under illinois law, a civil union is equivelant to a marriage and is not cohabitation.

    And after insisting this is anti-cohabitation policy, not anti-gay policy, they then launch into a lengthy attack on gay americans and their allies in government, including Senate President John Cullerton, whose loyalty was apparently bought for $5000.


  3. - PublicServant - Thursday, May 12, 11 @ 10:16 am:

    Non-Budget Statehouse Roundup…

    Rich, I’m assuming this means you need to subscribe to get the important Budget stuff, right?


  4. - Rich Miller - Thursday, May 12, 11 @ 10:19 am:

    PublicServant, no, it means be patient.


  5. - PublicServant - Thursday, May 12, 11 @ 10:24 am:

    Heh, I see it now…youdaman!


  6. - study questions - Thursday, May 12, 11 @ 10:36 am:

    “24 percent, or 96 people, said a smoke-free environment would make them less likely to go to a casino.”

    Well, 24% of gamblers not going to an Illinois casino because its smoke free is a pretty substantial number and would certainly cause a drop in revenues.

    The study also says it surveyed people who had been to a casino in the last 12 months (or something like that). So if you visited 1 casino in the past year you were eligible.

    Now, I can’t be sure by any stretch, but my hunch is that gamblers who smoke probably visit casinos much more frequently than your average gambler that does not smoke.

    The study seems flawed to me, as do the arguments by opponents-strictly on the economic impact they dispute.

    I think the bill is very well reasoned - when a competing casino across state lines becomes smoke free the old restrictions are put back into place.


  7. - wordslinger - Thursday, May 12, 11 @ 10:47 am:

    –The American Gaming Association estimates that about 20 percent of casino patrons smoke.–

    Couldn’t Illinois’ smoke-free casinos be a marketing advantage to the 80% of Midwestern gambling patrons who don’t smoke? That’s the lion’s share of the market.

    I know a couple of bar owners who went smoke-free about a year before the statewide ban. They promoted the fact and their business spiked. They were honked when their competitive niche was taken away.


  8. - PaGo - Thursday, May 12, 11 @ 11:28 am:

    Am I the only one who thinks holding a bill, any bill, in committee is wrong? Allowing one person to yield so much power in directing a bill’s fate?

    I know it is what it be, but I don’t like it.

    Btw, I hate smoking too. But I don’t hate democracy.


  9. - Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, May 12, 11 @ 12:19 pm:

    @Pago -

    Welcome to The Republic.


  10. - BigDoggie - Thursday, May 12, 11 @ 12:59 pm:

    –The American Gaming Association estimates that about 20 percent of casino patrons smoke.–

    Has the American Gaming Association ever been in a casino??? I’m wondering if they left out the words “do not” in front of smoke?


  11. - bigdaddygeo - Thursday, May 12, 11 @ 3:48 pm:

    From the press release: “Dr. Clyde W. Barrow, director of the Center for Policy Analysis, and a nationally recognized gaming policy expert supervised the poll..” “Finally, a new entrant onto the Illinois gambling landscape has been the introduction of video poker into local clubs and bars.” Does President Cullerton know this?

    So which is it? A nationally recognized gambling expert determined that 14% of Illinois’ casino gamblers have played video poker or slot machines at a local club or bar “instead of” going to a casino OR has Illinois not received “one penny from video gambling because of bureaucratic bungling” (SJR 3/16/11)?

    Maybe Dr. Barrow is talking about the illegal grey market machines but those certainly aren’t new. If you played grey machines, would you admit it to somebody who says they are working on a survey?


  12. - D.P. Gumby - Thursday, May 12, 11 @ 4:19 pm:

    Really tired of the Pope trying to do what we condemn radical islam for doing…trying to impose religious doctrine on government.


  13. - Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, May 12, 11 @ 4:48 pm:

    @Gumby -

    I especially like the threat that Catholic Charities is planning on filing a lawsuit.

    “The State of Illinois is discriminating against us by refusing to allow us to discriminate.”

    Good luck.


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