Question of the day
Wednesday, May 18, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a Chicago Sun-Times editorial…
Chicago has a new mayor, Rahm Emanuel, who is impatient as all get-out to fix the city’s public schools, make dangerous neighborhoods safe and create more jobs, and none of that will happen without more money. Revenue from a city-owned casino, which Emanuel has expressed interest in, would help reduce the city’s deficit, which stands at $1.2 billion after factoring in unfunded pension liabilities.
The big casino being contemplated would bring the city an estimated local revenue share of $300 million to $400 million, create some 2,000 jobs and have a ripple effect on hotels, restaurants and other businesses.
The extra money also would be welcome by Illinois officials struggling to balance the state’s budget. Legislators are contemplating savage cuts to funding for schools and social services. Quinn told us Tuesday that he is “open to discussing proposals” that raise revenue, create jobs and lead to greater investment in schools.
Our preference would be for a gambling expansion bill that provides for a casino in Chicago and slot machines at the state’s six racetracks, the “racinos” being the necessary trade-off to get legislative support Downstate for the casino. Proposals for new casinos elsewhere — specifically north suburban Park City and the south suburbs — would be put on hold.
As that last sentence explained, such an expansion would - at least for now - rule out a new south suburban or a Lake County casino.
* Despite the Sun-Times’ hope that helping the racetracks would bring Downstate votes, Danville’s state Representative believes a Chicago casino and slots at tracks would actually necessitate Chicagoland support for a Downstate gaming facility…
Other lawmakers have said that new Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is much more open to the idea of a Chicago casino than was his predecessor, Richard M. Daley, who never publicly endorsed it.
“I think the city of Chicago may be interested in it now that the new mayor is seated.” [Rep. Chad Hays, R-Catlin] said. “And I think the opportunity to garner some downstate support for Chicago would hinge on a downstate community being in the mix.”
Danville has been pushing for a casino for years.
* The Question: Could you support gaming expansion that was limited to a Chicago casino, slots at tracks and a new Downstate casino? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
- cermak_rd - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 11:43 am:
Chicago’s always been a natural for a casino spot what with its metropolitan capitol attraction. Downstate may as well, if they don’t have one, the locals’ll just scoot over to Iowa, Missouri etc. Folks like to wager, and I haven’t seen the sky falling with the casinos the state already has.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 11:44 am:
Why limit it at all? Ignore the NIBMYs. If there is a market for it, let the developers build. Assume a minimal return for the state (and/or city) and be happy if it is larger than that.
- CircularFiringSquad - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 11:45 am:
If the states misses this time it could THE end of live racing in IL
- bored now - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 11:50 am:
my vote would be, no, i don’t believe in any gaming. oh, well…
- LouisXIV - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 11:50 am:
One large casino will not turn Chicago into the next Las Vegas but as long as there is a demand for this kind of thing there is no need to see that business go to Indiana. Also a nice casino downtown could help make Chicago more attractive to convention/vacation business.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 11:50 am:
Yes. A Chicago casino would probably make a lot of money (some of that at the expense of existing metro casinos in Illinois and Indiana).
If private investors want to bankroll a Downstate casino, sure.
Perhaps I should have voted no, more expansion. I can’t figure out why slots aren’t at O’Hare and Midway. That would at least be some real out-of-town money.
- mokenavince - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 11:51 am:
Chicago should have a casino,If downstate needs 1
sure,as far as tracks people take kids there, I would say maybe. Indiana is just making a mint off
Illinois taxpayers.
- 47th Ward - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 11:55 am:
I’m for gaming at tracks and expanding the number of gaming positions at existing casinos. These entities are already licensed and regulated and the state could auction off the gaming positions to the 10 casinos and all of the tracks for some upfront money.
But I am adamantly opposed to a casino in Chicago. Despite our budget problem, this is not the way to raise revenue.
And I’m a big fan of gambling, but from a gambler’s perspective, a Chicago casino wouldn’t be large enough to handle the demand. It wouldn’t have much impact on convention business, and it would hurt existing museums, restaurants and theaters.
The only Chicago gaming I’d consider is slots/video poker at the airports.
- Cincinnatus - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 11:56 am:
- Anonymous - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 11:44 am:
“Why limit it at all?”
That is exactly what made my Yes vote kinda hard to cast. The first two options of this poll are not mutually exclusive. I support both the reasons for the Yes, and the feeling that the market should decide how many, and where, casinos should be.
That said, Cermak_rd its the nail on the head. Chicago’s location in the midwest, and its tourists and convention visitors, provide a unique opportunity to garner some badly needed revenues without general tax increases or new user fees.
Were not these same justifications used for the proposed Rosemont casino? Perhaps Emanuel’s influence will sway the decision and make a Chicago casino viable. Or he could just pull eminent domain and let Rosemont build the casino and then he can annex it like O’Hare and Bensenville were.
- WRMNpolitics - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 11:57 am:
The expansion of gaming with a casino in Chicago, a casino downstate and slots in racetracks makes good economic sense. Chicago is a tourist destination, and a casino would be one more attraction for residents and guests and would provide an alternative to Indiana casinos. Downstate would also benefit from a license for many of the same reasons, while it makes no sense to limit race tracks and their ability to operate on a year round basis by not allowing slots.
- Aldyth - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 11:58 am:
Yes. A Chicago casino would be a draw to customers who are currently going out of state.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 11:59 am:
===The first two options of this poll are not mutually exclusive===
I see your point on a general debate item. But when it comes to an actual bill, you only get to vote Yes or No - or take the Obama way out. lol
- Time Keeps on Ticking, Ticking - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 12:01 pm:
I think it would look great inside the Trump Tower, as mentioned by others. Just keep it classy. I would enjoy dressing up and heading into the loop for some gambling, it would be a lot of fun and I would probably buy tickets to see a show and get dinner too.
- Levois - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 12:02 pm:
While I generally don’t support gaming as a way to raise revenue for gov’t, I could support a casino in Chicago but only if a struggling community would play host to one. And if this means that other communities around the state could get slots or that the racetracks will get some benefits for this, I can support that.
- Cheryl44 - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 12:03 pm:
Instead of a casino in Chicago, put slots in the museums and other tourist attractions. There’s always someone in the group who doesn’t want to see the Art Institute–that person can stand near the gift shop and play the slots while his/her family is soaking in the culture.
- Time Keeps on Ticking, Ticking - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 12:03 pm:
But then again Mccormick and the south loop could use the shot in the arm a little more and It would be more feasible–The place is big and empty.
- x ace - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 12:09 pm:
Just OK a Chicago Casino with a % of revenue going straight to racing purse accounts. It is the only clean, manageable, and expeditious way to proceed.
- Louis G. Atsaves - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 12:16 pm:
I voted “no” for less expansion and gaming. And in fairness, other communities in Illinois have been waiting for a long time to try to get a casino license for their regions. Chicago for years has been disinterested, now it gets to jump to the head of the line?
Chicago made out big time in the map redistricting. It lost enough population to lose a State Senate Seat, two State Rep seats and one Congressional Seat, but through “magic” they keep their seats and their legislative power.
That alone should satisfy Chicago for a while.
- Irish - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 12:26 pm:
I voted yes for the following reasons.
I don’t see a Chicago Casino creating a huge new group of gamblers. I see it pulling gamblers away from Indiana and Wisconsin. There is no down side to that!
This bill would allow a Chicago casino, and support the racetracks which have been hurt by the casinos. If a downstate casino has to be thrown in then let the GA negotiate that. The other upside is that Chicago gets a revenue stream that at least in the short term helps them with their problems and keeps them for reaching for more dollars out of the GRF, which in turn helps the rest of the state.
The one issue that has to be addressed however is smoking in casinos. I am not sure if Wisconsin’s smoking ban includes the casinos, I don’t think Indiana has a ban. So if you want to pull people away from those two areas the smoking issue has to be addressed.
- Plutocrat03 - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 12:40 pm:
I vote no. Doubly no if the revenues are to support another form of gambling.
Don’t forget you will be pulling gamblers from the new Des Plaines casino. Don’t they deserve a ROI?
Gambling as a tool of economic development is a well studied failure. I thought that we wanted to build up the local economies, not just prop up the old one until we die.
However if the ship has sailed, make sure the casino is owned by the city. The maximum amount of the revenue should stay in the City and State. There is no need to have a middleman anointed by the political powers to skim money off the top.
- Anon3 - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 12:41 pm:
I voted yes even though the tax receipts tend to be inflated. Gaming is a mature industry so I would hope they would be honest with the numbers.
After all the crap IN and WI gave us this year I am all for poaching their business.
An interesting question is when will we stop supporting the racing industry and let it die?
- Lisle Mike - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 12:44 pm:
I am sorry, but gambling (or gaming) is wrong on a moral level for me. It is heavily known that the odds favor the house, hence the reason this would be considered. The process bilks (albeit voluntarily) the gambler into paying (through his/her losses) for public uses. Taxes, when properly applied derive income from all for use by all. If we are going to turn our backs on moral issues, why not legalize the sale of all narcotics etc, and prostitution and apply sales tax to generate income. Who cares who’s paying the sales tax their moral weakness pays for use by all of us. I would have to vote “no”.
- Justice - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 12:44 pm:
It would be an excellent idea to have Chicago as a destination city for gambling. One would hope that Chicago would build a facility on the scale of Vegas casinos to attract gamblers and those seeking additional entertainment options.
In my opinion this would enhance an already great tourist city.
We can’t ignore the fact that many folks travel to casinos in other states and drop their money into the coffers of those states. We need to use our crown jewel to help keep that considerable revenue in Illinois.
Helping out the race tracks plays well also. I see it as a big win for all of us.
Best we get started before Havana, Cuba open up for business.
- Downstate Illinois - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 12:48 pm:
Do race tracks include all tracks where harness racing is conducted. Could we see slots at DuQuoin? Might help pay for the fair. Of course, another option years ago that Blago opposed was leasing the other downstate governor’s mansion as a bed and breakfast or some other kind of vacation rental. DuQuoin tourism people supported the move. Rod, who almost never stayed there, opposed it.
- Chefjeff - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 12:49 pm:
I would support putting several casino / hotels in Chicago somewhere in the Soldier Stadium, McCormick Place area. Make it a destination like Las Vegas. It will make it very difficult for Joliet, Northern Indiana, to compete, and that’s fine with me. Put it all in one place, and fly them in free from China.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 12:58 pm:
Chicago and CPS have a combined budget deficit of $1.4 billion. Even with massive cuts and restructuring, a casino will not elimimate the need for a tax increase.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 1:07 pm:
And thats before you take into account that extending the school year and school day will cost $4-800M.
I’m gonna vote present until i see the details, like where the casino is going. I also recommend adding slots at ohare and midway beyond the gates while we’re at it.
- Ahoy - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 1:25 pm:
I voted yes, but I think the State should be open to additional gaming expansion, expecially having a a race track/slot machine at the Springfield fair grounds. This could even make the State Fair profitable.
- Pkes - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 2:07 pm:
The city would benefit from a casino. Horse racing needs help, or thousands of jobs, and a very significant industry will be lost. THEY NEED SLOTS! Many people think race tracks should just go away. Perhaps they should do some investigating into what, and how many people and businesses are involved in this industry. It is NOT just horses at a race track! Billions of $ are at stake.
- reformer - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 3:23 pm:
The combination of a giant land-based Chicago casino and slots at nearby Arlington Park, along with video poker everywhere, would eviscerate the new Des Plaines casino. The Elgin boat would also see its customer base shrivel.
- BIG R. Ph - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 3:56 pm:
Yes! The racetracks are dying (along with the horses literally & figuratively). The tracks and the State need fresh revenue and we need something to attract business to this State. If we have to have a casino in Chicago to accomplish this then I say hold your nose and vote for it.
Video slots were a huge bust. This is easy. Just do it.
- Wensicia - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 4:41 pm:
Northern Lake County has double the unemployment of the state, we need the jobs a casino would bring.
- D.P. Gumby - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 4:45 pm:
Gambling is phony money, bleeds the poor and elderly and is just an excuse to avoid serious financial reform.
- zatoichi - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 5:01 pm:
If a big bucks groups wants to put up the dollars and build, let them. The Sarah just closed in Vegas. There are only so many people willing to actually gamble and a saturation point exists like any other business. Whatever gambling brings in will not be enough to solve the budget problem. Go for the jobs.
- Park - Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 7:27 pm:
Yes to racetrack slots. Who cares?
NO to Chicago casino. Casinos just trash up a city.