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* UPDATED x2 * Today’s quotables: Jaffe declares war and Quinn says Champaign could soon be a suburb

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*** UPDATE 1 *** Illinois Statehouse News has released the full audio of their interview with Chairman Jaffe…

They left out a couple of zingers from their story, including these about the General Assembly…

“They don’t want a good regulatory board to interfere with their nonsense.”

“I’m trying to represent the people. I don’t know who they represent.”

Ouch.

* Chairman Jaffe also claimed this change was made to existing law…

“We can’t fingerprint anybody to check their background [at racetracks]… And you can be assured that they’re trying to sneak that in now, so they can do it with regular gaming later.”

That’s absolutely not true. The Racing Board has always had discretion to waive fingerprint requirements. The new proposal deletes the requirement that waivers could be given only to applicants who’ve undergone FBI background checks for licensure. Sen. Terry Link explained the proposal this week…

SB 744 allows the Illinois Racing Board to waive fingerprints in its discretion, but it does not do away with fingerprinting. Under current law, the Illinois Racing Board is required to obtain fingerprints from all horse owners. Illinois is fortunate enough to have hosted high-level races that included horses owned by international dignitaries. However, the way current law is drafted, a horse owned by the Queen of England cannot race in Illinois until Her Majesty the Queen has submitted her fingerprints. SB 744 gives the Illinois Racing Board discretion to waive the fingerprinting requirement in such circumstances.

I’m not sure if that’s everything involved here, of course, but Jaffe’s statement is still false on its face. If he had actually read the bill, he wouldn’t known this because it’s pretty darned clear in the legislation…

*** UPDATE 2 *** ISN has also posted Rep. Lou Lang’s complete interview…

Click to download

[ *** End Of Updates *** ]

* Gaming Board Chairman Aaron Jaffe has all but declared war on the legislators who sponsored the gaming expansion bill…

State Sen. Terry Link, D-Waukegan, points to Jaffe’s criticism of legislation that would allow for five new casinos in the state and the slow roll-out of video gambling that was passed back in 2009.

“We have a gaming board that is clearly anti-gaming,” Link said.

Link added that Jaffe has used his position as the state’s top gambling regulator to take a personal stand.

“It’s his job to regulate Illinois gaming industry,” said Link. “It’s not his job to preach.”

But Jaffe said he is doing exactly what he’s supposed to be doing.

“I’m not pushing for anybody or anything. I’m trying to protect the public interest,” Jaffe said. “If lawmakers think they’re representing the public interest, I don’t think they know what they are talking about.” […]

Jaffe said Lang, Link and other critics in the statehouse have questions about their own fairness to answer.

“I don’t know whether they’re acting as legislators, or they’re acting as lobbyists,” said Jaffe. [Emphasis added.]

If Jaffe is reappointed, don’t expect him to survive Senate confirmation. Back in 2009, he said the Gaming Board would probably need a police force the size of the Illinois State Police or the City of Chicago’s to adequately monitor video gaming in taverns…

* Gov. Pat Quinn got off on a tangent (surprise!) yesterday about high speed rail during an unrelated press conference…

He touted a plan for high-speed rail from Chicago to Champaign, which he said could become “a Chicago suburb,” just 50 minutes away by high-speed rail.

Yes, the governor actually said that Champaign could be a Chicago suburb. He was even asked whether he thought Champaign wanted to be a suburb…

Click to download

* Related…

* Gambling regulator again slams gaming bill: “Look, the way the legislature did it was terrible, ” Jaffee said. “They passed it on the last day. Nobody knew what was in it.”

* Mayor predicts Quinn will sign gambling bill, but gov won’t say

* Emanuel ducks gambling chairman’s criticism of Chicago casino bill

* Entities will profit from proposed gaming law

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 10:23 am

Comments

Yes, because we know that the same local police that managed to monitor underage drinking, smoking, etc are all going to ignore underage video poker. And the guys with the machines are going to take that kind of risk as well….

Comment by OneMan Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 10:31 am
50 minutes from Chicago to Champaign? Really? Does that mean another hour and 15 or so to get to Carbondale? The whole state would be “suburban” if that were to happen. I’ll believe it when I see it.

Comment by Deep South Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 10:38 am
No joke, a few years ago my aunt got to chatting with a woman. My aunt mentioned that she was going to see her sister (my mom) who lived in Chicago. The lady said that she ‘lived’ in a suburb of Chicago.

My aunt asked which one. The lady replied PEORIA!! We still laugh about that one.

Comment by How Ironic Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 10:50 am
Even if you could do Campaign to Chicago in 50 minutes (would make me a little upset that is only 8 minutes longer than it takes from Naperville/Aurora) I guess my question would be how much would that monthly cost?

Comment by OneMan Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 10:53 am
Well, if the legislators are acting like lobbyists, who is Jaffe pretending to be, governor?

Comment by Wensicia Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 10:55 am
“Not only could Champaign be just 50 minutes from Chicago by high-speed rail, so could Bejing China - if we built high-speed rail through the center of our Earth, develop steel that could withstand the extreme pressures and heat, find the trillions to pay for it, and do something to keep passengers from being incinerated. Who wants to go to China, and visit their old jobs?”

Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 10:59 am
Insofar as the idea of Champaign becoming just a Chicago suburb, I’d argue that it will become reality in a future redistricting when mapmakers figure a way to concoct a city-based district that stretches south to include parts of the college town.

And if you think that’s an exaggeration, I seem to recall in the 1990s the Republicans came up with a congressional district around Will and Grundy counties that went as far south as Bloomington and waaaaaay up north to include the 10th Ward.

-30-

Comment by gregory tejeda Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 11:02 am
“Soy Boy” wants to represent all those corn and bean fields all along I-57 as being new constituents.

“Hey, plants are people, too”.

Comment by Judgment Day Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 11:38 am
True high-speed rail lines and trains — the 221-mph kind that Europe, China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Russia, Turkey, and South Africa (to offer a partial list) already have or are building — absolutely could make a Chicago-”ChamBana” run in less than an hour.

And that absolutely could turn cities in central and western Illinois into “bedroom suburbs” of Chicago. That development would be a double-edged sword, but that discussion is certainly worth having.

Comment by Northsider Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 11:43 am
It’s not as much of an exaggeration as you might think. In fact, it could very easily become true.

If you loosely define a suburb as a town that acts as a bedroom community for a large number of people who commute to work in another city, that is.

I heard a story a while back about people who live in Brussels (in Belgium) and work in Paris. Thanks to high speed rail, its about an hour commute each way. And, apparently, it’s a growing phenomenon in Europe. People who want the lifestyle of living in the center of a big city (like Paris) but can’t afford to live in the center of a big city (like Paris) find a cheaper, but still very urban option (like Brussels) and then take the high speed train back and forth to work. A commute like that would take 2-3 hours each way by car.

One couple they interviewed (who live in Brussels) has one of the people (can’t remember if it was the husband or wife) who works in Paris, the other works at a University in a town that the train stops in on its way to Paris.

The ridership on trains between Madrid and Barcelona is astounding - there are undoubtedly a lot of who live in one city and work in the other - probably more who live in Barcelona and work in Madrid than the other way around.

I don’t know if Champaign would ever become a real suburb of Chicago, but it’s certainly possible that HSR links could make Milwaukee or Indianpolis into a bit of a bedroom community for Chicago.

Comment by jerry 101 Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 11:55 am
“If lawmakers think they’re representing the public interest, I don’t think they know what they are talking about.” […]

Well, the American Heritage Dictionary defines “legislature” as:

An officially elected or otherwise selected body of people vested with the responsibility and power to make laws for a political unit, such as a state or nation.

Now, you can argue until your blue in the face whether any legislature ever lives up to that definition but a couple things are clear. The legislators are elected and they did pass the gaming bill. If the “public interest” is against the gaming bill they can always vote out those responsible for its passage. I doubt that will haoppen. As for Chairman Jaffe, I would think his days are numbered.

Comment by paddyrollingstone Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 11:59 am
Jaffe seems more concerned with protecting the interests of the existing casinos that anything else.

Comment by Anonymous Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 12:12 pm
If Champaign becomes a suburb of Chicago, I guess we’d have to revise our common phrase “South of I-80″ describing downstate IL to “South of Green Street”. And maybe Buckley is the next Naperville.

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 12:13 pm
Forgot to add my name.
Jaffe seems more concerned with protecting the interests of the existing casinos that anything else.

Comment by Stooges Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 12:15 pm
Heaven forbid anyone in state government criticize a member of the legislature for their work product.
Jaffe clearly stated he’s concerned about regulatory issues, not the expansion of gaming.

Comment by Anonymous Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 12:15 pm
Jaffe does not want to be reappointed. He is moving on professionally and personally from the mess otherwise known as IL.

Comment by Niles Township Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 12:17 pm
I still find it hard to believe people will want to “commute” to a location near O’Hare from Downtown and then “commute” to the suburbs of Champaign? the time spent making the switches/connections voids the highspeed concept..no? and also just what will this lttle journey cost per trip ??? dream on “soy boy”

Comment by railrat Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 12:18 pm
Chicago to Champaign, sounds like more urban sprawl.

Comment by mokenavince Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 12:33 pm
Illinois politicians do not know geography (c.f. the 57 states in America).

Comment by Cincinnatus Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 12:42 pm
With all due respect to the Racing Board, the level of scruntiny at the Racing Board doesn’t compare to the level of scruntiny at Gaming.

Comment by Adios Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 12:50 pm
“Jaffe does not want to be reappointed. He is moving on professionally and personally from the mess otherwise known as IL.”

If he really is leaving this “mess” as you describe it, then that means we really have no reason to listen to what he says. Also, what is “moving on professionally *and* personally”? Does he have really bad childhood memories of inefficient government that cause him nightmares?

Comment by Lester Holt's Mustache Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 12:53 pm
It’s common knowledge that taverns make illegal payouts on current poker machines. Is it really such a stretch to think these same proprietors might need careful supervision to stay on the straight and narrow with their new video poker machines? You can’t have it both ways.

Comment by reform Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 1:04 pm
reform, what would be the mechanism for the payout? In other words, who would fund it? Right now, crooked video poker distributors fund the payouts. Under a straight system, there would be no extra payout funding.

Your argument has no connection to capitalistic reality.

Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 1:06 pm
Lester Holt’s Mustache: What I wrote is about as clear as I’m going to get on here, but your thought process is way too complex. It is an easier interpretaion than that.

Comment by Niles Township Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 1:17 pm
Champaign already seems to be a suburb of Chicago. I suppose that real estate prices might increase if there was additional demand as a result of an improved connection with Chicago Metro.

I wouldn’t want to live in such a place, however…

Comment by Joeverdeal Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 1:30 pm
The day it takes less time to go from Chicago to Champaign then it does to go from O’hare to the Loop on the Blue Line, I will eat my hat.

Isn’t ‘high speed rail’ just the 2010s version of the the 1950s dream of ‘flying cars’?

Comment by Anonymous Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 1:30 pm
===Isn’t ‘high speed rail’ just the 2010s version of the the 1950s dream of ‘flying cars’? ===

There are no flying cars in Europe, China, etc. So, the answer is “No.”

By the way, I saw a report not long ago about how flight costs between two major Chinese cities were cut in half after a high-speed rail connection was established. There are side benefits as well.

Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 1:34 pm
When video gaming is up and running, chances are the amount of revenue generated per location will be public. The information will be on the web. A smart mobster could use that info to lean on a bar owner for a percentage of the take. You know, make them an offer they can’t refuse. That would be an easy way around the IGB. Legit bar, legit manufacturer, legit distributor. Add a large, scary individual and La Costra Nostra’s back in business!

Comment by Adios Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 1:45 pm
Adios, for that matter, they could lean on the tavern owners now for a percent of the take on their bar business. They could do the same thing for restaurants, even churches and private schools!

Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 1:51 pm
Point being, even if somebody else gets a cut, how does that impact the fairness of and payouts on the actual games?

Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 1:51 pm
True, all true. I don’t think it would impact on the fairness of the games at all. However, if the public perceives the games to be legit, you’ll get a lot more play on them so there’s more money to be made. If the mob is getting the cut of the business now from a particular location, do you think they’re just going to go away? I doubt it. I’m no mob expert but I don’t think they’re known for walking away quietly either.

Comment by Adios Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 2:09 pm
Why not Champaign as a Chicago suburb? After all, the last two Governors treated Springfield as just the occasional suburban work stop from their Chicago home … but they had no cost plane rides.

Comment by Retired Non-Union Guy Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 2:35 pm
But the take for the location isn’t going to be that big, using your logic any business information on-line is bad because the outfit will look at your tax revenues and start leaning in on you.

Hey I see you have a liquor license you know we want a piece of that.

Comment by OneMan Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 3:22 pm
–He (Jaffe) is moving on professionally and personally from the mess otherwise known as IL.–

What’s holding him up? Based on the tenor of his recent comments, he probably thinks he could walk across Lake Michigan to New Buffalo.

Comment by wordslinger Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 3:23 pm
Adios,

Part of the ‘problem’ of revenue is the cuts everyone gets…

Lets say I have a machine that gets played for 18 hours a day at .25 a bet with 20 bets a minute.
That is a gross revenue of 5,400 per day. However you payout is 91% (actually a bit low for a slot machine but we will use the number) so the net is $486… But then we need need to pay the taxman (30%) so then you end up with $340…

Then you have to go half and half with the machine owner (remember, the venue can not own the machines) so you end up with a busy machine that has a high average bet. That gives you $170 if you are lucky from a machine. More likely about $100.

You really think the mob is going to go after that hard?

Comment by OneMan Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 3:33 pm
wordslinger –

Bravo….

Comment by OneMan Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 3:34 pm
Chi/Champ High speed rail in 1 hour? That mean no stops at Homewood or Kankakee?

Comment by zatoichi Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 4:07 pm
I believe the governor was speaking metaphoricaly. Highspeed rail has the potential to make all the cities along the route a suburb of each other. The easier and faster it is to get somewhere, the more you go. Good restaurant in some small town served by the train…let’s go!

Comment by nothin's easy Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 4:20 pm
sorry for the bad spellin’

Comment by nothin's easy Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 4:20 pm
15,000 liquor licenses (bars, restaurants) times 5 machines per establishment equals 75,000 machines. Lets say the mob wants 50 percent, per day, so we’ve got 75,000 times $486 (they could lean on the distrubutor too) equals $36,450,000 per day. (I don’t think that will be the actual figure. So half of that equals $18,225,000. I’ll admit these numbers are outrageous but everyone keeps forgetting how many machines we’re talking about. The potential for criminal enterprise is staggering. Don’t fool yourself. This is Illinois.

Comment by Adios Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 4:29 pm
Good restaurant in some small town served by the train…let’s go!

I guess there are people in Chicago who would pay a $150 round trip on high speed rail to eat a Cozy Dog in Springfield or a Papa Del’s pizza in Champaign. Mmmmm, getting hungry on a Friday afternoon.

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 4:39 pm
Adios,

You are not talking about that many machines…

1) Lots of places have taken a pass on the devices by law (for example several counties)

2) As shown by Iowa video poker the odds of every machine being in use 28 hours a day are slim and none.

3) Lots of establishments (keep in mind I don’t think they can be in package stores) are not going to have the machines, Charley Trotter has a liquor license, odds are he is not going to put one in.

4) One of the things they got right in the law is the limit on the number of machines a distributor can have, they can only control % of the total state market so you would have to lean on a lot of distributors.

5) Overall your argument applies to anything. The state lottery, cigarettes, etc. Any revenue stream the mob could lean in on (you know how much money is spent in this state on corn?)

In order to make real money you have to lean on a lot of guys, the more guys you lean on the higher your risk of getting caught.

Comment by OneMan Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 5:02 pm
Jaffe ain’t as nuts as you think. Anyone who thinks IL has enough regulation and investigation need only visit Fairmount Park Racetrack. RICO maybe ?

Comment by x ace Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 8:21 pm
how many times can a man say “ya know” in one interview?

Comment by Powerten Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 8:22 pm
Oh great, more emigrated Chicagoians wandering around here saying: “Look honey, a cow!” Thanks, high speed rail.

Comment by Jack Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 11:28 pm