Mayor Rahm Emanuel and others came out against it.<\/a><\/p>\nAt issue, they said, was the fact that gambling had already become ubiquitous in many parts of Illinois, with video gaming terminals present in numerous bars and other locations throughout the state. Meanwhile, the proposed measure would have allowed for a total of six casinos in the state, along with expanded gaming at racetracks and slot machines at both Chicago-area airports.<\/p>\n
All those gambling options might make a Chicago casino at least a little less lucrative, lawmakers said, meaning that it would be hard for the city or any operator to pay the approximately $120 million in fees to open a gaming facility there on top of the other costs of starting up a large-scale resort.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis would be the highest gaming establishment cost in the country,\u201d city lobbyist Victoria Watkins told state lawmakers at a hearing on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
While Edgar hasn\u2019t been paid as a lobbyist for the horse racing industry, he\u2019s been an outspoken advocate for a gaming expansion bill in Illinois that could help out racetracks in the state. The former governor told the Sun-Times<\/em> that he currently drives 250 miles to Indiana tracks in order to run his horses in races with better purses than tracks can offer in Illinois.<\/p>\n\u201cIndiana\u2019s got a great program, and I mean, they\u2019re very nice over there but it\u2019s just too bad we didn\u2019t keep up in Illinois,\u201d Edgar said. \u201cUnfortunately the leadership hasn\u2019t paid attention in the last few years to get something done.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When Jim Edgar served as the governor of Illinois from 1991-1999, he was known for his opposition to casino gambling in the state, causing one political opponent to call him a \u201cno-no governor.\u201d But today, he\u2019s changed his tune, and supports efforts to put a casino in Chicago. Edgar shared his changing feelings on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":86702,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14577,13,18],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Illinois: Former Governor Changes Stance, Now Supports Chicago Casino<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n