{"id":86701,"date":"2018-08-25T08:00:29","date_gmt":"2018-08-25T15:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=86701"},"modified":"2018-08-25T06:35:40","modified_gmt":"2018-08-25T13:35:40","slug":"illinois-former-governor-changes-stance-now-supports-chicago-casino","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illinois-former-governor-changes-stance-now-supports-chicago-casino\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago Casino Supported by Former Illinois Governor Despite Opposition While in Office"},"content":{"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.<\/p>\n

\"Jim
Former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar says that he now supports a Chicago casino, even if he was against one while he served in office. (Image: WSIU Radio)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Edgar shared his changing feelings on the gaming industry in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times <\/em>on Wednesday, saying that the experience of seeing gambling in the state has made him reevaluate his previous stance.<\/p>\n

Former Governor Says \u2018Times Have Changed\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t excited when they first did gaming in Illinois, but they have it, and it didn\u2019t have the social problems,\u201d the Republican former governor told the Sun-Times<\/em>. \u201cThe arguments against it I think are gone and times have changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a far cry from the position Edgar held during his time in office, when former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley accused him of being anti-Chicago for opposing a number of proposals for the city, including land-based casinos.<\/p>\n

But today, Edgar says that while there are still benefits and drawbacks, a casino makes sense for Chicago on balance \u2013 especially if it can help the horse racing industry<\/a>, which has always been a passion for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Chicago needs the revenue and the state could use the revenue,\u201d he told the newspaper. \u201cAnd politically, I think you\u2019re going to have to do that for the tracks to get theirs.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Recent Casino Proposal Criticized by City Officials<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Chicago lawmakers have been pushing for casino gambling in the city for years. But when the first realistic chance at passing a measure allowing for expanding gaming in Chicago came up this spring, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and others came out against it.<\/a><\/p>\n

At 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":"\nIllinois: Former Governor Changes Stance, Now Supports Chicago Casino<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar told the Chicago Sun-Times that he thinks a Chicago casino makes sense, reversing the position he held when he was in office 20 years ago.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Illinois: Former Governor Changes Stance, Now Supports Chicago Casino\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar told the Chicago Sun-Times that he thinks a Chicago casino makes sense, reversing the position he held when he was in office 20 years ago.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illinois-former-governor-changes-stance-now-supports-chicago-casino\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-08-25T15:00:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-08-25T13:35:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Jim-Edgar.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illinois-former-governor-changes-stance-now-supports-chicago-casino\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illinois-former-governor-changes-stance-now-supports-chicago-casino\/\",\"name\":\"Illinois: Former Governor Changes Stance, Now Supports Chicago Casino\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illinois-former-governor-changes-stance-now-supports-chicago-casino\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illinois-former-governor-changes-stance-now-supports-chicago-casino\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Jim-Edgar.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-08-25T15:00:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-08-25T13:35:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"Former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar told the Chicago Sun-Times that he thinks a Chicago casino makes sense, reversing the position he held when he was in office 20 years ago.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illinois-former-governor-changes-stance-now-supports-chicago-casino\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illinois-former-governor-changes-stance-now-supports-chicago-casino\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/illinois-former-governor-changes-stance-now-supports-chicago-casino\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Jim-Edgar.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Jim-Edgar.jpg\",\"width\":2400,\"height\":1350,\"caption\":\"Former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar says that he now supports a Chicago casino, even if he was against one while he served in office. 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