Editorial: Say yes to casinos, gov, and tinker later

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Updated: November 3, 2011 9:51AM

An impatient Mayor Rahm Emanuel is right on this one.

It’s time for a massive gambling expansion bill that Emanuel favors, a bill that passed the Illinois Legislature in May, to finally become law. Though it’s a flawed bill, a deeply reluctant Gov. Pat Quinn should agree to sign it while legislators prepare a follow-up bill that fixes the bill’s shortcomings.

Emanuel has pushed the gaming bill — the centerpiece of which is a first Chicago casino — since before he took office. Though no big gambling fan, Emanuel supports expanded gambling for the same reason we do: He sees a city and state in desperate need of cash.

Emanuel said as much this week when he rolled out a long list of infrastructure projects, including new schools, L tracks and water mains that could be financed with casino revenue. With federal and state money drying up, we see nowhere else to turn for investments essential to Chicago’s future.

In response, Quinn stepped up his attacks on the bill, saying it has “serious shortcomings” when it comes to “honesty and integrity” and preventing corruption. The bill dramatically expands gambling in Illinois, adding a city-owned casino in Chicago, four other casinos elsewhere in Illinois and slot machines in airports and racetracks.

We’d much prefer a smaller bill featuring a Chicago casino. But the legislation represents the fragile compromise — a little bit for everybody — required to get any gambling bill passed in Illinois. Take one key element out and the entire deal could fall apart.

It’s also naive to think that keeping casinos out of Illinois will slow down gambling. Illinois residents are gambling their dollars away at casinos in neighboring states.

Despite poking holes in the bill for months, Quinn won’t say whether he will sign it or say how to fix it. Concerned about a possible veto, Senate President John Cullerton has yet to send the bill to Quinn. He and fellow Democrats are at work on a trailer, or follow-up bill, that they hope to pass in the fall legislative session.

This game of chicken must end.

Quinn needs to spell out how to improve this bill and a trailer bill must quickly follow.

Most importantly, the trailer bill must address concerns of Quinn and Illinois Gaming Board Chairman Aaron Jaffe that the bill will weaken the state’s ability to regulate gambling. The bill, they say, leaves the gaming board without the staffing, oversight and authority to maintain clean gambling in Illinois.

Cullerton tells us that many of the specific worries they cite — such as an end to fingerprinting at racinos — are overblown or aren’t even in the bill. But to allay any doubts, Cullerton said a trailer bill would tighten up and clarify language to ensure proper oversight. It should also plainly spell out the gaming board’s authority and the staffing required to regulate properly.

The trailer bill must also do away with a dangerous provision that gives the board only 60 days to investigate and act on a video poker license application. If the board fails to act, a provisional license is automatically granted.

Cullerton also said a trailer bill could reduce the number of gaming positions (such as slot machines and blackjack tables), which we would gladly support.

We’ve long supported gaming as an unattractive, but reasonable, way to help Illinois continue offering the core services residents expect and deserve. Schools, roads, hospitals and nursing homes cost money. And right now, gambling is one of the few places to turn.

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