Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn announced Monday that he would not sign the gambling bill passed by the Illinois legislature earlier this year, throwing a possible casino in the South Loop or West Loop into uncertainty.

Quinn said he’s OK with a casino in Chicago, but wants a major overhaul to the catch-all proposal that the General Assembly passed this spring. The governor said he wants to add far fewer casinos around the state, and he doesn’t want gambling at O’Hare and Midway Airports.

Quinn also insisted on maintaining strict regulations on casino operators around the state, thorough oversight of the new casinos’ creation, and keeping tax revenues on the casinos at a high level. The legislature’s bill would have relaxed all of those, among other changes.

“To promote and protect the interests of the people of Illinois, I can only support a smaller, more moderate expansion that prevents corruption and provides adequate revenue for education,” Quinn said in a written statement.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel responded with optimism in a written statement of his own.

“We are encouraged that the governor has come forward with a proposal,” Emanuel said. “We are anxious to work with him and the leadership of the Illinois General Assembly so that we can soon begin creating tens of thousands of jobs for Chicagoans and make the investment in the city’s aging infrastructure that will secure a successful future for Chicago.”

The South Loop and West Loop have frequently been cited as possible locations for a Chicago casino. The Old Post Office Building at 433 W. Van Buren St., a plot of land along the Chicago River just south of Roosevelt Road and McCormick Place have all been floated as possible locations.

But the Chicago Tribune reported Monday afternoon that some downstate lawmakers declared the casino bill “dead” with Quinn’s modifications.

“This bill’s dead because there’s all of these downstate votes that won’t support it now,” Rep. Rich Brauer (R-Petersburg) told the Tribune. “That’s the end, end, end of a casino for Chicago."

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By 3rd Ward resident from South Loop
Posted: 10/19/2011 12:02 PM

Good, we don't need it in South Loop