Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, long a foe of expanded gambling, tells state Rep. Lou Lang he will “stay out of the way” of Lang’s planned bill to OK four Chicago-area casinos, slot machines at racetracks and more gaming positions at the state’s nine riverboat casinos.

The new casinos would be sited in Chicago, Waukegan, southern Cook County suburbs and near O’Hare International Airport.

Lang says his proposal, about which he has yet to disclose details, could bring the state at least $2 billion a year in gaming taxes. Because the state faces massive budget shortfalls, the governor’s “door is open to listening to ideas,” says a spokeswoman.

Reports were mixed last week on whether Lang’s House bill would find favor in the state Senate. That body might float its own plan into the perennial debate over expanded gambling.

Rep. John Bradley, who sponsored a ban on riverboats that the House, but not the Senate, passed in 2005, doubts Lang’s bill will make it even in the House: “My efforts in 2005 completely shifted the political landscape in regards to the expansion of gambling.”

Adds a spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan, “I just don’t know if the mood in the Illinois House is any different as it pertains to gambling.”

By Casino Connection Staff

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