Illinois Governor receives gambling expansion bill

After months of waiting for the guidelines from Quinn regarding changes the governor wanted, the legislators finally revamped the bill earlier this year. The legislation passed both the House and Senate for a second time, and this week, the bill was finally sent to the governor for his signature. Whether or not he will sign the law is not yet known.

"It has been a rocky road for gambling expansion proponents," said Gaming Analyst Steve Schwartz. "The governor has been vague with his intentions on the issue, and lawmakers put together the bill they thought had the best chance of the governor signing. It would be a fair assumption that Governor Quinn will take all of the allotted time to decide whether or not to sign the bill into law."

Now that the bill has been officially sent to Quinn, the governor will have 60 days to act on the legislation. Sources have said the governor plans on taking his time deciding the future of the gaming industry in Illinois. Many lawmakers have supported the bill that will bring thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars to the state, if approved.

At stake if the governor decides to veto the bill, are Lake County, Chicago, and Arlington Park. The legislation would allow slots at Arlington Park, and bring new casinos to Chicago and Lake County.

The original bill called for the allowance of slot machines at Chicago airports. Mayor Rahm Emanuel supported new casinos in Chicago from the time he took office. Emanuel and Quinn have clashed several times in the media over the addition of new casinos in Chicago.

Cullerton was keen to the idea last year that Quinn would veto the legislation, so he used the tactical legal maneuver of staying the bill. That gave Cullerton and his fellow lawmakers time to scale back the legislation that Quinn asserted was too broad. Cullerton is hopeful that Quinn will sign the bill now that the changes have been made.