Lawmakers and gamblers in the state of Illinois make have to wait a few weeks until they learn the fate of a gambling expansion bill which still needs final approval from Governor Pat Quinn. It seems that the governor still hasn’t reached a final decision as he declared on Thursday that he still wants to meet with supporters and opponents of the bill and hear what they have to say.
“It’s a very complicated piece of legislation, and it deserves scrutiny from top to bottom and that’s what I intend to give it,” said the governor. “I think that’s a healthy thing for this state, to make sure the governor looks at every sentence to make sure nothing goes wrong. I want to hear from them firsthand and to ask questions and have them give their opinions and ideas.”
If Quinn approves the bill, it will see the state receive permission to build five new casinos, while new slot machines will be built at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.
The bill has received the backing from a number of interest groups, including the agricultural industry, which has tens of thousands of jobs related to horse racing. Lawmaker and co-sponsor of the bill, Terry Link, said that the governor wanted to know how many people from the agricultural sector were involved. “Some reports show it’s 40,000. What’s the true amount?” said Link. “If we took horseracing out of the state of Illinois, if it went under, how many people would be affected, how much money would affected? Those are the types of things he wanted answers to.”
In the meantime, Senate President John Cullerton said that he would hold the bill in the Senate through a parliamentary maneuver until Quinn tells lawmakers why he objects to the bill, allowing them to create a follow up bill dealing with his concerns. “There’s no sense in giving it to him to veto it,” said Cullerton.
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