SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois House approved a massive gambling expansion Monday that would bring new casinos to Chicago and the suburbs and slot machines to racetracks and possibly the city’s two airports.
The measure passed 65-50 and now moves to the Senate, which has embraced a series of casino expansion packages in the past, including last December.
Two House members voted “present.”
“It’ll be dramatic help for the economic engine of Illinois, which is the city of Chicago,” said Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie), the bill’s chief House sponsor.
Lang said his legislation, which also would allow casinos in north suburban Park City, the south suburbs and Downstate Rockford and Danville, would generate $1.5 billion upfront in licensing fees. That money could be used to pay down the state’s backlog of unpaid bills, he said.
After that, he said, the expansion would generate another $500 million in gambling revenues, which Lang described as a “conservative” estimate that could drift as high as $1 billion annually.
If the Senate follows suit and approves the gambling expansion, the next big question is what Gov. Pat Quinn will do.
While Quinn favors a city casino, which Mayor Rahm Emanuel has identified as a priority, the governor also has used the term, “top heavy,” when asked about Lang’s legislation and has vowed not to allow Illinois to be transformed into the “Las Vegas of the Midwest.”
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