Illinois Ensures City/County-Owned Casinos

Legislation introduced by Sen. Robert Molaro (D-Cook) provides if any riverboat gaming licenses are issued for Chicago or Cook County, they could go only to the county or municipal governing board. The governing board would then conduct an auction and grant the opportunity to manage the riverboat gaming operation to the highest qualified bidder. Senate Bill 1193 is intended to ensure if there are going to be riverboat casinos in Cook County, they are city- or county-owned so virtually all of the revenue generated by the gaming operations goes to the city or county. Additionally, House Bill 276, legislation to authorize the opening of an unspecified number of additional riverboat casinos, was returned to the House Rules Committee from the House Executive Committee. The measure is unlikely to advance.