Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Rivers Casino staves off new competition, at least until the legislature reconvenes in the fall.
The state’s top-grossing casino won’t face competition from new gaming venues — at least for now. Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed the gaming expansion bill that included five new casinos, including one in Chicago, and slot machines at six racetracks including Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, at Longfellow Elementary School, 715 S. Highland Ave. in Oak Park, on Tuesday. Rivers Casino, 3000 S. River Road in Des Plaines, has generated more revenue than any other Illinois casino every full month since opening in July 2011. In a statement, Gov. Quinn cited his concerns with the bill: substandard ethics, a lack of adequate oversight of the proposed Chicago casino and insufficient funding for education. The legislation does not prevent gaming licensees…
Monday, August 20, 2012
A special legislative session in Springfield last week made no progress. Here, Patch rounds up reactions from local politicians and residents.
No one ever said getting the pension issues inline with Illinois’ budget would be easy. The Illinois General Assembly failed to act at the special session Friday on the matter of the pension debt that is estimated to be anywhere from $80 to $90 billion. The issue is not likely to be acted on again until after the general election. The cost to taxpayers for the session was $40,000. The only vote taken was in the House on Legislators curbing their own pensions. That measure received 54 yes votes, 53 votes opposed, and six votes short of passage. Gov. Pat Quinn, who called for the special session in July, blamed Republican leadership. “Each day we wait to enact comprehensive pension reform, the problem gets worse,” Quinn said in a statement…
Monday, August 13, 2012
Des Plaines’ revenue sharing with state, other communities would change under gaming expansion bill.
In less than three weeks the agreement that requires Des Plaines to pay portions of gaming tax revenue from Rivers Casino to the state and 10 disadvantaged communities could change. Gov. Pat Quinn is reviewing, and is expected to take action on, a gaming expansion bill by the end of August. If passed, five new casinos will open, including one in Chicago, and slot machines will be added at six racetracks. These so-called “racinos” pose a problem for Des Plaines, Mayor Martin Moylan said. “We have problems with the slots,” Moylan said. “They’re going to affect us and affect our bottom line, at Maywood and also at Arlington [racetracks].” Earlier: Mitt Romney chooses Paul Ryan for running mate. In the only agreement of its kind in Illinois, …
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
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If you drove by the city hall over the weekend you may have noticed the U.S. and City of Des Plaines flags at half-staff. The flags were lowered in accordance with an order by Gov. Pat Quinn to fly U.S. and state flags at half-staff on the funeral day of every fallen Illinois soldier, and on the two days preceding that day, according to the state’s website. Flags were flown at half-staff on behalf of Lance Cpl. Joshua E. Witsman, U.S. Marine Corps, from June 8 to June 10, a press release from the governor’s office stated. Witsman, of Covington, IN, was supporting combat operations in Afghanistan when he died on May 30, The Orange County Register reported. A public affairs officer at Camp Pendleton Marine base said the death of the 23-year-…
Andrew
4:36 pm on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
The racetracks are businesses just like the casinos. When a new burger joint opens down the street from an old one, the old one has to try and keep their customers. The catch is, tracks also compete with tracks in other states because gamblers wage on races across state lines. Those other states? Yeah, they have slots at the tracks. Let em diversify so they can compete. more ›