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A Daley Double On Casino, O'Hare May 9, 2003

SPRINGFIELD -- Lawmakers got a taste of Chicago cuisine spiced with Chicago clout Wednesday as Mayor Richard Daley's initiatives to expand O'Hare International Airport and possibly snag a new casino were being pushed to the forefront of the legislative agenda.

Before leaving on a day trip to the Capitol to promote city restaurants and tourism, Daley took the wraps off a legislative proposal that would rubber-stamp his ability to expand O'Hare. At the same time, Gov. Rod Blagojevich, acknowledging Daley's interest in a city casino, hailed Chicago as a "very compelling place" for a gambling palace.

Meanwhile, state Rep. Louis Lang (D-Skokie), chairman of the House Gaming Committee, unveiled a kitchen-sink proposal that would not only give the city special rights to own a casino but would also increase gaming positions at existing casinos, add slot machines to horse- racing tracks and legalize video-poker machines in restaurants and bars.

It is unlikely the package, which also would reduce taxes on the industry, would pass in its entirety, but it could serve as a starting point on talks over what, if any, new gaming options will be considered by lawmakers. The convergence of Daley's search for new city revenues and Blagojevich's desire to close a massive state budget gap with more dollars wrung from so-called sin taxes introduced a new dynamic into the final scheduled weeks of the legislative session.

A day after Daley said city officials were seriously looking into a land-based gambling establishment, Blagojevich attempted to walk a fine line between his campaign pledge not to expand gambling and his need to find quick dollars to help balance the state budget.

While again maintaining that expanded gambling was not his idea, Blagojevich said it would be "irresponsible" not to listen to lawmakers about the revenue-raising potential of gaming to help avoid the need to hike income or sales taxes. "It's too early and too speculative to start speculating on what I might or might not do," Blagojevich said, adding that Daley's push for a casino "sort of caught us a little bit by surprise."

There are currently nine operating casinos in Illinois, with a 10th license held by the bankrupt Emerald Casino Inc. in limbo. Blagojevich has long said he would prefer that Chicago try to obtain the Emerald license if it wanted to get in the casino business. His budget-balancing plans count heavily on auctioning off that license as well as imposing higher taxes on the most profitable riverboats

"My principle in this is working to get the most money for the taxpayers, for the state, for schools and for health care and for public safety and other needs of the state," Blagojevich said. Chicago, he said, "certainly would be a very compelling place in the marketplace for that last 10th license during the bidding process, and I would imagine [the city] would make a very strong argument if, in fact, that is what the interests of the city leaders are."

Even so, the governor left open the possibility he would approve an extra casino license for Chicago if the legislature signed off on it. To accomplish casino gaming in Chicago, lawmakers would first have to remove a current ban on locating riverboat gaming in the city. Moreover, Daley wants a land-based casino for the city, requiring another legislative change.

Daley said in Springfield that the "river is too tight" for a floating casino because "these things are huge." The city's proposal comes "at the right time," given the financial problems in Springfield and belt- tightening in Chicago because of the poor economy, Daley said. "The state gets huge taxes and [the revenue] we receive for schools and parks is enormous," he said.

Senate GOP leader Frank Watson of Greenville said legislative approval of more gambling was possible given the state's poor fiscal condition and dire need for revenue. "It's a strange time in Springfield," he said. "This is when things get crazy around here."

The O'Hare legislation would remove the ability of future governors to block expansion of the airport, something the mayor was unable to accomplish in Washington, D.C., due to opposition from U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R-Ill.). The bill also would hinder efforts by the airport's anti-expansion neighbors to stall the $6.6 billion project.

"We tried for a year and a half to persuade Congress to pass legislation allowing O'Hare to be modernized," Daley said at a City Hall news conference before departing for Springfield to meet with Blagojevich and lawmakers. "Concentrating our efforts on the Illinois General Assembly makes more sense because it solves the problem directly, not indirectly, as a federal bill would."

Under current law, the governor's Transportation Department has veto power over new runways and also must process city applications for federal airport grants. The legislation would remove those requirements, effectively giving the federal government sole authority over the city's plans.

Blagojevich, a Democrat, supports the O'Hare project, and the Democrat-controlled legislature is likely to go along. But Daley wants the legislation to ensure that no future governor can step in to stop it. The measure also would prohibit suburbs bordering O'Hare from seeking to condemn airport land or use zoning or other municipal powers to block the project.

It would also require any legal challenges by opponents to be filed in Cook County Circuit Court instead of courts in suburban counties. Critics of the proposed expansion characterized the legislation as the latest example of Daley trying to ramrod approval of his pet projects without any respect for due process.

"The mayor tried and failed to steamroll this project through Congress," said Joe Karaganis, attorney for the anti-expansion Suburban O'Hare Commission. Other provisions in Daley's legislative package would remove any question about the city's ability to condemn land occupied by two cemeteries within O'Hare's footprint and relocate them.

Quick-take condemnation power would be granted to the city under the bill, but only for land within the boundaries of the expansion proposal originally announced by Daley. If any other property is sought, it will be through negotiated purchase or "ordinary condemnation," said Michael Schneiderman, an attorney who represents the city on airport issues.

Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson expressed doubt that the city's desire for land would end at the boundaries of the proposed expansion. "Mayor Daley has said many things in the past that he has changed his mind on in the future," Johnson said. "I would trust him as far as I could throw Meigs Field."

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