Bill For New Casinos Soon To Land On Quinn's Desk
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CBS) -- A bill that would create five new casinos in Illinois will likely land on Gov. Pat Quinn's desk by the end of the month.
Once Quinn has the bill, he will have 60 days to decide what to do with it.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's John Waelti reports
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As WBBM Newsradio's John Waelti reports, the bill under consideration would add a city-owned, land-based casino to Chicago with enough capacity for 4,000 gamblers.
Illinois' 10 existing casinos could also expand under the bill.
The state could bring in up to $1 billion annually from the casinos, but Quinn has been critical at past attempts at gambling expansion. Given his concerns about the ethics of gambling, experts say his support could be tenuous for this bill as well.
After the Illinois General Assembly passed the bill earlier this month, Quinn did not directly answer the question of whether he would sign the bill.
"If I stand up for doing it right, having integrity, having oversight in every part of government – whether it's gambling or anything else, then the people will be, I think, happy with my work as governor. My conscience says that when I come to any issue in government, that we must have integrity – strong, no-nonsense ethics standards – and if we apply that again and again, we'll be a better state," Quinn said on June 1.
Both houses of the Illinois General Assembly passed a similar bill last year, but never sent it to Gov. Pat Quinn, knowing he would veto it.
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