Gambling in Illinois

Imagine if this were to happen in California a few years from now, I think the tribes would be up in arms. I am sure this is much ado about nothing and Illinois has always been a "crazy" state when it came to casino gambling but the legislators are threatening to abolish the industry which is surely making the casino operators "crazy". Also please notice there is no mention about problem gambling in this article; it is all about the money and how to get a piece. Finally, Illinois has the highest tax rate on the operators in the country so it can never be "enough". Here is the article;

Gambling bill frightens East Peoria

EAST PEORIA - City officials Friday considered Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's latest legislative maneuver the equivalent of popping a balloon behind their backs.

It caused no immediate harm and probably will amount to nothing. But Madigan's decision to push a bill to abolish riverboat gambling statewide through the House left local officials contemplating a few choice words in response.

The 67-42 vote was "irresponsible," East Peoria city attorney Dennis Triggs said.

"It certainly is" scaring smaller cities like East Peoria that have come to rely heavily on the local gambling tax revenues the state's nine riverboats provide, City Council Commissioner Harold Fogelmark said.

If that revenue were to suddenly disappear, "The city would survive, but it'd be a serious blow and we'd have to restructure the (city) budget," Triggs said.

Under one scenario, the city would have to nearly double its property tax rate to replace the $4 million it receives annually in gambling taxes from the Par-A-Dice Riverboat Casino, City Administrator Tom Brimberry said. While the money is used only for capital projects and not for general operations, it still amounts to nearly 13 percent of the city's current budget.

Madigan said Thursday the state's Riverboat Gambling Act, which legalized casino gambling in 1991, is "broke" and should be retooled to provide a "fair return" to state residents in exchange for the millions the casinos' owners have made.

"Obviously, we're concerned (the state) would be looking" at abolishing the gaming law, said Rob Stillwell, spokesman for Boyd Gaming Inc. of Las Vegas, which owns the Par-A-Dice. "I think any business would be. We'll be monitoring it very closely."

City officials consider the Thursday vote merely a shot over the bow of the state's riverboat casino industry and don't expect the Senate to even consider a gaming ban.

The vote, however, prompted them to reflect on the impact the Par-A-Dice has come to wield, not only on the city's budget, but on recent and future public/private development projects and the Peoria area's economic health in general.

Nearly three-quarters of the city's usual $4 million share of gambling taxes - another $4 million goes to the city of Peoria - covers annual debt payments on loans the city required for several major projects. Those include EastSide Centre and the coming Embassy Suites hotel and city-owned convention center.

"You'd have to put up a for-sale sign" at the city's EastPort Marina as well, said city Public Works Director Rick Jeremiah.

The remaining $1 million this budget year will pay for new police cars and fire department equipment and further development of the RiverFront Park.

With about 1,000 employees, the Par-A-Dice has become the fifth-largest non-manufacturing employer in the Peoria area, behind the two largest hospitals and colleges, said East Peoria Chamber of Commerce Director Charles Moore.

As a tourist draw, the Par-A-Dice has become the area's driving engine. Millions of dollars in sales and hotel tax revenue now arrive into the area economy with visitors who "intermix" a trip to the casino with other recreational activities, Brimberry said.

And with its boat and adjacent hotel, the Par-A-Dice has an assessed property tax evaluation of $5.5 million, second in the city only to Caterpillar Inc.'s properties.

"Think of the impact that has on the local school and property districts," Brimberry said.