The plan for the construction of a casino in Springfield, Illinois is hanging in the balance after a House committee failed to add a proposed amendment to an existing casino expansion legislative piece.
Said amendment to Senate Bill 7 was considered by the House Rules Committee on Sunday. The bill is set to be heard by the House Executive Committee later today. If the Springfield casino proposal had been approved by the Rules Committee, it would have been eligible for consideration by the Executive Committee. This means that the proposal for a casino in the Illinois capital will have to be discussed on a separate occasion in future.
Sponsored by Sen. Dave Syverson, SB 7 was passed by the Illinois Senate earlier in May. The bill provides for the construction of up to six land-based casinos around the state. Currently, casino gambling is only provided on riverboards.
Under the legislative proposal, casinos will be built in Chicago, the Chicago metropolitan area, Danville, Lake County, and Rockford. According to supporters of the proposed casino industry expansion, these particular locations will draw customers from Indiana and Wisconsin and will retain customers who travel to the two states to gamble.
The Springfield amendment to SB 7 was submitted by Rep. Tim Butler. Commenting on its failure, the lawmaker told local media that a proposed Springfield casino is not likely to get the nod during the Legislature’s spring session. Lawmakers are adjourning on Wednesday, May 31. Any legislative effort presented after that date will have to gain support from three-fifths of the lawmakers in the two legislative chambers.
State Sen. Terry Link revealed that he might submit a bill that would be focused solely on the establishment of a casino in Springfield. However, the legislator pointed out that he would wait until action was taken on SB 7 in the House. Having been approved in the Senate, the casino expansion bill will now have to pass the Legislature’s lower chamber in order to be signed into law.
According to Springfield casino proponents, a gambling venue in the city will be able to generate up to $25 million in tax revenue for the region and will create between 600 and 800 new jobs.
Tax revenue is what exactly stands behind Illinois’ casino expansion effort. The state has been locked in a heavy budget impasse for the past two years. The addition of land-based casinos to the state’s gambling industry was seen as a possible solution to the problem. Earlier this year, SB 7 was part of a larger legislative package addressing the issue, but was later on separated and discussed as an independent piece of legislation. Under the bill, land-based casinos will be taxed at 16% on table games and at 20% on gaming machines.
