April 3, 2007

Gambling Action Alert

House Gaming Committee to Meet in Chicago

Rep. Lou Lang has scheduled a hearing of the House Gaming Committee next week in Chicago. The hearing will be held on Thursday, April 12, at 10:00 am at the James R. Thompson Center Auditorium. The Committee will hear Amendment 1 to House Bill 480--Rep. Lang's massive gambling expansion bill. The public will be allowed to testify in opposition to the amendment. You will need to sign a witness slip and limit your testimony to 3-5 minutes. This is a good opportunity for you to speak out if you live in Chicago, the South Suburbs, Waukegan, communities near O'Hare Airport, and in communities near race tracks.

The Amendment makes several changes to the horse racing portion of the bill and still includes 4 additional casino licenses, more gambling positions, and slots at racetracks. (See below)

For Immediate Action

Attend and/or testify at the 10:00 am House Gaming Committee hearing on April 12 at the James R. Thompson Auditorium.
If your Representative is a member of the committee, call and ask him/her to Vote NO on the Amendment to HB 480.
Share this Alert with others.

House Gaming Committee

Chairperson:	Lou Lang
Vice-Chairperson:	George Scully, Jr.
Republican Spokesperson:	Brent Hassert
Members:	Edward J. Acevedo	Suzanne Bassi	Mark H. Beaubien, Jr.
	Richard T. Bradley	James D. Brosnahan	Monique D. Davis
	Kenneth Dunkin	Jim Durkin	Roger L. Eddy
	John A. Fritchey	Kurt M. Granberg	Constance A. Howard
	Charles E. Jefferson	Patricia Reid Lindner	Kevin A. McCarthy
	Robert S. Molaro	Chapin Rose	Angelo Saviano
	Timothy L. Schmitz	Aaron Schock	Patrick J. Verschoore
	Jim Watson	Dave Winters	Karen A. Yarbrough
	Wyvetter H. Younge

Oppose House Bill 480 -- Amendment 1

EXPANDS THE NUMBER OF CASINO LICENSES IN ILLINOIS: 4 additional casino licenses in Chicago, South Suburbs,Waukegan, and a community within 10 miles of O'Hare Airport.

MORE GAMBLING POSITIONS FOR ALL CASINOS: The Chicago casino will have 4,000 gambling positions--more than any other casino. The 3 new casinos will have 2,000 gambling positions. The existing 9 riverboat casinos can purchase up to 800 new gambling positions each and expand 66 percent from the current 1,200 gambling positions.

5 RACETRACKS WILL BECOME LAND-BASED CASINOS: This bill authorizes 3,800 electronic gambling positions (slots) at Illinois racetracks. The racetracks have the option to purchase an additional 380 machines (10 percent increase).

DENIAL OF HOME RULE POWERS: Arlington Heights passed a resolution in 1997 supporting the racetrack but opposing slots at the racetrack. They also have a local ordinance prohibiting slot machines in the village. This legislation would legalize slot machines at the race track in Arlington Heights and give the county 2% of the Adjusted Gross Receipts from the slot machines.

SWEATHEART DEAL FOR OWNERS: The value of a new electronic gambling machine is $200,000, with profits of $30,000 to $40,000 per year per machine. This is a huge giveaway, and the amount the tracks pay per machine has been lowered to $12, 500 each!