llinois Gambling Expansion, Online Poker Bill Dead Due to ‘Lost House Staffer’
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn may very well have approved a bill expanding gambling in his state and quite possibly allowing Web wagering as well, if not for a “lost House staffer”.
Quinn said he had reached agreement on “language I could live with” with state Rep. Robert Rita (D-Blue Island), the chief House sponsor but…
The night the legislation was supposed to be written, Quinn said regarding the Legislative Reference Bureau staffer, “the LRB staff member got himself lost. He couldn’t be found.”
And he apparently was never found prior to the state’s legislative calendar deadline earlier this month. As such, the gambling expansion measure is effectively “dead” for the time being.
The bill’s sponsor, Rita, rejected Quinn’s suggestion, saying it was “ridiculous”.
Quinn’s office again reiterated to Phil Kadner of the Capitol Fax that this staffer did indeed get lost.
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The mystery deepens, as Kadner notes: Rita said Quinn telephoned several times in the final days of the session, urging him to call the measure for a vote. That seems strange because Quinn opposed gambling expansion in each of the past two years — once by simply letting it be known he didn’t like the bill and the second time by actually vetoing the measure. In addition, the governor told me (and Rita) that he would not have signed a gambling expansion bill unless the General Assembly passed pension reform, which it did not. - Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com |
