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Chicago Mayor Touts Casino Plan

ILLINOIS – As reported by the Chicago Sun-Times: "Weeks after dismissing a possible Chicago casino, Mayor Daley dusted off his 2004 plan for a city-owned gambling venue Monday and said it is 'more comprehensive' than the slots-for-schools proposal now pushed by Gov. Blagojevich.

"Daley's unexpected emergence came as the governor and top leaders in the General Assembly have turned to gambling as a means to help plug a deficit of at least $1.2 billion as an end-of-month deadline looms to pass a 2006 state budget.

"The governor wants to double the number of slot machines and table games at Illinois' existing casinos and channel the approximately $300 million that could be raised into the state's public schools.

"On Monday, Daley said his mothballed $1 billion plan for a city-owned, land-based casino in Chicago -- a proposal Blagojevich took all of one day to shoot down last year -- is a more preferable budget fix than what the governor now has on the table.

"…Daley's vaguely worded statement Monday triggered questions at the Statehouse about whether the mayor now intends to marshal opposition among city lawmakers to block any gambling plan that doesn't provide for a Chicago casino…"

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