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Illinois Governor Won't Veto Video Poker Bill

"The first-term Democrat, in a wide-ranging interview with the Associated Press, also said he asked newspapers statewide to run a letter in which he tells lawmakers what he wants in the state budget.

"Blagojevich scoffed at the notion his letter would anger lawmakers who increasingly criticize him for trying to pressure them with public opinion while refusing to engage in the nitty-gritty of Statehouse politics in Springfield.

"…Sitting in the library of his Chicago home on the city's northwest side, Blagojevich discussed a package of gambling proposals pending before the Legislature, the state's roughly $5 billion budget deficit and a governing style that relies heavily on campaign-style rhetoric while drawing criticism from lawmakers for its lack of specifics.

"…The package of gambling bills calls for giving Chicago its own casino, legalizing video poker machines in bars and restaurants, and allowing hundreds more slot machines at riverboat casinos while also putting thousands of slots at horse tracks for the first time.

"…The video poker proposal, which has floated around the Capitol for years but was recently resurrected by House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, troubles Blagojevich the most.

"…`The idea that every neighborhood bar would have video poker machines and then the working guy goes there after work and gets hooked on something where he's spending all of his money and then can't afford to send his kids to school and make ends meet, I'm troubled by that,' Blagojevich said.

"The governor, who has recently softened his opposition to gambling expansion by saying he won't rule out an 11th casino license for the state, would not say if he would veto a bill that legalizes video poker machines. While he is willing to hear lawmakers' arguments for and against the bill, he said their job could be hard…"

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