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Illinois Received $9.6 Million from Gambling Interests

CHICAGO, Illinois – (PRESS RELEASE) -- In just the last decade, gambling interests have given more than $9.6 million to Illinois political campaigns, according to an examination of political campaign contributions by racetracks, manufacturers of gaming equipment, casino owners, and those seeking casino licenses.

The full briefing by the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (ICPR) and the Sunshine Project can be found at ICPR's web site ( http://www.ilcampaign.org ).

With the General Assembly poised to debate an expansion of gambling next week, the briefing identifies the recipients of the largest gambling industry contributions in the last two election cycles.

"Horse racing and casino interests are some of the largest players in this state's wide open political game," said Cynthia Canary, Director of ICPR. "Even though the gambling industry is regulated by state government, Illinois has neither a ban or even reasonable limits on the amounts of money that can be contributed by members of the industry to political campaigns."

Both ICPR and the Sunshine Project (located at the University of Illinois at Springfield) are non-profit, non-partisan projects that work to increase public awareness of how political campaigns are funded in Illinois.

For additional information, visit the ICPR web site -- the most complete source of information about major contributors to officeholders and candidates. The web site ( http://www.ilcampaign.org ) includes the searchable Illinois Sunshine Database, which permits easy access to complete information about candidates' and political parties' receipts and expenditures.

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