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Blagojevich keeps pressure on House to OK gaming bill

Posted September 18, 2007 11:00 pm

Mike Ramsey

Gov. Rod Blagojevich and a handful of labor leaders on Wednesday tried to rachet up pressure on the Illinois House to endorse a Senate-approved capital spending bill as the governor defended the gambling expansion that fuels the measure.

The group gathered at a Chicago Transit Authority train station a day after the Illinois Senate OK'd a $13 billion plan for infrastructure that would create three new casinos and allow expansions at existing gaming sites. The measure would pay for public construction projects, plus offer $200 million in short-term assistance for financially struggling Chicago-area mass transit. The plan would "support" more than 725,000 jobs, according to the governor's office.

"We will be using our collective strengths to lobby the representatives, many of which we helped elect," said Michael Carrigan, president of the Illinois ALF-CIO. "I don't like to threaten people, but we're going to work as hard as we possibly can."

Blagojevich faced a grilling from reporters about how he could support new casinos - one would be in Chicago - after he previously was cool to the idea.

The governor cited his failed attempt to get the General Assembly to approve a tax on business transactions, which would have funded health care for the uninsured.

"It was shot down with some fanfare," Blagojevich said. "I accept the verdict of those who didn't like that option, and so I'm willing to accept some other ideas. But what I like about this (the gaming expansion) is it's not a tax on people - it doesn't raise taxes on working people."

Blagojevich has rejected calls for a hike in the regional sales tax that helps fund the CTA and its sister transit agencies.

The governor said people choose to gamble, and he would rather they do it in Illinois instead of going to a neighboring state.

The casino-and-capital legislation is expected to get a cold reception from House Speaker Michael Madigan, who has been feuding with Blagojevich, a fellow Chicago Democrat. Madigan's spokesman, Steve Brown, said the Senate plan offers a relative drop in the bucket for mass transit, rather than a long-term funding solution. Blagojevich said lawmakers would have time to agree to a long-range plan if the capital bill gets to his desk.

"It's no accident that we chose this location to talk about the Senate action last night," Blagojevich said at the Western Avenue Brown Line station as commuters zipped past the news conference.

The capital bill would generate $25 billion in construction, once federal and local matches are factored in, the Blagojevich administration said.

Other unions represented at the governor's appearance were the Laborers' International Union and the Chicago and Cook County Building and Construction Trades Council. Jerry Roper, president of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, also voiced support for the capital bill.

Mike Ramsey can be reached at (312) 857-2323 or ghns-ramsey@sbcglobal.net.

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