Bet the Budget
Gambling and the End of Session

If it is spring and the governor and legislators can't agree on a budget to fund state government in the coming fiscal year, talks inevitably turn to increasing revenue from state-regulated gambling.
Unable to agree on cuts in the budget and unwilling to raise general taxes, gambling bills begin to brew. Typically, the discussions include allowing more casinos, increasing gambling taxes, adding slot machines at horse race tracks and adding new gambling venues like legalizing video poker in taverns.

Gaming Giving to Top Recipients, 2003-2004
	Duchossois(2)	Alton/Argosy	Harrah's	Penn Nat'l/Hollywood	Racing Assns.	Total All Gambling donors
House Republican Leader Tom Cross(1)	$122,977	$32,000	$31,500	$40,000	$18,000	$292,977
Senate Republican Leader Frank Watson(1)	$103,406	$14,610	$29,500	$33,500	$11,000	$261,986
Senate President Emil Jones(1)	$52,750	$23,000	$45,000	$22,500	$20,000	$207,750
House Speaker Michael J. Madigan(1)	$14,000	$37,000	$45,000	$32,500	$5,000	$155,300
Rep. Lou Lang	$16,016	$12,000	$8,519	$11,500	$15,000	$95,585
Gov. Rod Blagojevich(3)	$4,000	-0-	-0-	-0-	$22,128	$70,228
Total	$508,727	$326,038	$230,173	$219,000	$161,548	$1,885,443

1 - Includes giving to caucus or party PACs: Figures for Madigan include giving to the Democratic Party of Illinois; for Jones include giving to the Illinois Senate Democratic Fund; for Cross include giving to the House Republican Organization; for Watson include giving to the Republican State Senate Campaign Committee
2 - Giving associated with the Duchossois family includes giving by Arlington International Racetrack ($300,976), Duchossios Industries ($169,750), Chamberlain Manufacturing ($28,000), and Duchossois family members and trusts.
3 - Giving to Governor Blagojevich does not include giving to Move Illinois Forward, a PAC associated with the governor, which reported $15,000 in receipts from Duchossois Industries.

No one is more interested in the debate than the people who own casinos, racetracks and other assorted gambling industries. They also happen to be some of the biggest contributors to political campaigns in Illinois -- a state that does not limit or ban contributions from any of the businesses or individuals involved in these state-regulated industries.

Will this be the year that a gaming bill passes? Session after session, one floats to the surface, favoring one segment of the industry over another. In recent legislative sessions, the unfavored sectors would complain, the bill would grow bigger, and then it would sink of its own weight. But the boats, tracks, and license seekers keep hoping their luck will turn; that one big win will make all their previous risks worthwhile. .

In 2003-2004, gambling interests gave nearly $1.9 million to candidates for state legislative, statewide executive, and appellate and supreme court office. Most of that money went to campaign committees associated with the legislative leaders and the governor, with Republican leadership seeing a clear advantage. Giving in 2003-2004 was down from 2001-2002, when the statewide officials were on the ballot; giving was up 5.1% from the 1999-2000 presidential cycle, the last cycle when only the legislature was up for re-election.

Despite their willingness to make large and regular contributions, the industry has been plagued by battles among its members. Existing casinos, license seekers, and horse tracks are often fighting with each other, unable to agree on a unified proposal to present to legislators. Their disagreements have helped to defeat gambling enhancement packages in recent years. Horse tracks seem unwilling to see existing casinos get additional gaming positions or reductions in their tax rate unless the tracks also get something. Existing casinos are reluctant to allow tracks to get gaming positions. Existing casinos and horse race tracks do not want new competition and have opposed efforts to increase the number of licensed casinos. However, groups are lining up to apply, and are already giving politically.

In 2003-2004, as in cycles past, the tracks gave more than the boats, though the margin was much tighter than it has been. Tracks account for $1,0 million in total giving, up 31% from the last presidential cycle in 1999-2000. Boat interests gave $829,000, up 15% from the 1999-2000 cycle. License seekers gave about $72,000, while other gaming interests, including manufacturers of gaming equipment, gave about $14,000.

Central to any gaming bill, it seems, is a budget stalemate. If the state had the revenue and resources to fund its priorities without the revenue that a gaming bill promises, the tenor of gambling debate would be much different. As long as there is no budget agreement in sight, gaming will be on the horizon.