Crime Commission to Fight Legislation Over Casinos

One of the United States oldest citizen crime fighting groups, The Chicago Crime Commission are going to join forces with anti-gambling activists and the government to fight legislation in Chicago. The new legislation will permit Chicago to own a casino and add two casinos outside the city limits. The state of Illinois already owns nine casinos.

The Gaming Board is against the new legislation because they believe that the city is corrupt and cannot handle the new casinos. The commission president James W. Wagner stated; "We're opposed to this level of gambling, and we're opposed to a government-owned casino. There are so many cases and examples of corruption within city government and its law enforcement arm, I don't know how you can say with a straight face the city should be able to man a casino. This was stated referring to recent police corruption scandals. The spokeswoman for the mayor's office decided not to comment on the subject.

The commission has also brought up the fact that the lawmakers have not spoken about the many new employees and police that would be needed if the state expands their gambling industry. The state is wanting to pass the new legislation so they can fund a statewide construction program. House Speaker Michael Madigan from Chicago has stated he will consider a casino for the city and slot machines for the horse racetracks.

Aspokesman for Madigan stated a quote on how he feels about the issue: "As it relates to a city casino, if a proposal can be made that would meet all the concerns and criteria the city would set down, we'd be prepared to support it, slots at tracks is preferable in the minds of some as opposed to just a handout from the state. If horse racing is going to continue to go on in Illinois, then maybe they need to continue on their own and operate on their own," Steve Brown said.

In the next few weeks the legislation could be changed or modified to suit everyone's needs and ideas. With many people for and against the new legislation it will be a difficult next few weeks. There will be meetings in the near future to discuss both sides.