June 28, 2010
Crain's Chicago Business
By Paul Merrion

It looks like a safe bet that video gambling in Illinois won't come close to producing the nearly $300 million in new revenue expected in the coming fiscal year, putting a big crimp in the state's five-year, $31-billion plan to create about a half-million jobs building highways, schools and other long-term infrastructure projects.

While the number of communities opting out of last year's law allowing video poker machines in Illinois has slowed to a trickle, logistical problems and continuing controversies over licensing and other legal issues are likely to keep the new machines from operating anywhere in the state until fiscal 2011 is almost over.

The biggest unknown is whether Chicago will reverse its long-standing ban on video gambling devices. Supporters are increasingly confident they can get a veto-proof 35-vote majority in the City Council.

"There's strong support, somewhere in the mid-30s in City Council votes," says Greg Goldner, a Chicago public affairs consultant for the Illinois Coin Machine Operators Assn. and the Assn. of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers, which organized Back to Work Illinois, an industry-labor coalition formed to stem the tide of communities opting out of video gambling.

Above are selected paragraphs. To view the entire article, click here.