Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Thursday for the first time vocally supported a proposal to expand gambling in Illinois, calling for more than double the number of slot machines and other casino games on riverboats but vowing to oppose adding any other casinos in the state, including Chicago.
Under fire for not setting aside enough new money for education in last month’s budget address, Blagojevich said increasing the number of gaming positions at existing casinos will generate $300 million that he plans to steer specifically for schools.
The governor said that the additional revenue would boost his proposed new spending for prekindergarten through high school by $440 million and that the initiative would help pay for tougher high school graduation requirements he wants instituted across the state, including additional years of math, science and English.
But paying for the school initiative by increasing gambling may open the door in Springfield for talk of a much larger expansion as he and legislators struggle to close a yawning budget gap for the new fiscal year.
Senate President Emil Jones, (D-Chicago) who denounced the $140 million in new education funds Blagojevich initially proposed as a “paltry sum,” has pushed a plan to build more gambling boats in the suburbs and give Mayor Richard Daley the city-owned, land-based casino he covets for downtown.
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Although some politicians might see new prospects for cutting a deal on gambling, the governor insisted that he would veto any gambling proposal that goes beyond the one he put on the table.
“I will oppose any efforts to create new casino licenses,” he said. “I have said consistently for several years now that I’d have an open mind to something that is limited and targeted, that doesn’t alter the landscape of the state. I’ve rejected more casinos. I’ve drawn the line in the sand about that.”
The governor’s plan would increase the number of slots, table games and other positions on riverboats for the first time since they were legalized 15 years ago.
Under the proposal, the state’s 10 casinos, one of which has been shuttered since 1997, would split as many as 24,000 new gaming positions. Currently, the nine active riverboats control 10,800 positions–1,200 for each riverboat.
Campaign position
In February 2002, as a candidate for governor, Blagojevich signed a questionnaire from an anti-gambling group stating he specifically opposed increasing the number of gaming positions at casinos.
But within weeks of winning the election, Blagojevich and his aides began moving away from that position. In 2003, a spokesman said any increase in gaming positions “is moving toward expansion, but not expansion in the same sense that adding more riverboats or more licenses is,” and later that year the governor told the Tribune editorial board that the issue was merely a matter of “semantics.”
On Thursday, Blagojevich said adding gaming positions to help schools was something he now thought was the right thing to do.
“Allowing existing riverboats to add more positions doesn’t bring gambling anywhere it doesn’t already exist,” Blagojevich said. “It’s targeted, it’s limited, it’s directly tied to increasing standards in our schools.”
The additional casino funds would increase per-pupil funding, the lowest amount schools must spend per student, by $240 to $5,204, still less than the amount he promised as a candidate. It also would add $30 million for early childhood education and $30 million to cover the cost of the new high school standards.
Schools would be given additional money for foreign language, art and Advanced Placement classes, vocational training, and combined programs with community colleges.
Yet gambling critics said Blagojevich is breaking his promise.
“When a governor makes a pledge and signs something and then comes out and says it’s not an expansion, [it] is just not acceptable to the citizens,” said Rev. Tom Grey, executive director of the National Coalition Against Gambling Expansion.
Top legislative leaders immediately questioned the viability of the governor’s plan.
Jones told the governor Thursday that he still plans to push forward with a broader gambling package that would include a land-based casino in downtown Chicago and riverboat gambling in the suburbs, Jones spokeswoman Cindy Davidsmeyer said.
A key ally
Blagojevich needs Jones, more than any other lawmaker, as an ally because he was the only legislative leader who consistently provided critical support for the governor’s agenda during last summer’s record, 54-day overtime session.
House Republican Leader Tom Cross of Oswego predicted the governor’s proposal is a “long shot” because of the desires of Daley and Jones and the arguments that will be made by anti-gambling activists and horse-racing proponents. House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) will “take [the proposal] under advisement,” said spokesman Steve Brown.
Blagojevich tried to downplay the gambling aspect of his announcement Thursday at Oak Park and River Forest High School, noting it in the third page of a four-page news release and only halfway through his prepared remarks.
When asked about his gambling proposal, the governor repeatedly discussed his education plan. The plan would increase the number of required classes for high school graduates and mandate that all students take algebra and geometry.
New graduation requirements would add an additional year of math and science, at least two writing-intensive courses, and English every year of high school. To graduate, students would need 18 credits instead of 16.
“High school graduation requirements in Illinois are among the weakest in the nation,” Blagojevich said. “Simply put, we are not preparing our students for college and for the workforce the way we need to.”
Illinois hasn’t changed its minimum graduation requirements for two decades. Students need at least two years of math, one year of science and three years of English.
Most students, including those in Chicago Public Schools, already face the tougher requirements Blagojevich outlined.
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Already, about half of Illinois students must take three years of math to graduate, two-thirds must take two years of science, and three-quarters need four years of English, said State Supt. Randy Dunn.