Gov. JB Pritzker checked most of the boxes on his legislative agenda by the end of the spring session in the Illinois Capitol, but he didn’t get the gambling regulation revamp he pitched to lawmakers that would’ve taken important decisions on the state’s multibillion-dollar betting industry outside public view.
State lawmakers adjourned for the summer without advancing a bill to merge the Illinois Gaming Board with the state Racing Board under a streamlined Department of Gaming Regulation and Enforcement — one that’s not subject to open meetings that are accessible to the public and press.
Both the existing boards meet publicly to deliberate lucrative gambling licenses and disciplinary matters pertaining to an industry with historic ties to organized crime.
For years, officials have batted around the idea of merging the boards for efficiency’s sake, as the state’s horse racing industry has shriveled to just two struggling tracks, while the gaming board’s jurisdiction has ballooned with a slew of new casinos, video gambling terminals and the booming sports betting market.
The plan Pritzker presented as part of his budget proposal would’ve eliminated their appointed boards and taken the unified agency’s discussions behind closed doors, which his office said would “improve efficiency, strengthen accountability and ultimately better serve the public.”
But the idea didn’t fly with key legislative leaders. Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, said Pritzker’s team would have to spend more time “educating our members on why it’s needed.”
“There was no appetite for it,” Welch said. “I’m not saying it’ll never get done. I just think that some of these things really take time.”
The potential merger left major questions for his caucus, Welch said, including, “Where’s this coming from? What’s the rationale for it? It seems new and [seems like it’s] being rushed.”
“Our caucus in particular likes to make sure we take our time and thoroughly vet issues, and we certainly felt like we didn’t have the time to do that with this particular issue, and so we slowed it down,” Welch said.
“I was really honest with the governor, the Senate president [Don Harmon] was very honest with the governor, that that one was going to take some time, that we really needed to sit and go through the pros and cons. Our members just felt like they needed a lot more information than what they had.”
State Sen. Bill Cunningham, the South Side Democrat who shepherds gambling legislation in his chamber, agreed.
“While the state could benefit from the consolidation of administrative functions, there was concern among legislators about the lack of transparency that could result from eliminating the oversight that is currently provided by the appointed members of the gaming and racing boards,” Cunningham said.
“The administration agreed that it is important for some oversight to be in place,” he added, “but an agreement was not reached on what exactly that should look like.”
Cunningham said they could revisit the topic during the fall veto session or next year.
Pritzker’s office had no immediate comment.
The gaming board has been beset with transparency and regulatory troubles under Pritzker and his top gaming administrator, Marcus Fruchter, as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times over the last few years.
Among them: Bally’s Chicago casino using D & P Construction Co., Inc., for waste hauling on its River West construction site even though the FBI has said the company was tied to the mob.
Fruchter wouldn’t answer questions about a video gambling figure — former GOP governor candidate Rick Heidner — accepting a campaign contribution from a D & P executive and acknowledging he’s used the garbage company over the years for his business interests.
Fruchter has also declined to explain why a clout-heavy banker with alleged unsavory associations was licensed for video gaming after the agency’s staff initially expressed serious concerns.
A billionaire, Pritzker has had casino investments, but he and his aides have refused to provide details on how vast those holdings have been.
It’s well known that, until the time he was first running for governor, Pritzker owned a piece of the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin, which he has since sold off.
One or more trusts benefiting Pritzker also once held interests in casinos in Indiana and the Niagara Falls area — the latter while partnering with the Bluhm family who have since been involved in Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, according to public records and published accounts.