This is the year to expand casino gambling

If the Illinois Legislature is ever going to pass a casino expansion bill, the odds are good this is going to be the year.

Both the state and Chicago are facing major financial problems that will be worsened if the Illinois Supreme Court rules, as expected, that they can’t alter pension benefits without negotiating changes with public employee unions.

State Rep. Robert Rita, D-Blue Island, who has become the guru of gambling in Illinois, is sponsoring two bills. One creates a Chicago mega casino that would share revenue with Cook County and the south suburbs, and a second calls for five more casinos, including a smaller Chicago casino and one in the Southland…Please click here to read Phil Kadner’s column in the Tribune/Daily Southtown.