Illinois Jobs Alliance (3/11/13)
New gaming legislation will create jobs and revenue
New bill addresses Governor’s concerns
Springfield, Ill. — Last week, Illinois moved a step closer to generating much-needed jobs and revenue after a Senate Executive committee approved Senate Bill 1739, a gaming solution that will help kick start the state’s economic growth.
On Sunday, one of the bill's chief sponsors in the Senate, Sen. Terry Link (D-Waukegan), appeared on Chicago's ABC Channel 7's News Views, calling the bill "a windfall" for the state.
"We still have to give the money to education. We have to give money to the pensions," said Sen. Link during the Sunday morning talk show. "This [the gaming bill] is new money that will be added to those pots."
A gaming solution for more jobs and revenue has been the focal point of the Illinois Revenue and Jobs Alliance (IRJA) since last spring. The IRJA is a growing body of labor organizations, business groups, farming and agribusiness interests, racetracks and horsemen associations, and local municipalities, all committed to a gaming solution that will generate jobs and revenue.
“Nobody says gaming will be the ultimate solution for Illinois’s economic woes,” said former State Representative Bill Black, chairman of the IRJA. “But this bill opens up new markets, spurs new construction, puts people on a job and will lead to economic development. It will also produce new tax revenues for local municipalities and for the state.”
