Chicago Sun-Times: Union, business leaders team up to push for a downtown casino

Union bosses and business leaders -- often at odds over contracts and work rules -- have formed an unlikely coalition to lobby lawmakers for the one thing they both want: a downtown Chicago casino.

They'll head to Springfield for the fall veto session armed with a slick marketing pitch, selling the idea that a publicly owned, land- based casino would be an economic boon to Chicago's entertainment district, attract more conventions and tourists and boost revenues along State Street.

Chicago Federation of Labor President Dennis Gannon and Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce President Jerry Roper will make for a mighty one-two lobbying punch, with the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau adding even more influence. Greg Goldner, who ran Mayor Daley's last re-election campaign, has been retained to coordinate the effort.

"This is not just something that calls for a land-based casino. This is a long-term economic strategy to bring good-paying jobs and businesses to Chicago," Gannon said. "It's to make us competitive with world class cities because, right now, we're not."

They point to Montreal, Monte Carlo and Vienna as examples of cities that compliment their overall appeal as tourism and entertainment meccas with a place to play blackjack.

"We want to promote [downtown] as a huge entertainment district we have in place already, looking at [a casino] as one component of that," Roper said

Downtown entertainment part of deal

The plan calls for Chicago to collect two-thirds of the gambling profits, with the balance going to the State of Illinois. A casino management company would run day-to-day operations. And part of any deal would require the casino operator to agree to book major entertainment acts at downtown venues, Roper said.

"One should not poo-poo this because if you compare to what there is in Canadian and European cities, they successfully integrate [gambling]. Why can't we? We believe we can," he said.

The heart of the proposal is strikingly similar to Daley's latest pitch for a city-owned casino, which was killed by Gov. Blagojevich a day after the mayor made it public. Blagojevich recently softened his objection to bringing gambling to Chicago, suggesting a Southeast Side site might be a fair compromise.

But Daley has told associates privately that's not an option. If Chicago gets a casino, it must be downtown near hotels and restaurants, City Hall sources said.

State Senate President Emil Jones has said he would push for Chicago casino legislation as part of a gaming expansion package when lawmakers return to Springfield in November.

Contributing: Fran Spielman