Blagojevich has called for an inquiry into the choice of the Isle of Capri Casino proposal for Rosemont by the Illinois Gaming Commission.

The Gaming Commission has blamed the Governor for not giving them the resources to make complete decisions. Of course, he hasn’t.

If they don’t watch it, the Gaming Commission will be Schillerstered (current Blagojevich target and State Superintendent of Schools).

Regardless of whether the Board has adequate resources, the decision was bound to be controversial and they knew it. Rosemont is a run by Don Stephens, a crony of former Governor George Ryan, and also a man with ties to several figures that have relations with organized crime. In one of the most hilarious pieces on the Outfit since Royko ate at the same restaurant as his favorite target, John Kass details Don’s life as a pool boy to the Giancanas.

Any casino that does business in Rosemont is going to go through Stephens and as such, will be tainted with fears over Outfit connections. To make matters worse, Bernie Goldstein, the head of Isle of Capri, was given a one-way ticket out of Illinois Gaming several years ago.

The other choices in this case were Des Plaines and Waukegan. Waukegan is the case best fitting the need for economic revitalization. Remember originally, the casinos were designed to be tools of economic revitalization in river towns hit hard by economic changes. So towns like East Saint Louis, Peoria, Joliet, and Elgin were naturals. And in several places the strategy has helped.

Des Plaines was the choice of staff. Waukegan was also the favorite of other casino towns because it was farther away from existing casinos. One complaint out of Elgin is that a Rosemont casino will draw a lot of business away from Aurora and Elgin negating some of the impact of the 10th license. I’m not sure this is as serious as some think simply because Rosement would probably be full from travellers and city dwellers who now go to Indiana.

Instead of following the staff recommendation or the community in most need, the board chose the casino spot most likely to raise a lot of money. The question that Illinois Attorney General needs to answer is who is it going to raise that money for: Illinois taxpayers or the Outfit?

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