Mayor Scott Eisenhauer heads back to Springfield today hoping to help convince the Senate Gaming Committee to pass a bill allowing more casinos. ‘’I’m hoping to get approval at the Senate level, and then we’ll see once it’s delivered to Speaker Madigan whether or not it’s ever called in the House,’’ says the Mayor. ‘’So certainly not a done deal, but this is the first step in what is typically a long process to try to get a bill passed as it relates to gaming expansion in Illinois.’’
Asked whether there are still parties interested in putting a casino in Danville since video gaming parlors have become so popular, Mayor Eisenhauer replied, ‘’We do, and I think the big difference is casinos are designed to be entertainment and to be an experience. You don’t go into a video gaming café for the experience or for entertainment. That’s typically where casinos rise above where you might find video gaming. The other avenue that is very obvious is video gaming does not provide any type of table games that many people are very interested in.’’
The Mayor has always opposed putting video gaming parlors in Danville. ‘’And that may seem a little counter-productive. Here I am going to Springfield in order to try to get a casino here in this community, while at the same time saying we don’t want to expand video gaming in our community,’’ says Eisenhauer. ‘’The difference is economic development and job growth. Video gaming does not create jobs. Casinos create a significant number of jobs that pay very well. That’s the difference between the two.’’ It has been estimated that a casino in Danville would bring around 750 new jobs to the city.
The Senate bill being considered would allow new casinos in Danville, Rockford, south-suburban Chicago, and in Williamson County near Marion. Mayor Eisenhauer expects it will be a long process to get the legislation approved. He does not expect final action on it until this summer.
