CHICAGO– Since 1991, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce with our partners the Chicago Federation of Labor and Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau as well as a host of other organizations, such as the Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association and the Illinois Restaurant Association, have tirelessly worked and lobbied for a major economic development project focused on hospitality in Chicago. The passage of SB744 by the Illinois House and Senate expands gaming and moves the city and the state one step closer to collecting millions of dollars that fuel the economic engine of the world’s largest industry in travel, tourism and entertainment.
“Gaming expansion will provide hundreds of millions of dollars to our education system, create tens of millions of dollars in capital projects and put thousands of people to work in good-paying jobs,” says Gerald Roper, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce president and CEO. “Legislators who voted for expanded gaming invested in the education of our future workforce and funded capital projects that create jobs to benefit our current workforce.”
Further evidence of the positive impact and sound strategy behind expanded gaming comes from the Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. In its 2010 report on “Wagering in Illinois,” it indicated the most prominent ideas for improving state revenues include expanded gaming.
“Travel, tourism and entertainment is the largest industry in the world and the fastest growing industry in the United States,” says Don Welsh, president and CEO of the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau. “Expanded gaming enhances our ability to compete with other world-class cities for hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue. Now convention attendees and travelers have yet another reason to choose Chicago.”
Expanded gaming would create an estimated 1,200 to 1,500 new permanent jobs at Illinois racetracks and an estimated $200 million to $400 million capital investment at these tracks, which would support hundreds of trade organization jobs to construct new facilities or remodel the racetracks to operate electronic gaming.
“If properly developed and implemented as a high quality, city-building asset, revenue will not only come from expanded gaming, but also from the overall growth in economic development,” says Jorge Ramirez of the Chicago Federation of Labor. “Expanded gaming will allow us to enhance our competitive edge as a world-class destination and capture new investments and ultimately new revenue to help fund the basic infrastructure and critical social services Illinois residents depend on.”
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