There's little chance a bill that would expand gambling throughout Illinois will ever pass, many Illinois legislators said Tuesday.
They include Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Countryside), who when asked if the bill was dead, had a quick answer.
"Yes, it is," he said.
The casino bill is in legislative limbo, being held in a parliamentary move by Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago).
Gov. Pat Quinn last week expressed his intention to veto the expansion bill, which would allow slot machines at airports and horse racing tracks. He said the bill would over-saturate the state with gambling, short-changes education funding and fails to provide adequate oversight for the Illinois Gaming Board.
The bill, approved by the state legislature in May, has never been sent to the governor's desk, an indication that legislators likely knew it wouldn't be signed.
"Send it to the governor. Bring it on. And if they don't want to bring it on, then explain why," Quinn challenged Tuesday.
There had been talk that a revised bill was in the works, but that never materialized.
