Taxpayer watchdog doubts new casinos in Illinois

After a new report indicating profitability of new casinos, a watchdog group in Illinois said that they could cost local taxpayers billions of dollars.

US.- The news that a Chicago casino may not be as profitable as initially expected has revolutionised Illinois. A watchdog group said that betting on new casinos in the state could be a wrong move, as it argues that they could cost taxpayers billions of dollars.

The Civic Federation of Chicago talked about new casinos in Illinois after a new report indicated that a casino in Chicago may not be financially feasible. The watchdog’s President Laurence Msall said that other places in Illinois could lose money with the new casinos. He says that taxpayers could end up paying billions of dollars because of it.

“We waited, we went into a dark room. We basically were told, ‘it’s this or nothing!’ And that’s what’s thrown on the taxpayers,” said Msall, according to FOX32.

“We’ll be working together to make sure that gets done,” Governor J.B. Pritzker said. He added that the sponsors of the approved bill will work with his administration and with the local gaming board.

The Civic Federation argues that it has spent US$1.7 billion to help the projects that were supposed to be funded by legalised video gambling machines and the local lottery. “It’s a scary time for governments. It’s a scary time for people who would like to see our governments stabilize. We’d like to see more transparency,” Msall said.