STATE OF THE STATE

Recycling legislative issues serves to lure campaign dollars
by Jennifer Halperin

There's a well-known adage around the Illinois Statehouse that nothing is dead as long as lawmakers are still in Springfield.

If a proposal is defeated in a House or Senate committee, it still can come back to life on the chamber floor. If it's voted down again by the full membership, it can be tacked onto another measure as an amendment during behind-the-scenes negotiations. Then, of course, an idea can be resurrected in the next legislative session.

This process must be frustrating for opponents, as well as proponents, who must reprise their lobbying efforts session after session as they try to beat back or push forward an issue.

But the legislative treadmill can serve lawmakers themselves quite nicely.

That's because as long as an issue stays alive, interested parties must continue to pump money into legislators' campaign war chests in hopes of swaying their votes.

Gambling is a case in point. Seven years ago, the General Assembly voted to issue 10 licenses for riverboat gambling on the state's rivers. The idea was billed as a way to lure tourists and beef up the economies of struggling river towns like Peoria and Alton.

Since the boats were first allowed, measures have been proposed to expand the number of licenses, increase the amount of riverboat profits that flow into government coffers, remove caps on betting losses and allow land-based gambling.

The trend in unfinished business illustrates an undeniable connection between power and money.

And every time the legislature takes up one of these proposals, campaign contributions are sure to flow.

Much of that money will come from gambling interests — riverboat owners hoping to keep their profits as high as possible, for instance, or large casino operators already established in places like Las Vegas and Atlantic City, who would love to build a land-based casino in Chicago. Then there's the horse racing interests who are eager to limit the expansion of casino gambling in Illinois because it decreases their own profits.

As The Associated Press reported this summer, gambling interests donated more than $200,000 this year to legislative leaders' and Gov. Jim Edgar's campaign funds.

Much of that money came from those who don't want gambling expanded in Illinois because it would cut into their profits: Owners of the Empress Casino riverboats in Joliet, for example, gave $55,000 to the four leaders. The company earned more than $200 million in adjusted gross receipts from its two riverboats last year. Meanwhile, the AP reported, the owner of Arlington International Racecourse, Richard Duchossois, and his business and family gave $53,500 to leaders and $3,000 to Edgar.

Gambling isn't the only recurring issue that spurs big contributions. By dangling the threat of further restrictions on a woman's right to choose abortion, with possible penalties for doctors who perform the procedure, legislators are assured continued contributions from the wealthy state medical society.

Last year, the group gave $101,500 to House Speaker Lee Daniels alone, who parcels out money to Republican legislative candidates in an effort to keep his majority in the House of Representatives. So far, such large contributions have helped defeat anti-abortion measures that would threaten physicians. They also could be helpful in retaining a Republican majority in the legislature, which pushed through malpractice award limits last year that had long been sought by the state medical society.

Then there is the recurring debate over reforming the state's formula for funding schools.

The players may change when it comes to support for increasing the state's share of education funding (read state income tax hike), but there's always some movement to do so. Usually it's led by Democrats; this year, Republican Edgar had a change of heart and was pushing for an overhaul of school funding.

So the financial support pours in from the teachers' unions, who support more state dollars for schools, as well as business groups, who ardently oppose any increase in the state's income tax.

Only the hardest cynics would say these issues resurface just so lawmakers are assured of continued campaign contributions. But the tren does illustrate another perennial issue of Illinois politics: the undeniable connection between power and money. 

6 / October 1996 Illinois Issues