A familiar tune is back on the Rockford radar screen. A possible casino for the city emerged last week as part of a gambling expansion bill in Springfield. A resolution, passed Tuesday night by the city council, wants Rockford included in that expansion. But some residents don't.
"We were rather diappointed that they voted 10 to 3. It came up a couple years ago. We thought there would be more opposition to it," said Sherri Cultra. She is with the Local Political Action Committee, Concerned Citizens of America. Her group opposes state-sponsored gambling. "32 to 50 percent of all revenue is all pathological gamblers and that causes problems for families and causes monetary problems for cities," Cultra said. But right now, the city council is pushing for gambling. Tuesday night's resolution showed overwhelming support. Those in favor felt the economic benefits outweighed any moral concerns that come with gambling. But even with this support, Springfield isn't ready to help out just yet. "It's probably still a long shot. We're getting this a little too late in the game," State Senator Dave Syverson said. Late in the game because the Senate deadline for approving legislation is Thursday night. Syverson says bets could be on later if the Senate works into the summer. But for now it's likely no deal.