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Privatizing the Lottery Save Email Print
Posted: 5:12 PM Sep 10, 2008
Last Updated: 5:12 PM Sep 10, 2008

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Illinois' roads need some work. Lawmakers say our roads and bridges are in such bad shape that regular taxes aren't going to cut it. So on Wednesday a house revenue committee approved a plan to privatize the state's lottery and use the money for a new capital plan. House speaker Michael Madigan initially opposed the idea, but last week he outlined a revised plan. His Press Secretary Steve Brown says, "And I think the speaker believes that if we can put enough safeguards in the transaction and in the oversight of the lottery in the future and spending of the money then perhaps this will be a viable plan." If the state's lottery were to be leased to private interests the sale could bring in as much as 10 billion dollars in a very short period of time. That money would be used to fix roads all across the state including West State Street, Main Street, and Alpine Road in Rockford and 173 in Machesney Park. State Senator Dave Syverson agrees that a capital plan needs to be passed, but he says losing the long term revenue that the lottery provides is a bad idea. "It's just a way to raise some quick cash, but in the long run it's the taxpayers that get hurt. They've lost that revenue for years to come, but the politician figures, 'well I'll be out of office then and they can worry about it then.'" Illinois Public Schools are curretnly receiving 600 million a year from the lottery, but supporters of the bill say they plan to allocate money from selling the lottery for future school use. Now that the house revenue committee has approved the plan, the measure will go to the full house for a vote. If it passes there, it will still need to make it through the senate.

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