Quinn faults gambling expansion bill, says he'll act Tuesday

Gov. Pat Quinn wouldn’t completely show his hand Wednesday when it comes to his plans for gambling expansion legislation, but he offered the strongest signals yet he isn’t prepared to sign the measure as is.

Quinn has until Tuesday to sign, rewrite or veto the plan that passed the state Legislature back in May and would permit, among other things, a Chicago casino.

“I will look at it really through the weekend. I probably won’t have a final answer until Tuesday,” Quinn told reporters during an appearance on the South Side.

“But it is a complicated measure. It’s about as thick as the Chicago phone book, and we’re going through it line by line, and we have to because we found some things that need close attention,” the governor said.

Quinn previously has made clear his distaste for the plan and warned supporters not to “hold their breath” on him signing a bill that also would put casinos in the south suburbs, Lake County, Rockford and Danville and permit slot machines at racetracks.

“The most important concern is ethics and integrity and oversight of gamblers and gambling interests, casinos and casino owners. If we don’t have tight regulation and oversight, we could end up with some very bad things for our state, and I always believe the money should go toward education,” Quinn said.

If he uses his amendatory veto authority or simply vetoes it, the plan likely is dead in the state Legislature. Last week, House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) predicted the votes don’t exist to mount a successful override of a possible Quinn veto on the expansion package.