Gov reneges on pledge, takes gambling money

Gov. Blagojevich pledged during his campaign that he wouldn't take contributions from gambling interests, according to a survey that bears his signature. But nearly two years into his term, Blagojevich has accepted nearly $250,000 in cash and free air travel from the horse-racing industry -- a sum that raises questions about where his flirtation with gambling as a fix for the state's cash woes might lead. After building some steam, legislation to create a Chicago casino license, two more casinos and provide at least $100 million in subsidies to horse racing hit a wall in Springfield last week. Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago) had lawmakers buzzing when he said Blagojevich was backing a Chicago casino, but the governor promptly called Jones' assessment premature and maintained he wanted to keep an open mind on the issue. "Because we've never been able to meet with Gov. Blagojevich . . . I go by his public comments, and it's somewhat schizophrenic," said the Rev. Tom Grey, a Rockford resident who heads the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling. "He says one thing that makes you think he's completely aware of the corrupting power of what gambling does. On the other hand, he alludes that he's opening the door to it. "This money that he's taking, it's another indication of an opening . . . especially who it's from and how much it is." So far, the hundreds of thousands of dollars track owners and horsemen have given Blagojevich and other state lawmakers hasn't sparked the Legislature to allow slot machines at tracks. So Grey's comments surprised a Blagojevich administration source, who noted that the governor has been "a friend" to the grassroots anti-gambling movement. Blagojevich on Feb. 17, 2002, signed a survey from ILLCAP, Illinois Church Action on Alcohol Problems. The question above his signature on the one-page document reads "Will you accept campaign contributions from gambling interests?" Blagojevich -- or someone from his campaign -- circled "No." Says it was an oversight Blagojevich said that pledge is broader than what he intended because he draws a distinction between the "outdoor, pastoral, historic" flavor of horse racing, and the calculated, house-wins-most-bets nature of casinos. The fact he signed off on such a sweeping pledge in a candidate questionnaire was an oversight made in the hectic days before the March 2002 Democratic gubernatorial primary, the governor said. "That was probably a questionnaire answered by a staffer during the campaign when I was out campaigning somewhere. He or she probably thought it reflected my views," said Blagojevich, who didn't address how his signature got on the document. As to his real views, the governor said he sees nothing wrong with accepting horse-racing contributions. "I view it as a different kind of industry. It's been an industry that's been here a lot longer. It employs 40,000 people who work in Illinois," he said. "I equate it a lot like baseball, our national pastime -- outdoors, pastoral. It's historic. And unlike baseball, the horse-racing industry has been struggling. It hasn't been able to have a renaissance like baseball has had." Draws a distinction With casinos, "people go, and they bet on these games that aren't as sports-oriented. . . . You wouldn't call it the human dynamic, but the performance of a horse and a jockey and all those things. They bet, and all the profits go to the house. It's not being divided by the winners of the bet [like with horse racing]." For his part, the governor has not accepted money directly from casinos that do business in the state. Besides the $247,398 he's gotten from horse-racing interests, he's accepted $7,000 from Donald Trump, who has a riverboat in northwest Indiana, and $55,000 from the Pritzker family, which owns a stake of Elgin's Grand Victoria riverboat. Most horse-racing contributions to the governor are linked to the families that have controlled the state's biggest tracks: the Johnstons (Balmoral and Maywood parks); the Bidwills (National Jockey Club at Hawthorne Race Course); the Careys (Hawthorne); and the Duchossois family (Arlington Park).