The President of the Illinois Harness Horsemen's Association (IHHA) did not mince words after the Illinois House didn't call for a vote on the gaming expansion bill to install slot machines at the state's racetracks
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Dave McCaffrey, IHHA President and longtime harness racing industry participant, issued the following statement early Wednesday morning through the IHHA website.
There aren't sufficient words to describe how horribly the Illinois horse industry was treated Tuesday night. We feel we have been lied to, double crossed and put away wet.
Here's how Tuesday's actions unfolded: All morning horse industry leaders and lobbyists visited offices of Representatives garnering every last vote we could. At 3pm, House sponsor Representative Lou Lang joined our strategy meeting and informed us that we could be in for a late night and that it was his understanding that the gaming bill would be called for a vote right after the tax increase bill. (The real sad part of this whole thing is that we had our last practice roll call at 6pm and it showed us having 65 votes. 60 was a winner. I never revealed that fact on this site because I didn't want to get hopes up too high.) So, after the tax increase passed, we, as a group, (IHHA, ITHA, race track owners, lobbyists, unions, etc.) were all together watching from the balcony of the House understanding that our bill was next to be called. The next thing you know, the House adjourns and, as a result, our bill dies. There are only a select few who really know what happened. Most Senators and Reps don't know what happened. In fact, Senator Terry Link, a Waukegan Democrat, (who sponsored the bill in the Senate) said in an article in the Arlington Herald, that he was disappointed the legislation was not pushed and did not know why state Rep. Lou Lang failed to call it for action in the House. “Here was $1 billion that could have helped alleviate a lot of problems in the state, and it was within minutes of being passed,” Link said. “And for some various reason, that I have no knowledge of, it wasn't called.”
With those things said, I also can't tell you exactly what happened. What I can unequivocally say is everyone that took part in this effort deserves a HUGE thank you. Our membership lit up phone lines. Our membership changed votes. Our membership won votes that were previously un-winnable. Our membership did all they could to save the game. All along, I said that if we lost, but fought our hardest, we should feel proud and I'm proud to say that the effort was INCREDIBLE. Unfortunately, for whatever reasons far beyond our control, it didn't work out for us.
For those that want it, I
For those that want it, I have a lengthy response from Rep. Lou Lang on what happened and how he intends to move forward.
Thank you very much for your inquiry about the gaming expansion bill. I understand your frustration and, even anger. This is the status and the truth about where we are and how we got here.
I have been working on gaming issues for over 20 years. Those who represent horse racing interests in Springfield, track owners, horse owners and breeders, and other agriculture representatives will tell you that no one has put more of his heart, blood and guts into making something happen for your future and the economic development of our state than me. I have worked on many different formulas to pass a bill over the years but have been unable to get close to the goal we share until this year.
When the bill passed the Senate, the horse racing section of the bill was pretty well written, as it had mirrored language that I had negotiated with the many interests last Spring. However, the parts of the bill relative to casinos needed to be amended in many respects. Accordingly, I spent many long hours negotiating, writing and rewriting amendments to the bill that would be agreeable to as many people as possible in an effort to pass the bill.
Even with all of this, many opposed the bill in the Illinois House. With the hard work of those who were on your side, including myself, some reported that we had as many as 65 members of the House willing to support the bill. Others, however, reported that their conversations with members showed a roll call of more like 55. It takes 60 votes to pass a bill in the House.
I was prepared to move forward all day on Tuesday. At about 3:00, I attended a meeting of lobbyists and others regarding the bill. I told them I was ready to go, but at no time in that meeting did I guarantee that the bill would be called for a vote. Many factors could come into play which would ensure that I would have made no such statement.
As you know, later that evening, in a very difficult and contentious vote, the House voted to impose an income tax increase on the State of Illinois. Once this happened, two things occurred that impacted the decision as to whether to call our bill for vote. First, several members who were going to vote for our bill to help to create new revenue for our state began to comment that since we had voted such a large tax increase, that perhaps gaming revenue was not needed. Second, I received very strong signals from representatives of the Governor that he would not sign our bill. The General Assembly would NOT be in a position to override the expected veto.
Between the probable erosion of our support and the likely veto of the bill, as well as a very difficult atmosphere on the House floor due to several difficult tax votes, I felt was best not to call the bill for a vote.
I have been a legislator for 23 years. I have seen risky bills lose, never to be resurrected and never to come close to passage again. Quite often, members who feel they are sticking their necks out to vote for a controversial bill will only do it ONCE. If the bill failed or was vetoed, many of these members would not give us a second "yes" vote.
This is your livelihood. I am painfully aware of that. But, let no one believe that I am not on your side. I made a judgment based on my knowledge of the process that 23 years can bring., I made this decision based on my desire to make this happen for you. While I do not make my living in horse racing, I can assure you that I was very much in pain over this decision, but let me also assure you that I made it with the best of intentions and in your best interests, so that we would live to fight on.
As a result of this, I will be drafting, next week, a bill that will prove my commitment to the industry. This new bill will take all of the casinos out of the language of SB 737 and will then intend to move forward, in the House, as we intended in the first place...a bill that provides for slots at tracks. The horse racing language will remain intact. This bill will be forward with the greatest speed that can be mustered.
I pledge to do what I always have done-to work hard to help an industry in trouble save itself from disaster. I have put much of my career into this for over 20 years and I will not stop working on this until we have completed our mission.
Rep. Lou Lang
Probably a few members were
Probably a few members were late for a Tea Party.
It is disgusting just how
It is disgusting just how far removed legislators are from horsemen in almost every jurisdiction. Here's hoping that the Illinois horsemen get another chance to be heard.