Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

More Bad News for Illinois Racing

April 7, 2007

A judge in Illinois has struck down a law which sent money from some of the state’s gambling riverboats to the pari-mutuel industry. Will County (Ill.) associate circuit judge Bobbi Petrungaro has ruled that the law, signed by Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich in May 2006, violated the state’s constitution by unfairly targeting the boats in northern Illinois.

Under the law, the boats that gross more than $200 million per year, all located in the northern part of the state, sent three percent of their gross revenues to the state’s racetracks. Riverboat operators in the northern part of the state challenged the law in court by suing the State Treasurer and the Illinois Racing Board.

The Office of the Illinois Attorney General defended the lawsuit brought before judge Petrungaro; the Associated Press reported that a spokesman for the Attorney General’s office said a decision about whether to appeal the decision had not yet been made.