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Legislative Update

March 26, 2008

State Representative Jay Hoffman, D-Collinsville, said Wednesday that if the Illinois Legislature doesn’t approve a measure this year that bolsters the state’s struggling horse racing industry, live racing could be a thing of the past.

One pending measure would subsidize the horseracing industry with money from the state’s casinos. That’s part of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s massive "Illinois Works" program of statewide infrastructure improvements, which has stalled in the Legislature amid bitter in-fighting among state leaders.

"This bill would have provided for funding to ensure the viability of Fairmount racetrack," Hoffman said Wednesday during a press conference at the track.

"Some of the capital for the bill would help provide for viability and save jobs (at the track). It's been a staple in our community. Something the people in our community have relied for raising their families, making sure they can work, putting people to work as well as for the entertainment value of live racing."

The bill passed the Senate in September, but has opposition in the House, where Blagojevich has been at odds with legislative leaders. Hoffman, a key Blagojevich ally in the Legislature, has been pressing for passage of the measure.

“It's a bill that would have created a $25 billion capital program for roads, bridges, economic development and schools and would have given us a leg up on this economic downturn,” said Hoffman.

The pending Senate bill is one of several competing economic plans that would include help for the struggling horse racing industry, including proposals to subsidize the tracks by leasing the state lottery to private investors, or allowing slot machines at the tracks.