Collins explains 'no' vote on gaming expansion

SPRINGFIELD — State Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins (D-16th) issued the following statement after voting against Senate Bill 1739, the gaming expansion package that passed the Senate today:

I have strongly and consistently condemned the devastating education cuts proposed by Gov. Quinn.

But I cannot condone replacing this money at the expense of families destroyed by gambling. At a time when government must act responsibly to protect its citizens and preserve core services, we should not rely on the financial irresponsibility of our own residents (and those of other states) to meet needs. To do so would be not only immoral, but self-defeating, requiring greater expenditures to assist the children and families who suffer when we make excessive gambling a more omnipresent temptation. This legislation does just that, offering vast new opportunities to wager one’s livelihood. None of the ethical safeguards advertised as improvements on earlier versions alters its ultimate and intended effect — to encourage more gambling in our state, particularly in its largest city.

The bargain we were offered today — gaming expansion in exchange for filling the threatened $400 million hole in the K-12 and higher education budgets — is a deceptive one. It promises to dull the urgency of our budget crisis without requiring lawmakers to make tough decisions and spread the pain equitably, taking into account the needs of the most vulnerable among us. It is a short-sighted fix, and I hope my colleagues in the House and the governor possess the courage and wisdom to reject it.