Mayor Richard Daley called on 800 business executives Friday to help thwart what he charged was a Republican plot to use the defeat of his riverboat gambling plan to politically isolate the city from the rest of Illinois.
During an impassioned speech at an Executive Club luncheon, Daley told his audience, most of whom live in the suburbs, that the GOP campaign to undercut the city would ultimately threaten the businesses they operate in Chicago.
While Daley was casting State Senate President James “Pate” Philip (R-Wood Dale) as the main villain in his vision of the political drama, the DuPage County Republican leader was making a pronouncement of his own in Springfield.
Philip said the agreement reached last month between Daley and Republican Gov. Jim Edgar to bring five riverboats to Chicago was “dead.” Philip also temporarily pulled back his own competing riverboat legislation and questioned Daley’s sincerity in getting the riverboat issue through the legislature since the Democratic-controlled House has made no progress on the mayor’s plan since its introduction last month.
The rhetoric and the posturing on the issue have reflected the clash of competing interests for hundreds of millions of dollars worth of profits for casino operators and millions of dollars in revenues for government agencies.
It also highlighted a political weakness shared by Daley and Edgar; neither has much influence with their party leaders in the General Assembly, Philip and Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago).
Daley stepped up his rhetoric another notch on Friday, portraying Chicago as the innocent victim of cynical Republican strategists who have linked pro-business reforms to the mayor’s gambling package in order to stall the measure and protect the profits of existing riverboat operations.
“I hope some of you will join me in condemning these tactics,” Daley said, jabbing his finger in the air and waving his arms at the lectern. “This again illustrates how Chicago is being isolated from the state and the region. It’s a trend that threatens not only Chicago’s future, but your long-term future here.
“If you truly believe you can isolate and destroy Chicago, you’re killing your own businesses. Tht’s what you will do if you allow this to prevail. . . . There’s an old tactic. Attack Chicago. `They’re evil!’ That’s the old tactic they used for 50 years in this state. And it will be on your doorstep!”
Daley’s package for five riverboats would bring a projected $300 million a year to local and state government and to public schools.
Philip on Friday decided to extend until January the deadline for the Senate to act on his counterproposal to authorize 10 new licenses to be awarded throughout the state on the basis of competitive bidding.
Philip said he pulled his plan back from a Senate vote so that it would not be immediately crushed in the House by Madigan-controlled Democrats.
He also suggested Daley should look among members of his own party to find out why Chicago’s casino plan is stalled.
“I don’t know how serious the city is. Has anybody seen the city around here? Where are they?,” Philip asked. “They can’t pass the Daley plan in either house, so I would say that his plan is dead.”
