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In 2009, members of the Illinois General Assembly rolled the dice on legislation designed to raise $31 billion for capital improvements.
The revenue would fund much-needed infrastructure projects like repairing roads, bridges and schools. The bill cobbled together funding from a variety of sources, including video gambling machines to be placed in neighborhood bars and a new tax on alcohol.
Last week, the Illinois Appellate Court took away the chips that legislators had placed on its bet that the bill would be a winner. Based on a lawsuit filed by Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz, who also oversees a liquor distributorship, the appellate court declared the law violated the single-subject rule of the state Constitution.
This rule mandates that all parts of a piece of legislation must pertain to the same subject. Lawmakers reasoned that while they may have involved different items, the goal of everything in their bill was to raise money for capital improvements.
The Appellate Court didn’t buy this argument. Gov. Pat Quinn and Attorney General Lisa Madigan said they would appeal the decision to the Illinois Supreme Court, but it’s anyone’s guess how the justices will rule.
The biggest problem with the bill was its reliance in part on video gambling. After the law was passed, municipalities throughout the western suburbs began passing laws prohibiting the machines from being used.
This clearly showed how unpopular this aspect of the law was to many people. To finance a major infrastructure plan by relying on individuals throwing their weekly paychecks into a video poker machine coin by coin was incredibly misguided.
Legislators need to come up with a backup plan for this bill if the Supreme Court rules against the state.
Many of these projects are long overdue and some of the work on them is already under way. But if the courts object to the dizzying manner in which they are funded, the General Assembly must devise a more coherent plan for funding.
In 2009, members of the Illinois General Assembly rolled the dice on legislation designed to raise $31 billion for capital improvements.
The revenue would fund much-needed infrastructure projects like repairing roads, bridges and schools. The bill cobbled together funding from a variety of sources, including video gambling machines to be placed in neighborhood bars and a new tax on alcohol.
Last week, the Illinois Appellate Court took away the chips that legislators had placed on its bet that the bill would be a winner. Based on a lawsuit filed by Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz, who also oversees a liquor distributorship, the appellate court declared the law violated the single-subject rule of the state Constitution.
This rule mandates that all parts of a piece of legislation must pertain to the same subject. Lawmakers reasoned that while they may have involved different items, the goal of everything in their bill was to raise money for capital improvements.
The Appellate Court didn’t buy this argument. Gov. Pat Quinn and Attorney General Lisa Madigan said they would appeal the decision to the Illinois Supreme Court, but it’s anyone’s guess how the justices will rule.
The biggest problem with the bill was its reliance in part on video gambling. After the law was passed, municipalities throughout the western suburbs began passing laws prohibiting the machines from being used.
This clearly showed how unpopular this aspect of the law was to many people. To finance a major infrastructure plan by relying on individuals throwing their weekly paychecks into a video poker machine coin by coin was incredibly misguided.
Legislators need to come up with a backup plan for this bill if the Supreme Court rules against the state.
Many of these projects are long overdue and some of the work on them is already under way. But if the courts object to the dizzying manner in which they are funded, the General Assembly must devise a more coherent plan for funding.
