Former Illinois Governor: Say no to more casinos

Ex-Gov. Walker to current Gov. Quinn: Say no to more casinos
MICHAEL SNEED

Forgeddabout it!

Former Gov. Dan Walker, 89, has some advice for Gov. Pat Quinn: Stop a move to build a casino in Chicago!

“It’s outrageous” Walker said. “Thousands of innocent people get hurt by casinos: mothers, children and old people who become victims of gambling addictions.

“What are Mayor [Rahm] Emanuel and [House Speaker] Mike Madigan and [Senate President] John Cullerton thinking? If Gov. [Pat] Quinn signs this legislation on gambling, we’ll be second only to Nevada in gambling.”

† The upshot: Walker, who was Illinois governor from 1973 to 1977, is so strongly anti-casino, he tells Sneed he has just completed writing a book, The Unique Illinois Quartet: Gamblers, Mobsters, the Machine and Corrupt Pols.

† The backshot: Yipes! In case you are wondering what cachet a former convict has to write a book about corruption, Walker — who served 18 months in prison for a bank fraud conviction in 1987 unrelated to his time in office — has spent decades doing good works and penning more than a dozen books.

† The buckshot: “Backing a casino continues to spread the already too prevalent feeling in Illinois that gambling is OK,” he said. “It encourages people to look the other way and corruption goes with it. Trust me. It’s bad business for Illinois.”

† Back story: Walker says his book details the history of gambling in Illinois from the time of the Mississippi saloons in the 1800s to the present. “It’s a very sordid story, but it’s fun.”