Mayoral candidate Susana Mendoza on Friday floated the idea of Chicago airport slot machines. Slots at O’Hare and Midway airports could generate new gambling revenue that would help satisfy a $1 billion spike in pension payments.
It happened during a taping of the WLS-AM (890) Radio program, “Connected to Chicago.” Mendoza was asked where she stood on the issue of video gaming, which is illegal in Chicago.
“It’s not like, ‘Let’s just do video gaming.’ If you’re gonna have it, it has to be targeted and in a responsible way,” Mendoza said.
“I’d be open to slots at the airports, for example, where the tourists are coming. The majority of Chicagoans aren’t hanging out at the airports. But we might be missing out on revenue there that could be available. I don’t want to … expand casino gaming or video poker in communities that already have significant social challenges.”
Mendoza is the third mayoral candidate to suggest some form of airport gambling. Fired Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy has proposed a land-based casino on the secure side of O’Hare — past TSA checkpoints.
McCarthy has argued that confining the casino to passenger gate ares would eliminate “the downside of not being able to control what happens — whether it’s organized crime, prostitution, narcotics or whatever it is.”
You can read more on the possibility of Chicago airport slot machines on the Chicago Sun Times.
