The Illinois Senate passed the Illinois Gaming Bill Wednesday 32-20.
The bill would allow five new casinos to open up in the state, and one of them would come to Chicago. It would also allow for 900 slot machines at racetracks outside of Chicago. That's where the Quad City Downs comes into play.
The Quad City Downs would see live horse racing again if the bill passed. The Downs hasn't seen live horse racing since Jumers opened up in Rock Island back in 1992-93.
This same bill came up in the state legislature last year, and State Senator Mike Jacobs voted no on it, but this year, he has changed his mind. Jacobs told us that the bill is finally "soup" this year. He says it wasn't "soup" last year.
The bill still needs to go through the Illinois State House. The bill has to be on the Governor's desk by May 31st, but he has vetoed two bills like this before.