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Lawmakers seek answers about Illinois Lottery’s manager deal

As the Illinois Lottery gets closer to finalizing a deal with a new private manager, some lawmakers are frustrated with the lack of details being provided to th...

CHICAGO (AP) — As the Illinois Lottery gets closer to finalizing a deal with a new private manager, some lawmakers are frustrated with the lack of details being provided to the public.

The lottery announced in September that Camelot Illinois would replace the state's current private manager, Northstar Lottery Group, the Chicago Tribunereported.

Records show the deal would include bonuses to the private firm for exceeding various profit levels, but the proposed amount of those incentives isn't included. Camelot requested that the lottery keep some parts of the proposal private.

Officials of the firm say releasing all information in the bid would show competitors the company's proprietary information.

"Disclosing those details today would put our $10 million investment at risk," company officials said. "Such information is allowed to be redacted by law in Illinois and other jurisdictions."

The redacted records the state released give the public until Friday to protest the contract. Some state lawmakers said they question how the public will evaluate the deal without dollar amounts.

"I think it's an outrageous process because nobody can tell me and nobody can tell the taxpayers that this is a good deal based on any type of metrics," said Rep. David McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills.

Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, also questioned why those details haven't been made available.

"It is a significant issue that requires much analysis," Lang said. "This analysis cannot be properly accomplished without all of the information and data."

The lottery's selection of Camelot comes nearly three years after then-Gov. Pat Quinn fired Northstar Lottery Group in 2014. Northstar was fired for a second time during Gov. Bruce Rauner's renegotiated termination deal in 2015.

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