POLL: Expand Illinois Gambling?

Image courtesy joelk75/Flickr

A bill to expand gambling in Illinois and authorize a Chicago casino was recently passed by the General Assembly. Now, Governor Pat Quinn must decide whether to sign the bill into law, kill it with a veto, or rewrite and change the legislation.

But BGA followers won’t have to wait for Quinn’s decision. You can weigh in on the gambling issue right now by taking the BGA Online Poll, which asks:

For more information, make sure to check out our Illinois Gaming Expansion Bill FAQ. And find out more about the June 29 BGA Forum on the proposal for a Chicago casino.

POLL: Cut Chicago’s City Council?

Is 50 aldermen 25 too many?

Should Chicago cut the size of its City Council? It’s a conversation the BGA initiated back in December, with a look at council sizes around the country. Last week, Chicago Mayor-elect Emanuel indicated he was open to the idea as a way to cut costs.

Since then, newspaper reporters and columnists have been abuzz about the possibility of reducing the number of aldermen.

Mark Brown and John Kass both took issue with the idea, questioning whether its implementation would result in anything good.

The Sun-Times editorial board also examined the issue, questioning whether cutting the number of aldermen in half would reduce constituent services.

That’s what they’re asking. Here’s what we’re asking: