John Kindt

If, during the last 23 years, Illinois had taxed Big Gambling at rates comparable to other states, then Illinois would have had an additional $35 billion to $56 billion in tax revenues – and no current budget crisis. Distressed by Illinois gambling, former U.S. Senator Paul Simon sponsored the Congressional bipartisan 1999 U.S. National Gambling […]

On Feb. 20, 2013, Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, introduced HB 2375 which he described as “credible, comprehensive, constitutional pension reform legislation.” This constitutional proposal by Rep. Lang may act to the consternation of the many Illinois organizations which coalesced to defeat last November’s Constitutional Amendment 49. CA49 would have eliminated the Illinois Constitution’s protection of […]

Gambling companies arguably owe the Illinois Treasury between $10 billion and $47 billion dollars. The Illinois legislative leadership needs to exercise its integrity and collect these billions of dollars. While an Illinois state senator during the 1990s and thereafter as a U.S. Senator, Peter Fitzgerald, R-Ill., repeatedly joined with a legislative minority to complain about […]

The constitutional amendment to Article XIII on the November ballot is cleverly drafted to concentrate more monetary power in the same Springfield legislative leaders who have de facto bankrupted the Illinois treasury. With $83 billion in projected liabilities, Illinois has the nation’s largest state budget crisis. This “Unlucky Article XIII Amendment” is crafted to strip […]

John W. Kindt, a U of I business and legal policy professor, is an expert on environmental law who has studied the regulation of nuclear power since the 1970s. He discusses the future of nuclear power in the U.S. with News Bureau Business and Law editor Phil Ciciora. The head of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory […]

Becoming law in July 2009, the Illinois Video Gambling Act allowed Illinois more gambling and more video gambling/slot machines (VGMs) than Nevada. This legislation permitted any licensed establishments pouring alcohol to have “mini-casinos” with video gambling — including not just bars, but also truck stops, restaurants, bowling alleys, airport lounges, entertainment parlors, fraternal clubs and […]