Sending former state Rep. Luis Arroyo pleaded guilty to one charge of wire fraud in November, and is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 18. Arroyo has acknowledged that he offered a member of the Illinois Senate monthly payments of $2,500 to support a bill supported by a sweepstakes firm that hired Arroyo as a lobbyist. 

At an hourslong hearing Thursday, the public got a look at what a Chicago casino might look like and where it would go.

A furious round of lobbying is happening behind the scenes at City Hall over the proposal to allow the Bears, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks and Sky to operate sportsbook operations on their home turf.

All bets are in. The state’s gaming commission chose which developers will be allowed to build new suburban casinos — and where. This comes nearly two-and-a-half years after the state’s gambling expansion law passed.

Sports betting, casinos, and COVID-19 bills in Springfield. Our politics team weighs in on that and more.

The former member of the Illinois House told a federal judge Wednesday that he offered a member of the Illinois Senate monthly payments of $2,500 to support a bill supported by a sweepstakes firm that he worked for as a lobbyist.

Late Wednesday, the Illinois House of Representatives approved a measure that would repeal a law requiring parents and guardians be notified before their minor child can have an abortion. The measure now heads to Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Figures released Tuesday by the American Gaming Association, the casino industry’s national trade group, show the nation’s commercial casinos took in over $11.1 billion in the first quarter of this year.

The coronavirus means Sunday’s Super Bowl will be different this year. But something else about this year’s matchup is new: You don’t have to travel to Las Vegas to legally bet on it. 

Mayor Lori Lightfoot took the first step Thursday toward making the long-planned Chicago casino a reality, asking firms interested in building and operating “a unique entertainment and gaming experience” to make their pitch to city officials.

Come Wednesday, Rivers Casino and others across the state will once again be able to open their physical doors to gamblers, although with COVID-19 precautions in mind, like masks and social distancing.

Before the COVID-19 outbreak, gambling in Illinois was spreading like wildfire, with more places to make a bet than Nevada. But is the state upholding its promise to provide addiction services at the same pace it expands gambling?

For the first time, gamblers will be able to legally wager on sports games in Illinois starting at noon Monday, when Rivers Casino in Des Plaines opens its BetRivers Sportsbook.

Even as cities like Rockford and Waukegan move forward with their fresh authority to host casinos, Chicago is at a standstill.

It’s the biggest sports betting event of the year, but if you want to bet on the Super Bowl legally in Illinois this weekend, you’re out of luck. 

When a massive gambling expansion package was signed into law in June, early hopes were that Illinois gamblers would be able to wager on the Super Bowl. Such bets are off, but new rules move the ball forward.