From the "Doesn't Know When to Quit" File: Terry Link Wants to Expand Gambling in Wake of Waukegan Casino Shut-out

State Senator and Lake County Democratic Chairman Terry Link really doesn't know when to quit. Less than a day after the Illinois Gaming Board awarded the 10th (and last remaining) casino license to Des Plaines (over Waukegan and Rosemont), Terry Link is reportedly already talking about potentially expanding gambling in Illinois to provide for an 11th license.

Guess which city's name that license would have on it, if Link gets his way?

You really have to wonder about Terry Link. On one hand, you can admire his tenacity, perhaps. On the other hand, you can question why Link is so completely obsessed with bringing gambling to Waukegan. Is a gambling boat the only way Link can think of to increase economic development in downtrodden Waukegan? Without that magic bullet, Link is so out of ideas that he keeps coming back around to the same tired notion of a boat, regardless of the local opposition, the proven problems gambling would bring, and the entirely different problems that a gambling "expansion" would pose, especially to the latest casino that just got awarded?

It's hard to feel sorry for casino investors, maybe, but I wonder if they anticipated that Terry Link will apparently keep fighting for expansion of gambling time after time, until Waukegan hits paydirt. Casinos are like any other business - they suffer from an oversaturation of the market. By adding an 11th license, it automatically devalues the ones that have been issued, as well as the new one. But, macroeconomics don't matter much to Link, as long as he gets his casino.

The people of Waukegan and Lake County should really question why Link is so myopically focused on winning a casino for his district. The answer shouldn't be too hard to figure out.