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Tourism officials on Monday pitched the benefits of a Chicago casino to lawmakers whose task of balancing Illinois' books has become harder after the state Supreme Court threw out hoped-for savings on pension costs.

Continuing long-standing efforts to expand gambling in Illinois, representatives from the dining, hotel and tourism industries told a panel of lawmakers that a casino in Chicago's downtown area would create thousands of jobs, drive more business to local restaurants and send much-needed money into state and city coffers.

"Millions of dollars in revenue and taxes are lost every year because neighboring states benefit from our tourists, conventioneers and residents who frequent their casinos," said Mark Gordon, president and CEO of the Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association. "We need a Chicago casino so our guests will stay here, to gamble, to eat in our restaurants and to shop in our stores."

It was the second of two hearings intended to prime lawmakers for the annual end-of-session gambling push in Springfield. The latest hearing came a few days after the state's high court deemed cost-cutting efforts on pensions unconstitutional as the state and city face a sea of red ink.

The ruling means the state can't count on more than $1 billion in savings from pension payments as Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democrats who control the General Assembly negotiate over how to close a projected $6.6 billion budget shortfall. And it all but killed Rauner's plans to bank $2.2 billion in the new budget from his own pension-cutting proposal.

While panelists made no mention of the pension ruling during Monday's hearing, they did highlight the money-raising potential.

"A world-class casino in Chicago would be an additional draw for tourists and conventioneers to visit and stay in Chicago, which will help with more heads in beds in hotels and butts in seats in restaurants, which will generate millions in sales tax revenue for the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois," said Sam Toia, president and CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association.

That's the logic behind Emanuel's push for a city-owned casino, revenues from which would be earmarked to pay down the city's pension debt.

Rauner has said he is open to the idea and suggested last week during a visit to City Hall that Chicago could get some of its Capitol wish list if Emanuel and city alderman help him win votes for his pro-business, anti-union agenda in Springfield.

Lawmakers also heard from opponents, who argued that locals, not tourists, would be the source of most of the revenue generated at a Chicago casino.

"For however successful we are, we're just taking more money from our own people," said Jeannie Evans, a lawyer who testified against the idea. "If that's the way we want to raise income in our state, I'm really disappointed."

Even with the promise of much-needed cash, any gambling expansion faces a tough road. Lawmakers will have to balance geographic divides within their own ranks as well as competing interests of the various factions of the gambling industry. And while a Chicago casino is a top priority for Emanuel, it is unclear how much appetite exists in the Capitol for hammering out a deal with just three weeks left in the spring session and a full plate of other issues.

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