Mayor Wayne Motley of Waukegan, Illinois has announced he is confident that the city will soon be able to offer casino gaming, thanks to a recent meeting with the Illinois State Governor. Motley met with Governor Bruce Rauner last Friday and found that the Governor was not opposed to a casino coming to Waukegan.

Motley commented that he believes if a bill is not created in the House this spring, then a bill will be created in the veto session slated for November. The Mayor has been working on bringing a casino to the area since 2013 when Waukegan was named along with Park City and North Chicago as being eligible to host a county casino based on a new gambling bill that stalled in legislation.

Seeing a casino come to town would be great news for local history buffs and others interested in the industry in general. Waukegan was the birthplace of Williams Gaming, which was later renamed to WMS and is now owned by New York lottery giant and games maker Scientific Games – who also purchased Bally last year.