Illinois casinos sue ex-governor over horse track law

CHICAGO -- Four Illinois riverboat casinos are suing former governor Rod Blagojevich as they continue their fight against a law requiring them to share their profits with the state's ailing horse racing tracks.

The boats -- in Aurora, Elgin, and two in Joliet -- filed the lawsuit Friday in federal court in Chicago. As defendants, it also names Blagojevich's campaign fund, race track owner John Johnston and several other race track operators.

The casinos have been battling against a 2006 Illinois law that requires state riverboat casinos that gross more than $200 million annually to give 3 percent of their take to the horse racing industry. The casinos had paid the fee under protest and money was set aside in a special state account during the three-year life of the law.

The U.S. Supreme Court decided last week to stay out of the casinos' fight. Last year, the state Supreme Court unanimously upheld the law. The high court let that ruling stand Monday without comment.

A casino spokeswoman said Friday that the plaintiffs have agreed not to comment on the suit. Calls to Blagojevich's lead attorney rang unanswered early Saturday.

The renewal of the law in 2008 figures in the federal corruption case against Blagojevich. FBI wiretaps on telephones in Blagojevich's home and the governor's office showed an alleged effort by the then-governor to shake down Johnston for a campaign contribution while the bill was pending.

A lawyer for Johnston has said the contribution was not made.

Four secretly recorded conversations about the issue were played at Blagojevich's impeachment trial in the state Senate. Blagojevich was arrested in his home Dec. 9 and impeached and removed from office the next month.

Until Friday's lawsuit, the former governor's legal problems had played no role in the dispute over the law's constitutionality.

Now, the casinos claim they were "directly victimized" by Blagojevich's alleged criminal conduct. They want a constructive trust put in place over the $89.2 million they've paid into the fund for the horse racing owners. And their suit seeks unspecified damages, attorney fees and costs.