Rocky Wirtz is a folk hero among Chicago’s long-suffering hockey fans. After his father, William (Bill) Wirtz, passed away in 2007, he changed the Blackhawks’ philosophy. Suddenly, the laughable losers turned into winners, and the Blackhawks played in the Western Conference Finals last year.
Mr. Wirtz also owns a liquor distributorship in Chicago. It’s not a little business–it’s a $1.5 billion company. And so when Illinois lawmakers decided to balance its budget partially by hiking liquor taxes, he was annoyed. Well, more than annoyed. He’s challenging the liquor tax hike on grounds that it violates the state’s constitution by covering disparate subjects.
Mr. Wirtz is also challenging Illinois’ new video poker law. In theory, come mid-September there should be video poker terminals in bars and taverns throughout Illinois. Hogwash, says Aaron Jaffe, chair of the Illinois Gaming Board. While the state legislature approved the video poker terminals, they didn’t fund any of the needed personnel or the $75 million needed to just implement the program. So if there’s no court order stopping the program it’s likely that video poker is still months away.
But Mr. Wirtz is challenging the gaming expansion, too. He claims that the expansion violates federal gambling law. Mr. Wirtz’s attorney is asking for an immediate injunction.
Meanwhile, the AFSCME has filed a lawsuit to stop Illinois from laying off 2,600 state workers. The union argues that under their collective bargaining agreement, layoffs must be negotiated.
One thing is certain: Expect lots more labor unrest as state budgets shrink. That’s a conclusion that everyone involved can agree with.