{"id":126209,"date":"2020-02-06T11:21:28","date_gmt":"2020-02-06T19:21:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=126209"},"modified":"2020-02-06T12:26:51","modified_gmt":"2020-02-06T20:26:51","slug":"former-illinois-state-rep-luis-arroyo-pleads-not-guilty-to-bribery-charge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/former-illinois-state-rep-luis-arroyo-pleads-not-guilty-to-bribery-charge\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Illinois State Rep. Luis Arroyo Pleads Not Guilty to Bribery Charge Linked to Gambling Bill"},"content":{"rendered":"

A former Illinois state representative charged with bribing an unnamed state senator to win support for gambling legislation pleaded not guilty in a federal court this week.<\/p>\n

\"Luis
Luis Arroyo is alleged to have bribed a state senator who had been wearing a wire for the FBI. (Image: Chicago Tribune)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Luis Arroyo was the Assistant Majority Leader in the Illinois House of Representatives before his arrest in October. He is accused of handing the senator a check for $2,500 with the promise of more to come if he agreed to back a sweepstakes bill that would have eliminated doubts about the legality of the machines. Prosecutors allege this was done for the benefit of one of Arroyo\u2019s lobbying clients.<\/p>\n

At the time, the senator, referred to in court documents only as \u201cCW-1,\u201d happened to be helping the FBI with its inquiries and was wearing a wire.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to give you this here. This is, this is, this is the jackpot,\u201d Arroyo said, according to the FBI complaint, as he handed CW-1 the check.<\/p>\n

Who is CW-1?\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Arroyo is the manager of Chicago lobbying firm Spartacus 3, which includes among its clients sweepstakes company VSS Inc. VSS hired Spartacus 3 to lobby Chicago City Council “in connection with legislative action on a sweepstakes ordinance,” the complaint reads.<\/p>\n

Arroyo is alleged to have offered VSS\u2019s $2,500 monthly fee to CW-1 in return for his support for the bill in the state legislature.<\/p>\n

\n

According to court documents, CW-1 had been cooperating with federal agents since 2016 in the hope of receiving leniency when he is ultimately sentenced for filing false federal income tax returns.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Both The Chicago Tribune<\/em> and The-Sun Times<\/em> have identified CW-1 as State Senator Terry Link (D-Waukegan), citing unidentified federal sources.<\/p>\n

Link denied his involvement when doorstepped by Tribune<\/em> reporters in October.<\/p>\n

Rebuilding Illinois<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Arroyo was a major supporter of Gov. J.B. Pritzker\u2019s<\/a> ambitious capital plan that has earmarked $45 billion for investment in infrastructure over six years.<\/p>\n

Part of that plan included a sprawling gambling expansion package that authorized a major casino in Chicago, as well as five smaller regional casinos in the southern suburbs. It\u00a0legalized land-based and mobile sports betting, while increasing the number of video gambling machines, as well as the maximum bet on the machines, transforming Illinois into a major gambling state.<\/p>\n

But including Arroyo, three lawmakers who backed the plan have since been charged with federal crimes<\/a>, which is shaking public faith in Pritzker\u2019s vision.<\/p>\n

A recent poll found that nearly half of all Illinois voters believed the plan is an irresponsible \u201cblank check\u201d for lawmakers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A former Illinois state representative charged with bribing an unnamed state senator to win support for gambling legislation pleaded not guilty in a federal court this week. Luis Arroyo was the Assistant Majority Leader in the Illinois House of Representatives before his arrest in October. He is accused of handing the senator a check for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":126210,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFormer Illinois State Rep. 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