Pritzker’s wager on a sports-betting tax paying off so far

Losing bet?

Are Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s tax hikes on sports wagering creating a potential problem for the state?

On one hand, the answer is no. The Illinois Gaming Board reports the state’s sports handle for February was $1.17 billion, an increase of 1.5 percent over February 2025.

On the other hand, while the sports handle went up, the number of people placing bets declined big time.

The state’s 10 sportsbooks in February accepted 20.6 million wagers, down 25 percent from February 2025.

Desperate for new revenue, Pritzker and legislators passed the 2025-26 budget, which included a new per-wager tax on online sportsbooks. The state charges 25 cents on each of the first 20 million online bets and 50 cents per bet thereafter. The governor estimated it would raise more than $36 million.

The industry considers the tax to be an “albatross” on its back, and friendly legislators are seeking to repeal it. But that legislation will go nowhere as long as the state remains in dire financial straits.

Illinois ranks high among states where sports wagering is legal.

The February report shows Illinois trailed only New York in the size of its sports handle. New York’s handle exceeded $2 billion, while Illinois’ was $1.17 billion.

Eight other states reported numbers ranging from $515 million (Maryland) to $846 million (New Jersey).

Industry taxation concerns stem from the fear that those wagering on sports will go outside of Illinois to place their bets or use the illegal market.

But state officials have dismissed those concerns.

Pritzker proposed roughly $600 million in tax hikes in his recent 2026-27 budget proposal. It includes increasing the tax rate on table games at casinos outside Chicago from the current 15-20 percent to 50 percent. The governor estimated it would raise an additional $120 million.

In or out

A federal education scholarship program is popular with voters. At least it is if results from the March primary election mean anything.

The Illinois Policy Institute reports that “64 percent of voters in 33 jurisdictions support” the state opting into the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit program.

The proposal was included in recent federal tax legislation. So far, states that tend to vote Republican have shown much more enthusiasm to participate than those that tend to vote Democrat.

Pritzker, a Democrat, has said he has not made up his mind whether to support the proposal. But it’s vehemently opposed by teachers’ unions, who have great influence on the governor’s decisions.

The program allows taxpayers to donate to “eligible K-12 scholarship-granting organizations in exchange for a federal tax credit of up to $1,700,” IPI said.

The organizations then provide scholarship money to eligible K-12 students.

It operates along the same lines as the now-defunct Illinois “Invest in Kids” program that Pritzker and super-majority Democrats terminated.

Under the federal law, Illinois taxpayers still can get the tax credit even if the state doesn’t opt in. But their donations will go to children in other states.

New boss same as old boss

John Holecek played football at the University of Illinois, not musical chairs.

But he has adopted the latter game as the on-again, off-again and back on-again head coach at Loyola Academy in the Chicago area. The record-setting head coach stepped down in 2022 after 17 seasons in which his teams won 185 games and three state championships.

He has been a team assistant coach for the last three years under Beau Desherow, who will take on new duties as the team’s general manager and work as an assistant for Holecek.

According to news accounts, Desherow won 30 games and two state titles in his three seasons as Ramblers head coach.

Desherow said he is “grateful to continue serving Loyola in this new role and to work alongside John and our staff.”

Holecek, who’s 53, was a star linebacker at Marion Catholic High School in the south suburbs before coming to the University of Illinois. An All-Big 10 player, he was one of the murderous “H-boys” linebackers along with Kevin Hardy and Dana Howard.

He played at the UI from 1990-1994. Drafted by the Buffalo Bills, he spent eight seasons in the NFL.

Speaking of football

Former Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald has settled into the top job at Michigan State after a three-year exile. To say he’s tanned, rested and ready is an understatement. He’s full of fire.

“I feel like Andy Dufresne in ‘Shawshank Redemption.’ I crawled all the way through the (excrement) and came out cleaner on the other side,” he told USA Today.

Fitzgerald is referring to the 2023 hazing scandal at Northwestern, one where older players abused and humiliated younger ones.

Northwestern’s mishandling of the situation from a public-relations standpoint was so outrageously bad that it generated an angry backlash among the media and the public.

In response, the school fired Fitzgerald even though there was no evidence he knew about the hazing. He filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Northwestern and ultimately negotiated a substantial out-of-court settlement to pay off his long-term contract.

In his free time, he volunteered as an assistant at a local high school.

While he signed a nondisparagement clause in his legal settlement, it’s obvious Fitzgerald remains angry about what happened.

“I was treated like a criminal,” he said, recalling how he and his wife quietly visited his old office to retrieve personal belongings.

He said he “never got a chance to say goodbye to the janitorial staff, you know. To our great chefs and cooks. To our equipment people, to the staff,” he said.

Recalling his wife’s tears as they drove away with his personal property, Fitzgerald said, “I looked at her and said, ‘When we pull onto Sheridan Road, I want you to stop crying, because this is over, we’re moving on.’”

Just 51, Fitzgerald has welcomed 40-plus new players to the MSU roster and is rearing to go.

“I said this to the players in our first meeting.’ You didn’t choose me. I chose here. You’re going to get a guy who’s going to pour everything he’s got into you.’”

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This story was originally published April 20, 2026 at 5:30 PM.