Rauner appointee to Illinois Gaming Board heads group that took money from casino: BGA | Chicago

 

A Gov. Bruce Rauner appointee to the Illinois Gaming Board heads a group that has taken money from the Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, the state’s most lucrative casino.

In naming Illinois State Police special agent Hector Alejandre last month to the board that regulates the state’s casinos, Rauner said Alejandre “will bring a law enforcement perspective to the position.”

The governor noted that Alejandre is the president of the Hispanic Illinois State Law Enforcement Association, or HISLEA, a nonprofit organization of Latino police officers.

The group — which holds safety seminars and provides college scholarships — has taken $5,500 in donations from Rivers since 2012. The money went toward scholarships and programs, according to Juan Valenzuela, a spokesman for the group.

Alejandre wouldn’t talk about that.

Don Tracy, who chairs the gaming board, said that after being asked about the casino’s donations, Alejandre has agreed to recuse himself from voting on anything involving Rivers that comes before the board in the next six months.

Valenzuela said the group has decided not to take any more donations from Rivers Casino as long as Alejandre is on the gaming board.

Another HISLEA member, past president Isaiah “Danny” Vega, is the gaming board’s deputy administrator of enforcement, investigating casinos to ensure they’re operating above board.

The Rivers Casino donations came while Vega and Alejandre were both top officers of HISLEA.

Vega didn’t return calls seeking comment.

Mark Ostrowski, the gaming board’s administrator, said Alejandre and Vega haven’t broken any agency rules.

But Aaron Jaffee, who was gaming board chairman, under former Gov. Pat Quinn, said “people who sit on the board can’t take money” from the casino industry. “We’ve always held very strict standards.”

In January, Rauner replaced Jaffe with Tracy, a Springfield lawyer.

“The administration does not believe these prior donations, which help support scholarship programs, will impact Hector Alejandre’s ability to remain impartial while a member of the Illinois Gaming Board,” a Rauner spokeswoman said. “The last donation to the HISLEA by Rivers Casino was more than six months ago, and it will decline any future contributions.”

A Rivers spokesman didn’t respond to requests for comment.

 

The gaming board regulates the state’s 10 casinos.

Last year, Rivers reported taking in more than $425 million after paying winnings, a figure that made the casino the most lucrative in Illinois, state records show.

Rauner’s EPA pick and his lobbyist-father

In January, Ryan McCreery was in the private sector, trying to calm Kentucky residents who feared that a natural gas pipeline proposed by his then-employer would contaminate drinking water.

Today, he’s one of the state’s top environmental regulators, hired by the Rauner administration in February as deputy director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

Asked about his environmental experience, McCreery pointed to his time as a contractor and public affairs manager for the gas and oil pipeline company Kinder Morgan.

“I partnered with stakeholders on many different projects,” he said in response to questions, “with the objective to expand energy infrastructure in an environmentally conscious and compliant manner.”

McCreery’s father, W. Michael McCreery, os a longtime Springfield lobbyist. And the elder McCreery intends to lobby the Illinois EPA, he says in a registration statement filed with the state.

Ryan McCreery said there will be no conflict of interest, though.

“My father has listed numerous agencies under ‘lobbying intent,’” Ryan McCreery said. “He does so on an annual basis so as to be covered in case he gains new clients throughout the reporting period.”

Ryan McCreery said his father doesn’t have any current environment-related clients, nor will he take any as long as his son is deputy director of the state EPA.

Michael McCreery didn’t return calls.

Ryan McCreery said Nancy Kimme, acting on behalf of Rauner’s transition team, recruited him. Kimme, a lobbyist, was chief of staff for Judy Baar Topinka, the late Illinois state comptroller. Kimme couldn’t be reached for comment.

— Brett Chase

Rauner appointee to Illinois Gaming Board heads group that took money from casino: BGA | Chicago