134 Behind the Glitz and the Glamor Jeff Duan Following the emergence of riverboat casinos along the Fox River in 1992, the subsequent decades have seen the continued popularity of the glamorous vehicles. As a means of perpetuating their use, proponents of riverboats insisted the vehicles would produce positive environmental effects on the polluted river. In truth, riverboat casinos have hoarded funding that would otherwise prove invaluable to environmental agencies, while simultaneously releasing dangerous pollutants into the river stream. Despite the acclaim of the practice and the assertions of advocates, riverboat gaming has exacerbated environmental issues along the Fox River by appropriating funding and releasing harmful chemicals, and therefore must cease before kindling further damage to mother nature. The story of Fox riverboat casinos began in earnest with the legalization of several forms of gambling throughout the 20th century, which culminated in the passage of the Riverboat Gambling Act. In 1971, for instance, the Illinois General Assembly legalized gambling in bingo games.1 Subsequently, across the 1980s, venues began launching a chain of lottery games, such as Illinois Pick3 and Illinois Pick4.2 Finally, heading into 1990, Illinois joined Iowa in legalizing riverboat gambling with the instatement of the Riverboat Gambling Act of 1990.3 As the legislation states, the intended purpose of riverboat gambling was to “[assist] economic development, [promote] Illinois tourism, and [increase] the amount of revenues available to the State to assist and support education, 1 Illinois Legislative Investigating Commission. Rep. Bingo in Illinois: A Report to the General Assembly. Chicago, Illinois: National Institute of Justice, 1982. https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/83530NCJRS.pdf. 2 Ibid. 3 Illinois General Assembly. (230 ILCS 10/) Illinois Gambling Act, 1990. https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=1399&ChapterID=25.
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