bet boom streamers Placing a legal bet in Illinois once required a trip to a racetrack. Then riverboat casinos set sail and eventually made landfall, followed by an ever-growing wave of slot machines installed at bars and restaurants statewide. Now, the advent of mobile sports betting means gamblers can get in on the action anywhere there’s a cell signal. And soon, the full gamut of casino games could be just a phone tap away, too, as lawmakers consider crossing the final frontier of legalized gambling in a state already teeming with temptations. Gaming interests are expected to make a full-court press next year in Springfield to legalize internet casino gambling, known in industry parlance as iGaming, that would bring state-regulated slots, blackjack, poker and more to the palm of your hand. It’s not the first time gaming industry players have pushed to expand Illinois’ sprawling menu of gambling options. Nor is it the first time they’ve faced stiff pushback from business owners who rely on video gaming terminals to draw customers through their doors — or from opponents who warn of a surge in addiction to what some have branded “gambling fentanyl.” But internet gambling could have better odds of advancing in the upcoming legislative session as Gov. JB Pritzker and statehouse leaders scramble for new money to help cover an estimated $3 billion budget shortfall. “In a tough budget year, you’re looking at ways to increase revenue. This is one tool for that,” said state Sen. Cristina Castro, an Elgin Democrat who has introduced iGaming bills that previously fell short. “And it’s something that could be more palatable to constituents.” Proponents estimate the state would rake in $450 million in new tax revenue within a year of allowing Illinoisans to play casino games on their mobile devices, eventually generating up to $800 million a year. Opponents argue it would be a zero-sum game for a state that has more places to bet than Nevada does, when counting Illinois’ 16 casinos, two racetracks and 8,660-and-counting bars, restaurants, gas stations and VFW halls authorized to operate video gaming machines. “When you start letting people play from home, do you think they’re going to go to those places and spend money?” said state Rep. John Cabello, R-Machesney Park. “It’s cutting off the nose and spiting the face.” Potential tax jackpots Illinois government relied on a record-high $2.1 billion in gaming tax revenue in the fiscal year ending in June, including $158 million from casinos, $190 million from sports betting, $848 million from video gaming and $886 million from the lottery, according to the state Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. Seven other states that have authorized internet gambling in recent years have seen significant tax windfalls — and surging interest from gamblers. New Jersey casinos reported a record $214 million in gross revenue from internet gambling in November, generating about $32 million in state taxes. Pennsylvania, which taxes iGaming at a higher rate, pulled in almost $86 million in taxes on $200 million in revenue. Gov. Pritzker called the idea “worthy of consideration” for Illinois. His office is drafting its yearly budget proposal, which he’ll present in February and negotiate with lawmakers for passage by the end of May. Pritzker’s administration has overseen a massive gambling expansion that added six new casinos, expanded video gaming and ushered in the sports betting industry — which the governor and state lawmakers slapped with hefty tax hikes last year. Lobbyists for major gambling companies like DraftKings and FanDuel banded together as the Sports Betting Alliance to fight the new graduated tax system before it was passed, threatening to leave the state due to the cut into their profits. But they’re back this time around to push for internet gambling, which the companies offer on their platforms in other states in addition to sports betting. Cannibalizing concerns The ubiquity of casino games could go live within a few months of potential legislative passage in Illinois, with licenses likely tied to partnerships with brick-and-mortar casinos, according to Sports Betting Alliance president Jeremy Kudon. That’s how the state handles sports betting licenses. “All of this iGaming already exists in Illinois,” Kudon said, pointing to illegal online casinos that have long operated offshore. “All we’re trying to do is legalize, regulate and tax it.” He rejected the idea that internet gambling would cannibalize dollars from other corners of Illinois’ saturated gaming market. “People who play online blackjack are not the same people going to bars and restaurants and casinos to play. Those have a certain social appeal and physical element that brings people in,” Kudon said. The companies say they’ve found that internet gamblers tend to be younger than casino or video gaming customers, with demographics skewing toward women with higher salaries who wager no more than $15 per session. “Something entirely on your phone attracts a different customer. It’s almost like mindless entertainment, or meditation. You’re present in this moment, not thinking about anything else,” Kudon said. “For me, it’s more of a relief than Netflix.” Castro agreed, saying “there is enough business to go around. We should do everything we can to shut down the illegal market.” But bar and restaurant owners are worried it would cut into their clientele who are often drawn in by video gaming. Keith Wetherell, executive director of the Illinois Licensed Beverage Association, estimates some businesses could see their revenue drop by 40% if customers have the option to gamble on their couch instead. “It lowers foot traffic in our establishments. That would be devastating to smaller bars and liquor license holders. A good portion of them wouldn’t survive,” Wetherell said. “A lot of these are Mom-and-Pop shops. Gaming helps subsidize health insurance options and keeps people employed. They wouldn’t be able to shoulder that big of a loss.” Those losses would hit local governments that split video gaming revenue at the benefit of large out-of-state gambling corporations, Wetherell said. “Their software isn’t in Illinois. This is a whole lot of money leaving the Illinois economy,” he said. More money would be made if Chicago were to adopt video gaming, Wetherell argued, an idea that Mayor Brandon Johnson has supported but hasn’t pushed to implement. State law allows municipalities to opt out of it. Cabello, the Republican state lawmaker, called it “absolutely, positively stupid” that Chicago bars and restaurants are missing out on video gaming revenue — a windfall the state could use, too. “How stupid can any elected official be, to know that your budget is ballooning out of control, and you don’t allow gaming in your city?” Cabello said, adding that he’d push for legislation requiring Chicago and other Cook County municipalities to allow video gaming. Kudon suggested the iGaming lobby would be open to potentially licensing some video gaming operators to cut them into the action — but Wetherell said he hasn’t seen “any mechanism that would make the system equitable.” ‘Gambling fentanyl’ Other opponents are urging lawmakers to look past the massive dollar signs being flashed by the internet gambling industry and to consider the social costs. “This literally is the equivalent of gambling fentanyl,” said Les Bernal, national director of the Stop Predatory Gambling advocacy group.”This is putting gambling fentanyl on every smartphone, in every living room, every dorm room, every office in the state of Illinois that has an internet connection.” A study commissioned by the state in 2021 found that 3.8% of adults in Illinois, or about 383,000 people, have a gambling problem, with additional 7.7% — about 761,000 people — potentially at risk for developing a problem. Since Pritzker authorized Illinois’ 2019 gaming expansion, he’s set aside additional money in state budgets for gambling addiction treatment programs . Internet gambling supporters also note their technology allows customers to set time and wager limits. None of that makes up for an inevitable rise in an addiction disorder that is closely linked to suicide, Bernal said. “The idea that you have this incredibly dangerous and addictive product, and you’re going to have state officials welcoming it when Illinois has already got as much predatory gambling as any state in America — it’s a threat to public health,” Bernal said. “There’s no grassroots movement for any of this. It’s being driven by very powerful gambling interests with the help of a handful of officials in both parties.” The new General Assembly will be inaugurated Jan. 8. Castro, the Elgin state senator who has supported internet gambling, said she expects extended talks on potential legislation through May.Fabio Galindo Takes Future Climate to International Recognition Award

Cutting in line? American Airlines’ new boarding tech might stop you at now over 100 airportsNEW YORK (AP) — Richard Parsons, one of corporate America's most prominent Black executives who held top posts at Time Warner and Citigroup, died Thursday. He was 76. Parsons, who died at his Manhattan home, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2015 and cited “unanticipated complications” from the disease for cutting back on work a few years later. The financial services company Lazard, where Parsons was a longtime board member, confirmed his death. The NBA, where Parsons was interim CEO of the Los Angeles Clippers in 2014, was among organizations offering condolences. “Dick Parsons was a brilliant and transformational leader and a giant of the media industry who led with integrity and never shied away from a challenge,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. Parsons’ friend Ronald Lauder told The New York Times that the cause of death was cancer. Parsons stepped down Dec. 3 from the boards of Lazard and Lauder's company, Estée Lauder, citing health reasons. He had been on Estée Lauder’s board for 25 years. Parsons, a Brooklyn native who started college at 16, was named chairman of Citigroup in 2009, one month after leaving Time Warner Inc., where he helped restore the company’s stature following its much-maligned acquisition by internet provider America Online Inc. He steered Citigroup back to profit after financial turmoil from the subprime mortgage crisis, which upended the economy in 2007 and 2008. Parsons was named to the board of CBS in September 2018 but resigned a month later because of illness. Parsons said in a statement at the time that he was already dealing with multiple myeloma when he joined the board, but “unanticipated complications have created additional new challenges.” He said his doctors advised him to cut back on his commitments to ensure recovery. “Dick’s storied career embodied the finest traditions of American business leadership,” Lazard said in a statement. The company, where Parsons was a board member from 2012 until this month, praised his “unmistakable intelligence and his irresistible warmth.” “Dick was more than an iconic leader in Lazard’s history — he was a testament to how wisdom, warmth, and unwavering judgment could shape not just companies, but people’s lives,” the company said. “His legacy lives on in the countless leaders he counseled, the institutions he renewed, and the doors he opened for others.” Parsons was known as a skilled negotiator, a diplomat and a crisis manager. Although he was with Time Warner through its difficulties with AOL, he earned respect for the company and rebuilt its relations with Wall Street. He streamlined Time Warner’s structure, pared debt and sold Warner Music Group and a book publishing division. He also fended off a challenge from activist investor Carl Icahn in 2006 to break up the company and helped Time Warner reach settlements with investors and regulators over questionable accounting practices at AOL. Parsons joined Time Warner as president in 1995 after serving as chairman and chief executive of Dime Bancorp Inc., one of the largest U.S. thrift institutions. In 2001, after AOL used its fortunes as the leading provider of Internet access in the U.S. to buy Time Warner for $106 billion in stock, Parsons became co-chief operating officer with AOL executive Robert Pittman. In that role, he was in charge of the company’s content businesses, including movie studios and recorded music. He became CEO in 2002 with the retirement of Gerald Levin, one of the key architects of that merger. Parsons was named Time Warner chairman the following year, replacing AOL founder Steve Case, who had also championed the combination. The newly formed company’s Internet division quickly became a drag on Time Warner. The promised synergies between traditional and new media never materialized. AOL began seeing a reduction in subscribers in 2002 as Americans replaced dial-up connections with broadband from cable TV and phone companies. Parsons stepped down as CEO in 2007 and as chairman in 2008. A year later AOL split from Time Warner and began trading as a separate company, following years of struggles to reinvent itself as a business focused on advertising and content. Time Warner is now owned by AT&T Inc. A board member of Citigroup and its predecessor, Citibank, since 1996, Parsons was named chairman in 2009 at a time of turmoil for the financial institution. Citigroup had suffered five straight quarters of losses and received $45 billion in government aid. Its board had been criticized for allowing the bank to invest so heavily in the risky housing market. Citigroup returned to profit under Parsons, starting in 2010, and would not have a quarterly loss again until the fourth quarter of 2017. Parsons retired from that job in 2012. In 2014 he stepped in as interim CEO of the Clippers until Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer took over later that year. Parsons, a Republican, previously worked as a lawyer for Nelson Rockefeller, a former Republican governor of New York, and in Gerald Ford’s White House. Those early stints gave him grounding in politics and negotiations. He also was an economic adviser on President Barack Obama’s transition team. Parsons, who loved jazz and co-owned a Harlem jazz club, also served as Chairman of the Apollo Theater and the Jazz Foundation of America. And he held positions on the boards of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the American Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Parsons played basketball at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and received his law degree from Albany Law School in 1971. He is survived by his wife, Laura, and their family. This obituary was primarily written by the late Associated Press reporter Anick Jesdanun, who died in 2020 .

The sexual assault of two 11-year-old girls during a sleepover was solved more than 36 years later with help from forensic genetic genealogy, Washington police said. The assault in June 1988 by a then-unknown man “profoundly affected” the community, the Port Angeles Police Department wrote in a Dec. 27 post on Facebook. Kim John Cederleaf, of Quilcene, was identified as the suspect through forensic genetic genealogy, with testing of genetic material from his autopsy “conclusively solving the case,” police said. Cederleaf died in 2013, police said. Police didn’t share information about his background. The two girls were having “a sleepover in a playhouse attic” when a man forced his way in, threatened them and physically and sexually assaulted them, police said. Officers and detectives “responded promptly, conducting extensive searches, interviews, and evidence collection. This included physical evidence such as photographs, latent prints, bedding, and an article of clothing believed to belong to the suspect, as well as biological samples from sexual assault examinations,” police said. Officials canvassed, took tips from the public, created a suspect sketch, turned to FBI profiling specialists and submitted evidence for fingerprint analysis, police said. They also eventually uploaded a DNA profile to a national database and shared it with Interpol, police said, yet results still didn’t come. Then in 2023, a Port Angeles police official reached out to a forensic genealogist who “provided guidance on the potential of using forensic genetic genealogy (FGG) analysis for cold cases,” police said. FGG couples DNA analysis and genealogy research, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The analysis identified Cederleaf as the suspect, and genetic material from his eye that was saved from his autopsy confirmed that his DNA matched, according to police. “The resolution represents the culmination of bravery from the victims, meticulous police work, and advancements in forensic technology,” police said. “The victims’ courage to participate with investigators over the years, despite the trauma they endured, was pivotal in keeping the case active and eventually solving it. Their resilience and determination to seek justice have been a source of inspiration to all involved.” Port Angeles is about a 140-mile drive northwest from Seattle.

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HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — Cameron Huefner scored 20 points as Sam Houston beat Dallas 111-65 on Saturday. Huefner added eight rebounds for the Bearkats (7-6). Lamar Wilkerson went 7 of 13 from the field (3 for 8 from 3-point range) to add 17 points. Dorian Finister shot 5 for 11 (1 for 3 from 3-point range) and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line to finish with 15 points. Thomas Fleming led the Crusaders in scoring, finishing with 16 points. Dallas also got 15 points from Johny Olmsted. Chandler Holmes finished with 13 points. Sam Houston took the lead with 16:32 remaining in the first half and did not give it up. The score was 50-34 at halftime, with Huefner racking up 11 points. Sam Houston extended its lead to 91-53 during the second half, fueled by a 17-2 scoring run. Erik Taylor scored a team-high 10 points in the second half for the Bearkats. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .Kitchens will lead Tar Heels in Fenway Bowl against UConn. Another ex-Browns coach is standing by