CHICAGO — For more than an hour Thursday, a group of Danville-area elected officials and community leaders had the full attention of Gov. Pat Quinn and took advantage of the rare opportunity to tell him personally why they believe a gaming license for the downstate border city would be good for the community and the state.

"He was very generous with his time. I was impressed by the time he personally gave to the issue, and he was very engaged," said Danville Mayor Scott Eisenhauer immediately after he and nine other elected officials and community leaders from the Danville area met with Quinn and his staff at the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago.

The meeting was coordinated by state Sen. Mike Frerichs who met with the governor along with Eisenhauer, state Rep. Chad Hays, retired state Rep. and Danville Alderman Bill Black, Vermilion Advantage President Vicki Haugen, Vermilion County Board Chairman Jim McMahon, retired Danville city police Chief Carl Alexander and local labor representatives, Jim Miller, Jim Bailey and Don Ritter.

"I thought the meeting was very valuable, and I greatly appreciate those who took the time to be a part of the presentation. It was critical we had the different groups represented around the table, so we could discuss it with him," Eisenhauer said.

Eisenhauer said the governor told the group that he hasn't seen the bill and would provide no discussion as to his support of the bill or any aspects of the bill. But, Eisenhauer said, he also got no indication that Quinn is against a casino for Danville.

"There was no indication to me that he has made up his mind one way or another in regard to Danville," he said.

Earlier this year, the state legislature passed a bill expanding gaming in the state, but the governor has indicated it's too much. The legislation would add a riverboat casino in Danville, as well as casinos in Chicago, Rockford, the south Chicago suburbs and Lake County. It also would allow gambling at Chicago's two airports and slot machines at six Illinois racetracks. The legislation still must go through the governor's office, which may not happen until this fall, but in the meantime, local officials continue their efforts to convince the governor that a new gaming license for Danville should remain in the bill.

See more on this story in Friday's News-Gazette.