Illinois Governor Names Tracy, Dunn To Gaming Commission

Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner nominated Don Tracy to be chairman of the Illinois Gaming Board, replacing Aaron Jaffe, a retired judge who had held the post since 2005. Rauner also nominated former state Senator Thomas Dunn to the board.

An attorney in Springfield and co-owner of Dot Foods, the nation’s largest food distributor, Tracy criticized the rapid expansion of gambling under Jaffe.

“I don’t see my job on the gaming board to legislate. It’s to regulate. My only agenda would be fair, honest and efficient regulation,” Tracy said.

When he unsuccessfully ran as a Democrat for state Senate in 2002, Tracy said he did not accept campaign contributions from gaming interests.

Dunn, a Joliet Democrat, said the nomination “came out of left field for me.” A state senator from 1972 to 1997, Dunn was instrumental in Joliet being the only city in the state to have two gaming licenses. Dunn left the legislature to become an associate judge in Will County, where he served until 2005.

The state senate must approve the two appointments, which do not pay a salary but cover expenses.