Regular readers know I occasionally borrow from the Eye On Illinois catalog, which now covers more than 1,200 entries dating to late May 2020.

Many government stories simply have that long a leash, whether it’s an ongoing saga like the Bears flirting with Arlington Heights and Indiana, a never-fixed agency like Children and Family Services, or something we tend to forget about until a new headline dredges up old arguments, like managing the way electric vehicle usage impacts motor fuel taxes.

True devotees (hi mom!) know I started writing for The Times in the Ottawa and Streator market back in 2007 after moving back from Iowa, where I started newspaper work 25 years ago this month. I wouldn’t expect anyone to remember many details of those long-ago columns, but I’m a meticulous record-keeper.

All of which brings me to the “everything old is new again” file: a June 7, 2011, column headlined: “Gambling expansion might not go far enough.”

I love to say I told you so, which makes sharing the lead sentence fun: “Gambling is going to expand Illinois, and if you think Gov. Pat Quinn is going to do anything to stop it, you haven’t been paying attention.”

Quinn was a loud opponent of gambling expansion, but he reliably caved on other issues he once opposed, like partisan political maps. And, as I wrote, “bringing in new money is easier to sell than cutting expenses.”

Fifteen years ago, this was about casinos: one in Chicago and up to four more statewide, plus growth at existing casinos and horse tracks. And while no one took me up on my modest proposal to redevelop entire blighted Chicago spots into a Vegas-like strip with “legalized prostitution, sports books and wedding chapels where Al Capone impersonators preside over nuptials,” we did eventually get our sports betting thanks to a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning 1992’s Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act.

That brings us to the present. This week, Gov. JB Pritzker signed the fiscal 2027 budget, which includes a 15% tax on fantasy sports contest receipts – supposedly worth $5 million – and a 1.75% tax on sports bets made on prediction markets. This follows recent changes, like tacking a quarter per wage on the first 20,000 bets at each legal book and 50 cents thereafter, or tweaking rates affecting FanDuel and DraftKings aimed at ginning up $250 million.

That 2011 piece also called for legalizing and taxing marijuana. (I love being right!) and concluded by asking “if we’re going to sell part of our soul to the devil, why not just give him his due and mortgage away the whole damn thing?”

Much has changed in 15 years – but not everything.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.