Empress Casino Joliet Corp. v. Johnson

Dist. Ct. erred in granting defendants-racetracks’ motion for summary judgment in plaintiffs-casinos’ civil RICO action alleging that defendants bribed Gov. Blagojevich into signing 2008 legislation that imposed tax on plaintiffs and placed funds into trust for benefit of horseracing industry. While record contained little evidence to show that Gov. Blagojevich had influence over members of legislature to pass said legislation, record contained evidence of quid pro quo in which defendants promised to pay Gov. Blagojevich $100,000 in campaign funds in exchange for his signature on 2008 Act. Fact that legislature had passed 2008 Act by veto-proof majorities, or that 2008 Act could have been enacted into law without Gov. Blagojevich signature did not require different result. Moreover, alleged conspiracy directly harmed plaintiffs since they were only entities that could have been subject of said tax on their revenues.