Deadline Looming in Calif Legislature; Ilitch casino team exactly where they were last year... scrambling for legislative sponsors.

With Friday's deadline (01.26.07) looming to have legislation drafted and in the system for California's 2007 legislative session, the Ilitch Team still has failed to produce anything concrete to suggest they're any further along than they were one year ago. Having failed to announce new legislation or a coalition of legislators prepared to sponsor legislation favoring their plans to relocate tribal casinos for Big Lagoon Rancheria and Los Coyotes Reservation Indians to Barstow in the Mohave Desert, it's a good bet to assume they're scrambling to pull something off by Friday's deadline.

01.22.07
The San Bernardino Sun reports:

"Two other tribes looking to bounce back from legislative setbacks last year are the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians from north San Diego County and the Big Lagoon Rancheria Tribe based in Humboldt County. Schwarzenegger has signed compacts with both tribes for proposed casinos near Barstow, but an Assembly committee killed the deals in June.

"Those two tribes are working with BarWest Gaming, a Detroit-based developer. BarWest spokesman Tom Shields, said the tribes are trying to gain support for their project and are prepared to meet Friday's legislative deadline." (Full Story)

Back in August 2005, Ilitch & company concluded negotiations on their compact agreements with Governor Schwarzenegger's team. They failed in 2006 to generate any momentum or interest among the legislature which must "ratify" any agreements the Governor strikes with tribes. In June 2006 an Assembly committee rejected the agreements and they've failed to produce any true sign of progress since.

As part of Detroit's ongoing effort to block any other tribes from pursuing plans in the Barstow area, Shields bought himself some more time in August 2006, having failed in the last legislative session, saying that their team would get things done in January, but the month is nearly over, deadlines are looming and besides a couple of shallow press releases, the Ilitch team has failed to produce any signs of progress, for Los Coyotes and Big Lagoon casinos in Barstow once again. Sources in Sacramento indicate this is where they were one year ago. The author of their failed 2006 legislation was termed out of office in November 2006 and absent their ability to generate even modest support last year, that left them in a desperate situation.