May 21--Gov. Pat Quinn on Monday put a finer point on a notion he's been pushing this spring: No gambling expansion will happen without comprehensive changes to fix a greatly underfunded government worker pension system.

The Democratic governor also insisted that the votes are there to pass a gay marriage bill in the House, expressed concerns about the finances of Mayor Rahm Emanuel's plan for an arena at McCormick Place and opened the door to a future discussion of the controversial topic of taxing retirement income as part of a major state tax overhaul.

The myriad topics were addressed during Quinn appearances at the City Club of Chicago and the Tribune editorial board with less than two weeks left in the spring session. The governor is dealing with a legislature that in the past has found him to be of questionable relevance in deciding what gets voted on, and against that backdrop Quinn sought to tack carefully away from stirring controversy with the House and Senate's Democratic leaders.

On pension reform, there are dueling House and Senate versions of plans to alter current and future state public employee pensions. Quinn said a measure backed by Senate President John Cullerton "needs improvement," is "short of what's needed" and is "incomplete."

The governor, however, refused to say whether he would veto Cullerton's plan, a measure agreed upon by public employee unions but that would save only about one-third of the $150 billion over 30 years promised in a House-backed measure sponsored by Speaker Michael Madigan. Illinois' state pension systems have an unfunded liability approaching $100 billion.

"I want a comprehensive bill," Quinn told the Tribune editorial board, clearly favoring the Madigan plan. Still, the governor said, "Each house (of the legislature) ought to be given some opportunity to consider the work of the other house."

Quinn has made calls for pension reform a hallmark of his tenure as governor, even going so far as to use a cartoon Squeezy the Pension Python character to try to motivate grass-roots support, only to see proposals die in the General Assembly.

But he told an audience of about 300 people at a City Club breakfast that he was "optimistic that we will get where we ought to be" on the pension issue and that he believes "the differences will be resolved before May 31st," the legislature's scheduled adjournment.

As the pension debate continues, supporters of gambling expansion are once again pushing a bill to add five new casinos, including one in Chicago. Quinn likened the gambling talk to a "shiny object" diverting attention from pension reform.

"I will never, ever sign a gaming expansion absent comprehensive pension reform," Quinn said he has told lawmakers. He also said that while progress has been made on ethical reforms and state oversight of a Chicago-owned casino since he vetoed two previous gambling expansions, "we're not there yet."

If Chicago gets a casino, Quinn said the city might want to use its share of revenues to "focus on their serious financial issues about education" rather than follow through on Emanuel's promise to use gambling dollars to fund infrastructure and modernization improvements to schools.

Even as Quinn pushes pension reform, he also recently has been calling for a House vote on a Senate-passed measure to legalize same-sex marriage in Illinois. On Monday, Quinn said he knows "the votes are there in the Illinois House" to pass the measure.

Sponsoring Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, remained mum on where the tally stands and would not speculate when the measure might be called for a vote.

"When I put it up on the board, the votes will be there," Harris said. "I know that a lot of people are working the roll call very hard."

The governor also expressed some hesitation about Emanuel's plans for a $173 million stadium in the South Loop to house the DePaul Blue Demons men's and women's basketball teams. Funding for the plan would include $70 million from a McCormick Place bond fund supported by hotel taxes.

Quinn said McCormick Place bond funds are "backstopped" by the state's all-purpose general revenue fund if hotel tax revenue is insufficient. "So," he said, "you always have to look at it with care."

He also broached the issue of state taxation of retirement income. Noting a Tribune editorial that said ending the tax exemption for retirement income should be looked at, Quinn said: "I feel the same way."

"I think any kind of review should be comprehensive and should cover anything, including reducing taxes," Quinn said later. "If there's ever a discussion on subjects involving tax and revenue, I think everybody should look at everything."

Illinois' income tax increase starts to expire in 2015. But taxing retirement income would affect a potent voting bloc. Cullerton mentioned the idea more than two years ago, saying it could raise $1.6 billion, but abandoned such talk amid political opposition.

Tribune reporter Monique Garcia contributed from Springfield.

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