Illinois lawmakers convening under emergency rules to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic on Saturday approved changes to the tax structure of a future casino to be located in the city of Chicago.

After decades of debating whether to approve construction of the city’s first and only casino, legislators approved the plan last year as part of a massive expansion of gambling across the state, including the legalization of sports betting.

But an earlier study found the tax structure would make running a casino so “onerous,” it likely wouldn’t be able to attract investors to get it off the ground.

State Rep. Bob Rita, D-Blue Island, praised the “tenacity” of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to push this legislation that would lower the tax burden on the operator. Revenue from the casino is set to help the state pay for parts of the massive construction program legislators approved last year. The city’s cut of the action would fund its underfunded police and fire pension funds.

"The idea is to make this work for Chicago so we can fund a vertical capital, put people to work not only for Chicago but for everywhere in the entire state of Illinois,” Rita said. “This is good for everyone for jobs and development, having a Chicago casino be real."

The vote came as casinos across the state have gone dark due to the coronavirus pandemic. It’s unclear when they will reopen. Rita acknowledged he’s not certain how casinos will operate in the future, suggesting that fewer people would be allowed at a blackjack table so as to comply with social distancing requirements.

It passed the House of Representatives on a vote of 77 to 32. It still needs approval from the Senate and Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker.

Illinois lawmakers reconvened Saturday morning after blowing through their Friday night deadline without having accomplished some of the biggest items on their legislative to-do list. There are plenty of other matters the legislature could address, from allowing bars to make cocktails available for home delivery during Illinois’ stay-at-home orders to increasing penalties for someone convicted of assaulting a store worker enforcing customer face-covering requirements to the constitutionally-required approval of a state budget.

On Friday, Pritzker criticized lawmakers for appearing not to have the appetite for difficult votes related to his request that they create a fine for businesses that defy his executive orders aimed at stemming the spread of COVID-19. If they do nothing, he warned, the state’s only enforcement mechanism is to suspend or pull a business’s professional license — such as a liquor license for a bar — which would be a more severe penalty than a simple fine.

“[Legislators] don’t seem to want to help in any way dealing with the COVID-19 crisis by offering us the ability to use a small enforcement mechanism,” Pritzker vented to news reporters Friday afternoon.

Tony Arnold and Dave McKinney cover Illinois state politics and government for WBEZ. Follow them on Twitter @tonyjarnold and @davemckinney.