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BELOIT — Backers of the Beloit casino project are keeping an eye on plans for a Rockford, Ill., casino, which hit another delay after two previous governor vetoes.

The Ho-Chunk Nation's Beloit casino, hotel and convention center project is in the hands of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs for approval.

"The Beloit project is moving forward at a pretty steady pace," Beloit City Manager Larry Arft said Monday. "We remain cautiously optimistic. It will take probably most of another year to get all these processes and review timelines completed."

Just south of the border, however, legislation that would allow a Rockford casino to be built was killed Friday after the bill's sponsor decided not to call it for a House vote hours before the legislative session ended.

The bill would have established five new casinos in Illinois, but the proposal was stalled for weeks over negotiations about oversight of a Chicago casino. It started to lose steam as the longtime sponsor dropped his name from the bill, leaving new sponsor Rep. Robert Rita just days to navigate a 500 page bill with the clock ticking.

Everything in politics seems to take longer than expected, but lawmakers and the Illinois governor's office need to be aware of how the timing could affect Rockford, said John Groh, co-chairman of the Rockford Casino Coalition and president of the Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.

"We've always said that I think there's a first-mover advantage in developing casinos on the stateline," he said. "It's certainly one of the things that the Illinois legislature is looking to do."

Aside from Rockford, the proposed expansion included casinos in Lake County, which borders southeastern Wisconsin, and Danville on the Indiana border.

"It's kind of protecting the borders, to a certain extent," Groh said.

The next scheduled session for Illinois lawmakers isn't until October, though Gov. Pat Quinn has the ability to call special sessions.

Quinn has stated fairly consistently that he wouldn't sign a casino bill without certain provisions, some relating to ethics and safeguards, but also pension reform, Groh said. Lawmakers failed to address pension reform last week, which Groh said makes it appear casino expansion won't advance until legislators agree on pension reform.

Meanwhile, the Ho-Chunk wait on the application it submitted in spring 2012 for federal approval for a Beloit casino, which typically takes up to two years.

Unlike the Beloit Indian gaming proposal, a Rockford casino would be built and run by a private developer, avoiding the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs process required for the Beloit plan.

"We've been keeping an eye on the bill in Illinois, but that really doesn't have any impact to our plans or our future going forward," said Collin Price, public relations officer for the Ho-Chunk.

If Rockford gets approval, Price said, it wouldn't affect the Beloit project because the Ho-Chunk members feel they are experts in the gaming and hospitality industry.

"We know gaming, and we do it well," he said. "We're not deterred, we're not worried about whatever they choose to do, whenever or however they do that."

The bureau has received everything for the application's environmental impact statement, and it's "in their hands to evaluate," he said.

The nation and Beloit recently applied for a $10 million federal Department of Transportation grant to help cover infrastructure costs related to the project, Arft said. They should find out in fall whether they receive it.

Material from The Associated Press was used in this story.