Political deal gave games a chance.(Neighbor)

0 Comments | Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), June, 2005 | by Kmitch, Justin

Byline: Justin Kmitch Daily Herald Staff Writer The way Bill Wirtz tells it, an early 1980s business trip to New York and a side trip to Syracuse University to watch the Empire State Games was all it took for former state Sen. John Davidson to realize Illinois should have its own annual amateur sports festival.

Knowing that Gov. Jim Thompson wanted to increase the state income tax, Davidson proposed a deal: He would vote for Thompson's tax increase in exchange for the promise of launching a similar athletic event in Illinois. Both men were true to their word, and in 1983 Thompson announced plans to hold astatewide amateur sports festival. A year later, the Prairie State Games were established. Wirtz, Chicago Blackhawks president and a friend of...