As City Hall hunts for more cash to balance Chicago’s ledger , aldermen and Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration alike have shown increased interest in greenlighting airport gambling.

But even with the mayor’s finance team saying this week they are considering allowing slot machines at O’Hare International Airport and Midway International Airport, Thursday’s Aviation Department budget hearing devolved into a dispute over how such a change would work and how the money would get spent.

Northwest Side Ald. Gilbert Villegas cited state law to question whether revenue generated by gambling might be required to stay within the airports’ coffers. Airport officials did not answer clearly when pressed by downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly on where the tax proceeds would go.

Michael McMurray, the J

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