DANVILLE — The city won’t have an early Christmas present in the form of a riverboat casino license.

Supporters of a gambling riverboat coming to the city will have to wait until spring for a definitive answer.

Some legislators who have supported the gaming bill in the past were not present Tuesday, and the gaming bill wasn’t called to a vote.

Mayor Scott Eisenhauer said there were many pressing items on the lawmakers’ agenda on Tuesday and the sponsor chose not to call the bill.

“I was not surprised the bill was not called (Tuesday) considering the agenda included bills pertaining to pension reform and tax breaks for Sears and CME (CME Group Inc. is owner of the Chicago Board of Trade and Chicago Mercantile Exchange),” he said.

“While I am disappointed no vote was taken today, this does allow time for the sponsors to meet with the governor in hopes of resolving differences so in the spring a bill can be presented which, when passed, would receive the governor’s signature.

“I am still optimistic that a bill can be crafted which includes Danville and can be supported by both the legislative and executive branch. We will continue to lobby legislators and the governor until this spring when such a bill can be called,” Eisenhauer said.

Lawmakers returned to the Illinois Capitol for a special session on Tuesday, more than two weeks after their work was supposed to be done for the year.

The chief reason for the special session was a package of tax breaks meant to keep some big companies from leaving the state. The $250 million package had been approved by a House committee.

There was a chance gambling could pop up during the brief session. An expansion that included a new Danville casino and slot machines at racetracks failed earlier this month, but supporters want to try again.

The gambling bill in the Illinois House, that includes a casino for the city, was placed on “postponed consideration” earlier this month and can still be considered for another vote. The revised gambling expansion bill, Senate Bill 1849, failed by a 58-53 vote. It needed 60 votes to pass.

Supporters had hoped there would be enough votes to get closer to a veto-proof majority and send a message to Gov. Pat Quinn that this bill is about jobs, economic development and revenue for the state.

The original gambling bill, Senate Bill 744, received 65 votes in the House on May 30. It needed to pick up six more votes this month to garner a veto-proof majority.

The latest measure was a bit smaller than one approved by lawmakers in May. This one drops slot machines at Chicago airports and the state fairgrounds. It also provides a smaller increase in the size of existing casinos. But the bill would still create five new casinos, including one in Danville. And it would allow horse-racing tracks to operate casinos — something Quinn vigorously opposes.

Skokie Democratic Rep. Lou Lang sponsored Senate Bill 744, which the General Assembly passed last spring. Senate President John Cullerton used a procedural move to hold the bill to try to negotiate with Quinn.

Quinn has said he supported new casinos but would not go along with allowing slot machines at horse racing tracks. He also raised concerns about the oversight included in the original plan.

The proposed expansion includes putting a land-based casino in Chicago and new riverboats in Danville, Rockford, near Waukegan and in southern Cook County.

Projections indicate a casino here would generate about 1,200 new jobs and $5 million to $8 million a year in tax revenue. Total economic impact would increase with new restaurants and other development.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.