After two years of negotiations, the state has agreed to a deal that hands over the operations of the Illinois Lottery to a private company. Northstar Lottery Group will take over in July after officials dispensed appeals from two competing bidders that opposed the deal with Northstar. The new manager, which is made up of three companies that are already contracted to work with the state, predicts it will generate $1.5 billion more in revenue over the next five years.