Republican Bruce Rauner, who’s in a tight race against Democratic Governor Pat Quinn, recently said he opposes a plan to put slot machines at Chicago’s international airports. “When visitors are coming into Illinois there’s a certain image you project when folks are coming through, and I’m not sure I want that to be the image of Illinois,” he said.
Rauner has acknowledged he doesn’t gamble and is against gambling. But he said he would consider a Chicago casino. He noted that Chicagoans who want to gamble currently have to drive 30 miles and then leave their money in Indiana at the Majestic Star Casino in Gary. “That’s really dumb,” Rauner said.
Furthermore, Rauner recently stated, “If voters and municipalities would like to see more gaming I will be supportive of that.”
His stance undoubtedly was good news to Mike Gelatka, president of the Illinois Gaming Machine Operators Association. The group is noting the two-year anniversary of video gaming in Illinois by helping establishment owners deal with any challenges they may face when attempting to bring video gambling to their communities. “We just felt it was time to go out and defend our industry and the benefits it brings to the state and local municipalities. Whether it’s the casinos or other entities pushing and trying to bring up negative things or complain about how video gaming may not be positively affecting their revenue, we just want to set the record straight for what video gaming actually does for a lot of small businesses, municipalities and the revenue it brings in to do good in terms of taxes,” Gelatka said.
He added, “Our partnering bars, restaurants and veterans or fraternal clubs are using the new revenue to start to recover from years of financial hardship. There’s a renewed hope on Main Street Illinois that people are ‘coming home’ to spend money on local entertainment, which means more people are going to work in higher paying jobs and spending money in neighborhood stores. As a bonus, governments are able to fix roads and bridges and support local budgets too.”
Mark Ostrowski of the Illinois Video Gaming Board reported in July the state had 17,719 video gambling terminals in 4,369 establishments, with more than $100 million in revenue. When video gambling began in Illinois in September 2012, there were 61 machines producing $27,000 in tax revenue. By 2013, more than 13,300 machines statewide generated $90.2 million in state and local tax revenue, according to Gelatka. “Governor Pat Quinn approved VGTs as a key funding source for the 2009 capital construction bill. Yet, local economic benefits from revenues on the machines that are operating in participating communities have exceeded expectations,” he said.
Gelatka cited the Village of Shiloh as a success story. It directs tax revenue from video gambling exclusively to the Police Pension Fund. Gelatka added crime has not increased due to video gambling, as some critics predicted.
In O’Fallon, Nancy Chase, marketing executive for St. Clair Bowl, led the petition drive to place on the November 4 ballot the non-binding question: “Shall video gaming be prohibited in O’Fallon, Illinois?”
Chase said, “Of course, we elect our local leaders to make decisions that effect public life but the video gambling issue is so important to small businesses and fraternal organizations in O’Fallon. And it evokes such strong reactions from both sides, I believe the citizens of O’Fallon should vote directly on this issue. The gaming issue reaches deep into the principles of a free market economy. If it is legal in the state, local businesses should have the opportunity to offer gaming. If O’Fallon citizens feel strongly that gaming is not an appropriate form of entertainment, they should choose not to patronize the establishments that offer it.”
In Libertyville, Mayor Terry Weppler asked the village board to delay a decision on an ordinance amending regulations to allow video gambling.
“A lot of people are concerned and want us to look at it further before we make a decision,” Weppler said. He noted he has received dozens of emails and phone calls on the situation, which became an issue in July when Ed Downing, owner of Downing’s Tavern, asked the board’s license and permits committee to allow him to install the machines. Downing said his older customers said they go to nearby Mundelein to dine and play the video gambling machines there.
Weppler stated bar owners were given time to make their presentation and the general public also should be allowed to be heard. “It’s been all the way from ‘Please reconsider’ to ‘If you approve that we won’t go to any restaurants,'” Weppler said about the comments he’s heard.
Libertyville officials estimate five to 10 businesses might apply for a video gambling license. The village banned video gambling in 2009.
In a letter to the village board, 10 pastors said video gambling could diminish the “quality and character of the kind of community we seek to foster.” The pastors wrote they “discourage approval” of the ordinance requested the delay in its consideration. In addition, Anita Bedell, executive director of the Illinois Church Action on Alcohol & Addiction Problems, said the establishments and machine owners, who split 70 percent of the take, would benefit the most. Communities receive 5 percent of the revenue. “That won’t begin to pay for the cost to the families and the community,” she said.
