Following a three-year court battle, Cook County, Illinois will collect million in casino tax revenue from Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, and East St. Louis will receive .5 million following the passage of a partial budget bill.
Midwest Gaming & Entertainment, owners of Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, Illinois, recently lost its case against the Cook County Board regarding a tax on slot machines. Midwest Gaming had argued that the state’s Riverboat Gambling Act prohibited such a tax at the county level and also slot machines were taxed at a higher rate than video gambling machines, thereby violating the state constitution.
Last year a Cook County Circuit Court judge struck down the tax but a year later an Illinois Appellate Court panel reversed that ruling. Then Midwest Gaming took the case to the Illinois Supreme Court which declined to hear the appeal so the tax will remain in place.
A Cook County Circuit Court judge struck down the tax last year, but an Illinois Appellate Court panel reversed that ruling a year later, and Midwest Gaming took the case to the Illinois Supreme Court, which has declined to hear the appeal, meaning the tax will stay in place.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said in a statement, “We are pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision confirming our long-held belief that the county’s tax on video gaming machines is legitimate and lawful. The revenue generated from the gambling tax will help provide important funding for critical public safety services to county residents.”
The county taxes casino slots at $1,000 per machine, and taxes video gambling machines at bars and restaurants at $200 per machine. No tax has been collected since the ordinance went into effect in 2013, due to the court case. However, since the case has been resolved, county officials said they expect to collect $3 million in unpaid taxes and about $1 million per year in the future.
Financially struggling East St. Louis will receive five months of gaming taxes, about $2.5 million, from the Illinois gaming board since lawmakers passed a partial budget earlier this month, giving the state comptroller’s office authority to release the funds. Typically the city receives monthly distribution of a portion of gaming revenue spent at the Casino Queen.
East St. Louis Treasurer Charlotte Moore said the money would “cover January and February payrolls for city employees. Probably the first week of March, if we don’t pay anything but essential bills, such as utilities, things like that. We have a major insurance payment due in January as well. So we just have to plan and spend accordingly.”
The city faces a 2016 budget deficit of almost $6 million, due to declining gambling revenue and the inability to make pension payments on time.
