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Kane County Board To Meet Tuesday To Reassess Video Gambling Ban

Posted on May 12th, 2010

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The Kane County Board will meet on Tuesday where members are likely to re –evaluate an option decided on last year to opt out of a state legislation allowing video gambling machines in establishments with liquor licenses, whose revenues would fund about a third of the state’s capital improvement program. In December, the board narrowly voted 12-11 for the prohibition of video gambling machines in unincorporated areas of Kane County. The county was among the many which used its option to opt out of video gambling which was allowed local governments by a provision in the gambling legislation. Reasons cited for the ban were problems in enforcement and social costs.

The chairman of Kane County’s video gaming task force, board member Jesse Vasquez, who did not support the ban, said there are three other members of the board who were not present in the December voting who would have voted against the ban. Another member who voted to ban video gambling in December said she has changed her position. Vasquez believes that the board will overturn its previous decision if enough members who are in favour of cancelling the ban will attend the board meeting on Tuesday. He says he himself is still in favour of video gambling.

Hollie Lindgren of Carpentersville, who voted for the ban, said seeing no change in the difficult economic condition has led her to change her mind to support video gambling because of the potential jobs that would be created by the $31 billion program for public works. She said she had done some checks and is now convinced that proper regulation and overseeing of the machines will be done by the police authorities and the Illinois Gaming Board. “There are 40,000 unregulated — illegal — video games in Illinois, so if you don’t think they’re here already, you’re wrong,” Lindgren said.

Kane’s neighbouring counties which have also decided to opt out of video gambling are not thinking of voting again on the issue. McHenry County which also had a narrow margin of votes to ban the machines has not been shown any indication from board members wanting to reconsider their decision. DuPage County, where the ban got a wide margin of votes, has let the matter rest. Kane County Board Chairwoman Karen McConnaughay said she was expecting the issue to be taken up again because of the close vote in December. She said the board voted on the ban even before getting enough information, and some members were concerned that if the county delayed its decision to opt out, it would not be able to do so anymore.”That turned out to be not accurate,” McConnaughay said. McConnaughay said if the board votes Tuesday to keep the ban, then it would have to suggest proposals on how to fund the capital program.