County to reconsider gambling ban
By KEVIN P. CRAVER - kcraver@nwherald.com
WOODSTOCK – The McHenry County Board might pursue a ban on video gambling after all.
Although its Liquor and License Committee appeared content with putting the question to voters in February, a ban is back on the table out of fears that the General Assembly soon could limit or end local governments’ ability to opt out of it.
“Our hand is forced, and I’m yet again disappointed,” said committee member Barbara Wheeler, R-Crystal Lake, who supports an outright ban over a referendum.
Both options will come before the committee for a recommendation at its next meeting Oct. 26. Any resolution that comes out of that meeting likely would go before the County Board for a vote at its Nov. 3 meeting, rather than next Tuesday as originally planned.
“What we’re doing is preparing for all circumstances,” said committee Chairman John Hammerand, R-Wonder Lake, who also opposes a video gambling expansion.
The committee’s decision stems from a Tuesday article from The Capitol Fax, an influential state political blog, that stated that the General Assembly might put an end to the opt-out clause during the fall veto session that started this week.
At least two dozen municipalities and three county boards have opted out of allowing bars and restaurants to install the machines as part of the state’s plan to finance its $31 billion capital plan.
But state Sen. Pam Althoff, R-McHenry, implored the committee to do what she recommended at its public hearing on the matter last week – be patient. She said that lawmakers likely would be more concerned with the Illinois Gaming Board’s request for more time and resources to draft the rules.
“Please don’t do anything until we know what the lay of the land is,” Althoff urged from Springfield. “[The County Board] will have ample time to opt out, if that’s what they choose to do.”
The veto session continues through Friday, and then reconvenes Oct. 28-30.
The law, approved in July, allows for bars, restaurants and other establishments that serve liquor to have up to five machines each. The state gets 25 percent of the revenue, and the local government gets 5 percent.
Opponents of a ban packed the committee’s Oct. 7 hearing. Some union members said the capital plan was needed to put them back to work, and restaurant and bar owners said a ban would hurt their businesses, in part because it would not apply to municipalities. Forty-four establishments hold a county license to serve alcohol.
The news that the county might vote on a ban concerned Ed Colomb, president of The Funding Stop, a Burr Ridge company that finances video gaming terminals. He said that the committee should stick with a referendum.
“We have no problem with a referendum, with the people hearing all sides of it, and letting them make the decision,” Colomb said.
About one-fourth of the county’s 199,535 registered voters live in unincorporated areas and would vote in a referendum, McHenry County Clerk Katherine Schultz said. The County Board has until Nov. 30 to put a referendum on the Feb. 2 ballot, according to Illinois State Board of Elections guidelines.
