Gambling referendum rejected
By KEVIN P. CRAVER - kcraver@nwherald.com
WOODSTOCK – The McHenry County Board rejected an advisory referendum on video gambling, but it will be another month until the board votes on whether to ban it.
Board members voted Tuesday, 10-13 with one abstention, against putting the question to voters in the Feb. 2 primary. They also rejected waiving the board’s 30-day review policy to vote on an ordinance banning video gambling in unincorporated areas.
The County Board likely will take up the ban ordinance at its Dec. 1 meeting.
Referendum opponent Peter Merkel, R-McHenry, said he valued the public’s opinion but called a referendum a “cop out” to keep the board from having to make a tough decision on a controversial funding component of the state’s $31 billion capital plan.
Merkel, parks and recreation director for the City of McHenry, said his past experiences with two advisory referenda were that the public both times were split down the middle.
“I bet we’re going to be back here ... in March or the end of February, with a room full again of proponents and opponents, having the same discussion,” Merkel said before the vote.
Board member Virginia Peschke, R-Woodstock, called it “governmental cowardice” to pass the question to the voters rather than dealing with it themselves. Others, such as Tina Hill, R-Woodstock, questioned the accuracy of a ballot question asked in a primary, which likely would have a low voter turnout.
Referendum supporters, such as Mary Donner, R-Crystal Lake, said she would like to know what residents want before passing judgment on video gambling.
“I believe in my heart this belongs on a referendum first before we vote on anything,” Donner said. “I want to know what the voters in rural McHenry County want to do on this.”
Gov. Pat Quinn in July signed a bill into law that will allow establishments that serve alcohol to have up to five video gambling machines each. But the bill gave county and municipal governments the ability to opt out, which at least three Illinois counties and about 30 municipalities have done to date.
Only voters in unincorporated areas, or about 48,000 of the county’s 200,000 registered voters, would have been able to participate in a referendum – the county can regulate video gambling only in its jurisdiction, where 44 establishments have licenses to serve alcohol.
The board’s five-member Liquor and License Committee had mulled a ban before deciding on an advisory referendum after an Oct. 7 public hearing packed with video gambling supporters who said the capital plan will create desperately-needed jobs. But the committee began reconsidering a ban after reading in a Springfield political blog that the General Assembly could vote to end local governments’ ability to opt out.
Ending the opt-out did not advance in the veto session that ended last week, state Sen. Pam Althoff, R-McHenry, told board members before their vote. Althoff asked board members to be patient and not rush to a decision – she said that it likely would be another five to six months before the Illinois Gaming Board finished drafting the rules.
Althoff said the capital bill contained more than $315 million in road, school and other improvements in McHenry County.
“I’m asking them, again, not to take any formal action until we receive the rules,” Althoff said. “Then they can make whatever decision they feel is in the [county’s] best interest.”
Althoff was joined by Algonquin Village President John Schmitt, who urged the board not to make a hasty decision. The village has been waiting more than a decade for funding of the Algonquin Western Bypass, which at $82 million is fully funded under the capital bill. Other major projects fully funded under the plan include widening Route 47 in Huntley and building a full interchange at Route 47 and Interstate 90.
“If these capital projects are delayed to the point where they don’t happen, they may never come back in,” Schmitt told the board. “And we have been waiting so long for these projects.”
The liquor committee advanced resolutions for both a ban and a referendum to the County Board for Tuesday’s meeting. Board member Marc Munaretto, R-Algonquin, chided the committee for not being able to make up its mind.
Committee chairman John Hammerand, R-Wonder Lake, said he would like to see the County Board approve both the ban and the referendum and that members could reverse the ban if the referendum showed public support for video gambling. Hill received scattered applause when she called the idea “about the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.”
The sole abstention was Randy Donley, R-Union, who was advised by the board’s legal counsel that voting or even speaking on the matter would be a conflict of interest, because his family owns Donley’s Old West Steakhouse. Donley said it was unfair to not be able to weigh in on the matter.
How they voted
The McHenry County Board voted, 10-13 with one abstention, against putting video gambling to an advisory referendum. The board will take up a proposed ban at its Dec. 1 meeting after members voted against waiving its 30-day review policy.
Voting for a referendum were Bob Bless, R-Fox River Grove, Scott Breeden, R-Lakewood, Mary Donner, R-Crystal Lake, John Hammerand, R-Wonder Lake, Tina Hill, R-Woodstock, James Kennedy, D-Lake in the Hills, Anna May Miller, R-Cary, Marc Munaretto, R-Algonquin, Lyn Orphal, R-Crystal Lake, and Daniel Ryan, R-Huntley.
Voting against a referendum were Yvonne Barnes, R-Cary, Sue Draffkorn, R-Wonder Lake, Ed Dvorak, R-Crystal Lake, James Heisler, R-Crystal Lake, Ken Koehler, R-Crystal Lake, Mary McCann, R-Woodstock, Peter Merkel, R-McHenry, Virginia Peschke, R-Woodstock, Sandra Fay Salgado, R-McHenry, Kathleen Bergan Schmidt, D-Crystal Lake, Ersel Schuster, R-Woodstock, Barbara Wheeler, R-Woodstock, and Paula Yensen, D-Lake in the Hills.
Board member Randy Donley, R-Union, abstained on advice of the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office. Counsel said that his vote would be a conflict of interest because his family owns an establishment where video gambling machines could be allowed.
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