The Will County Council voted Thursday to overturn a nine-year ban on video gambling and will now allow gaming to expand into unincorporated areas of the county.
In 2015, the council voted 13-9 to ban the games after then-Chairman Jim Moustis of Frankfort said his constituents opposed any expansion of gaming. The county had not taken steps to opt out of the state’s video gaming law when it was passed in 2009, so businesses that already had games were allowed to keep their machines.
The county council voted 17-1 Thursday to repeal its 2015 ordinance and will now authorize new gaming licenses. The council also approved 13-5 a $250 fee on each gaming terminal.
Council members said banning video gaming in unincorporated areas was unfair to businesses that compete with those in municipalities that allow gaming.
Will County municipalities that allow video gaming include Beecher, Homer Glen, Lockport, Mokena, Monee, New Lenox and University Park, according to the Illinois Gaming Board.
Bolingbrook and Naperville prohibit gaming, while Crete and Frankfort offer limited gaming in their communities, according to the Illinois Gaming Board.
Perceptions of video games have changed over the past decade, and communities have found that they haven’t led to the corruption or crime some residents feared when the gaming law was first enacted, said board member Vince Logan, a Joliet Republican.
Video games help small businesses survive in tough economic times or when the costs of food, beverages, utilities and wages increase, Logan said.
“It’s a savior for a lot of businesses,” he said.
Board Chairwoman Judy Ogalla, a Republican from Monee, agreed.
“It helps small business owners,” Ogalla said.
Logan surveyed businesses in unincorporated Will County that have liquor licenses, a requirement for a gaming license, and about half said they would be interested in exploring gaming. Logan said the gaming ordinance would likely benefit existing liquor license holders.
The revenue generated would also help the county, he said.
The 18 businesses in unincorporated Will County that obtained gaming licenses before the county banned them generate about $325,000 in revenue annually for the county.
While an exact estimate of potential revenue is not known, Logan said the county is likely to at least double the revenue it receives from gambling.
“All we do is take a check from the state, and it’s not a tax,” Logan said.
The proposal to place future gaming revenues in a special fund and earmark them for a specific purpose was not accepted by the commission. Last week, the county council’s executive committee chose not to recommend creating a special fund, but instead to place gaming revenues in the general fund.
The county will now charge a $250 fee per terminal for each gaming machine, split between the terminal operator and the business owner. Bars and restaurants can have up to six machines, according to state law.
Businesses should renew their gaming license as well as their liquor license every year.
Ogalla, who was one of five board members to oppose the fee, said she was against charging business owners and that it appeared they were being ripped off.
“Government has to live within its means,” Ogalla said.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance journalist.
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