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New craft beer festival to help financially ailing Gurnee American Legion

With their request for video gambling denied, Gurnee American Legion Post 771 members will bank on craft beer to help provide a financial lifeline to ensure the organization's future.

Village officials are organizing a one-day craft beer festival to primarily benefit the American Legion, which has been in Gurnee for 80 years.

Legions of Craft Beer is set for Oct. 3 under a tent in a Gurnee Mills parking lot. Mayor Kristina Kovarik said she expects the day's income to be significant for the American Legion, based on sales at other suburban craft beer gatherings.

“We've set a goal — and we think it's extremely achievable — that we should be able to net $40,000. That's what we're aiming for,” Kovarik said.

The wheels for the event were set in motion last June after Post 771 member and strategic planning chairman James Huisel made an unsuccessful pitch to convince the village board to reverse course and allow video gambling.

Huisel said the post was down to its last $65,000 and needed the extra revenue from the gambling machines to pay escalating real estate taxes and keep up with building maintenance.

He was following the lead of many other suburban veterans organizations that started offering video gaming.

While elected officials in some towns have cited a desire to help bars, restaurants, fraternal organizations and other businesses by allowing the video machines, Gurnee village board members have said such a move would not be in line with a family atmosphere cultivated at attractions such as Six Flags Great America and KeyLime Cove Indoor Waterpark Resort.

Gurnee officials noted they could not allow the devices only for the Legion and exclude other eligible establishments, so they agreed to help Post 771 raise money through other means.

Nine months later, Kovarik says the craft beer festival would provide $30,000 for the Legion in the first year, with the $10,000 balance going to Honor Flight Lake County, if financial expectations are met. Plans call for Legions of Craft Beer to be an annual bash.

Huisel said Post 771 members are excited about how the village has gotten involved in the fundraiser, with assistance from Gurnee Mills and Timothy O'Toole's Pub.

“Our post is just thrilled with everything we've heard so far and the planning that's been involved with it,” Huisel said.

“And when they heard the name, they were blown away.”

Kovarik said what Post 771 should receive from the craft beer festival compares favorably to the cash other veterans organizations in Lake County collect annually from video gambling machines.

Illinois Gaming Board figures show Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4551 in Antioch has had a yearly average take of $29,800 from the gambling devices. VFWs in Lake Villa and Waukegan have had an annual average income of $58,300 and $59,500, respectively.

However, Gurnee won't come close to Wauconda American Legion Post 911, which has had an average annual take of $133,900.

Erik Jensen, assistant to the village administrator, said at least 30 craft breweries are expected to participate in Gurnee's inaugural event.

He said organizers are trying to have beers not commonly seen in the Chicago area join local staples for a projected 2,500 guests.

Gurnee-area restaurants, food trucks and a wide range of bands are to be part of the mix, Jensen said.

Kovarik said Legions of Craft Beer will be promoted as a regional festival. Organizers are planning a shuttle service from Metra commuter rail stops in Libertyville and Waukegan to accommodate fest-goers, particularly those in Chicago.

“The target market tends to be millennials, so we want this to be a little edgy,” Kovarik said.

“We're hoping to attract a lot of people who want to come in to Gurnee for the craft beer festival, not just a community event. This is what's motivating us and we talk about it at every meeting. This is to raise money for the American Legion.”

Gurnee American Legion Post 771 mostly makes money from hall rental, pancake breakfasts and a bar open to the public.

If all goes well with the beer fest, Huisel said, the Legion will wind up with an annual, steady income source not only to cover operating expenses, but also more money for veterans assistance, college scholarships for high school students and other community endeavors.

“We can't raise enough on pancake breakfasts,” he said. “We just can't sell enough pancakes to keep (the post) going.”

No video gambling at Legion hall in Gurnee

  Gurnee officials have led a project to organize an October craft beer festival to help provide a financial lifeline for American Legion Post 771 in the village. The festival was developed after the village board rejected the Legion's request for gambling machines to raise money. Bob Chwedyk/bchwedyk@dailyherald.com
  Gurnee Mayor Kristina Kovarik discusses the Legions of Craft Beer festival the village is organizing. Set for Oct. 3, the bash will mostly benefit Gurnee American Legion Post 771. Bob Chwedyk/bchwedyk@dailyherald.com
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