Editorial: Municipalities wise not to rely on gambling revenue
The game of chicken Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democratic leadership in Springfield are playing with the budget keeps rearing its head in new ways.
Will state workers get paid? Will organizations that receive grant money get funding?
Will the towns across the state that have allowed casinos and miniature gambling parlors to operate get their piece of the pie?
On Monday, Rauner issued a statement saying municipalities that host video gambling in bars, slot cafes and the like won't be getting their take while there is a budget impasse. Comptroller Leslie Munger's office confirmed Tuesday that towns with full-fledged casinos - Aurora, Des Plaines and Elgin - won't get their cuts of casino taxes, either, until a budget is signed.
"The state does not have appropriation authority to distribute local municipalities their shares from video gambling," Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly wrote in a prepared statement, laying full blame on Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan for failing to present a balanced budget. Our hope is that this does not throw suburban leaders into a tizzy. It shouldn't.
Leadership in the city of Elgin knows full well that if you're going to have gambling in your town, you should never let yourself fall prey to the belief that you'll always be awash in money.
When the Grand Victoria Casino opened 21 years ago, the Elgin City Council was firm in its conviction that any money it made in taxes on gambling would be funneled to one-time expenses: public works projects; beautification; new streetlights.
And that the city would never spend a dime on ongoing expenses for things like the police and fire departments.
City fathers knew the largesse could be short-lived - and they had no inkling that gambling machines in Illinois one day would be nearly as ubiquitous as ATMs.
For years, the Grand Vic was riding high as the top earning casino in the state. The city of Elgin took in $29.5 million in casino taxes in 2001. But then the slide began - long before the Rivers Casino opened in Des Plaines, dramatically reducing the gambling commute for many Chicagoans and suburbanites. And long before mini gambling parlors began popping up all over the place, before they made their way into bars and restaurants.
The city of Elgin expects to receive just $10.8 million during 2015. The suburbs that have embraced video gambling - or in many cases jumped on the bandwagon so they wouldn't concede all of that revenue potential to their neighbors - would do well to take a page from Elgin's playbook.
Consider everything you get from gambling as gravy. Buy some park land, build a playground, pave a few streets. Don't pay your staffs with it.
Because when the suburbs finally reach a saturation point with one-armed bandits, that revenue will begin to wither.
And then you won't be able to afford as many of those people you hired. And the last thing any of us wants to see is essential services curtailed.