Faced with growing opposition to video gambling machines in bars and restaurants across the state, lawmakers moved Friday to make it harder for cities and counties to ban them in the future.

Supporters of video gambling expansion moved a measure Friday that would have protected bars, liquor-serving restaurants, truck stops and fraternal clubs if they get the newly legalized 'video poker' machines but later face a local ban. Under the legislation, those slot machine operators would be grandfathered for two years if local officials voted to have them leave town.

The measure was pulled off the table Friday by state Rep. Lou Lang, a Skokie Democrat and longtime gambling industry supporter, in the House after it was clear it wouldn't get the needed 71 votes for passage. But come next year, the legislation will only need 60 votes to pass under legislative rules.

Opponent state Rep. Jack Franks, a Marengo Democrat, said on the House floor the legislation was an indication that cities and municipalities that don't want video gambling in town should ban it now, before the Illinois Gaming Board has had a chance to get the massive expansion underway.

"I laughed when I first read (the legislation)," said Franks, an opponent of video gambling.

A litany of suburbs and counties have been moving to ban video gambling machines locally since Gov. Pat Quinn signed a law legalizing them in the state this summer to help pay for billions of dollars in new schools, roads and transit lines. It could take more than a year for gambling regulators to come up with policies to properly roll out the addition of more than 40,000 slotlike machines at thousands of locations across the state - in what would be one of the largest gambling expansions in state history and put Illinois in with just a handful of states to do the same.

Lang said Friday he was pushing the limits on local bans to protect the investments of the bar and restaurant owners who might face a ban. He said the establishments that get the machines would be partners with the state because the state asked them to operate up to five gambling machines each to pay for public works projects.

"We should not have a law that disadvantages our partners," Lang said, later adding. "They should not be disadvantaged. We have asked them to do this for us."

Still, it remains unclear how much local establishments will ultimately have to invest in the machines as they would likely be owned by licensed distributors that are directed under state law to split the take with the site owner. Local governments would get 5 percent of gambling losses and the state would get 25 percent.

Franks said the state should not be insuring business investments.

So far, DuPage, Lake and Cook counties have banned the machines in unincorporated areas. McHenry County officials are debating the issue while a Kane County task force recently recommended allowing the machines.

Suburbs that have banned the machines include: Villa Park, Bloomingdale, Libertyville, Buffalo Grove, Elburn, Elmhurst, Kildeer, Mettawa, Naperville, Rosemont and Wheaton. And the issue has been debated in suburbs including Wheeling, West Chicago, Winfield, Batavia, Warrenville and Roselle.

Carol Stream officials decided to ban video gambling without village board approval, as they wait to see what kind of rules the gaming board sets up statewide. And Mount Prospect has banned the machines until officials can get more information and feedback on the issue.