Gambling comes to Main Street

A spirit of lawlessness still pervades Illinois government. With unemployment at a twenty-six year high, and families struggling to pay bills, our lawmakers have decided, this is the perfect time for a massive expansion of gambling. Only a call to Governor Pat Quinn now for a veto can defeat the gambling bill. just passed. Call (312) 814-2121. (The Illinois Constitution allows the governor to veto any item in an appropriations bill, so he can just veto the gambling part).

Gambling is coming to Main Street. Ignoring the Illinois Constitution, and Home Rule powers of most of our suburbs, (Article VII Section 6), Springfield lawmakers have imposed 45,000 video poker and slot machines for restaurants, veterans clubs, fraternal clubs, etc., on Main Streets, all. across Illinois. (If you can serve liquor, you can serve gambling).

Our Illinois Constitution has a Bill of Rights listing fundamental freedoms, including freedom of speech and freedom to petition our representatives for redress of grievances (Article I). Yet, for residents to stop the flood of gambling machines into our villages, Springfield lawmakers have dictated exactly what a citizen petition must say (and have required an unusually high number of signatures of registered voters, 25 percent). A petition for a ballot referendum opposing gambling cannot mention "gambling," it cannot mention "poker," it cannot mention "slots."

It can only say "video gaming".

This bill should have been tossed out. Better still, representatives who voted for it, should be tossed out. Only a few states have gambling on such a massive scale.

At any rate, the bill will become law in about 60 days if the governor does nothing. And Illinois' image, already soiled by an impeachment, will become even more tarnished in the eyes of the rest of the country.

Eleanor Hesse

Buffalo Grove