Attorney says there's plenty of time to debate the issue

Kane County's task force on video gambling has been operating on two assumptions that may both be false as it enters into its final deliberations before creating a final recommendation.

Task force Chairman Jesse Vazquez reacted to public calls this week for a more lengthy debate on the expansion with the idea that the state has tasked the county with coming up with a decision within 60 days.

However, Kane County Board Attorney Ken Shepro said Wednesday in an interview that there really is no need to rush to make a recommendation. Fears about businesses circumventing the county and just setting up video gambling operations before final rules are created are unfounded, Shepro said. Indeed, even if the county decided to allow video gambling, its ability to actually make money from the expansion is also questionable, Shepro said.

"There is nothing that obligates you to act," Shepro said. "Really, the law is very vague about what authority a local jurisdiction has other than to simply prohibit it," Shepro said.

That includes being vague about what sort of licensing fees a county can charge. And there really is no process yet established to issue licenses, inspect businesses and create the taxing and policing mechanisms that would make the process of adding video gambling machines work the way the state intends, Shepro said.

Beyond that, Shepro, who is also an active Republican, said he has major doubts about all the revenue projections he's seen for how much tax and business income the video gambling machines will actually create. Shepro said the most-commonly cited study suggests each machine may reap $45,000 a year for a business. All tax benefits for local governments are based off that number. Shepro estimated that even if every machine provides a losing outcome four out of five times, that it would take a minimum of 2,000 plays each month, with a maximum of $2 per bet, on a machine to reap $45,000 per year for a business owner. Shepro said he has a hard time believing the machines will see that level of action.

"With that betting level a serious gambler is going to say, 'I might as well go home and play bridge at a penny a point," Shepro said. "You have to wonder how valid are any of these projections."