Hanover Park latest to ban video gambling

Hanover Park has joined the ranks of more than two dozen local governments in the state to ban video gambling machines in bars and restaurants.

However, the ordinance passed at Thursday night's board meeting also leaves room to revisit the issue once the Illinois Gaming Board implements policies on how to roll out more than 40,000 of the slotlike machines - a development regulators say could be a year off.

"Once the rules get in place we'll have a better understanding of what's before us," Mayor Rod Craig said.

That future debate over whether to permanently enact the ban may be one-sided.

Trustee Toni Carter said she would never entertain the idea of allowing legalized gambling in Hanover Park because, "We have enough problems, and I believe the gangs, drugs and violence would only escalate once our citizens go home broke after sitting at these machines."

Trustee Bill Cannon said he also wouldn't get on board with allowing the machines, which the Better Government Association's executive director referred to as "the crack cocaine of gaming."

"When you have to go to gambling to balance your budget, you're not doing your job by cutting waste," Cannon said.

Even if the ban is lifted once regulations are in place, Hanover Park stands to see only minimal financial gain. Village Manager Ron Moser estimates the village would receive about $44,000 annually, as only four establishments are eligible for the machines. Under the video gambling expansion law, local governments would receive 5 percent of gambling losses and the state would get 25 percent. The rest is split between the establishment owners and terminal operators.

Since Gov. Pat Quinn signed a law legalizing the machines in an effort to help fund a $31 billion capital plan, a growing number of suburbs have banned them including Buffalo Grove, Rosemont, Naperville, Bloomingdale, West Chicago, Villa Park, Libertyville, Elburn, Elmhurst, Kildeer, Mettawa, East Dundee and Wheaton. Cook, Lake and DuPage counties have also banned the machines in unincorporated areas.