Local legislators get earful from Kane leaders on video gambling

Kane County leaders made it plain to local legislators Friday that having more information about video gambling regulation could lead to reconsideration of the county's ban.

But discussion of that topic got a little prickly at the county board legislative committee's second annual breakfast with state legislators.

"We really had a lot of fear," when voting on the ban in December, said legislative committee Chairman Hollie Lindgren. Members heard licenses would start to be issued in January. If there had been more information on how licenses would be administered and regulated, she would have been inclined to vote against the ban.

State Sen. Linda Holmes told the group other state legislators are criticizing those towns that have banned it, saying to those towns, "Don't expect to get your capital bill."

County board member Drew Frasz, an opponent of video gambling, asked if that would mean the capital spending would be concentrated downstate, since many Chicago suburbs have voted for bans. Holmes said that could be, but stressed nothing has been brought up officially.

Holmes also told the group, "Find me a community that doesn't already have video gambling going on," making the case that government should at least regulate it and make some money from it.

Frasz called that "admitting to failing to enforce something. How about drugs? And prostitution? Should we legalize them?"

Holmes acknowledged that getting specific answers from the state gaming board is difficult, and that even her own staff could not get answers when Kane County asked her for help.

"That's the standard for this issue," she said.

Lindgren said the legislative committee, which next meets Jan. 19, has asked for a representative from the state gaming board to speak with county officials.

"Personally, I don't see any reason it should come up again," Frasz said.

County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay reiterated her position that if counties and towns are banning video gambling, they should suggest other ways to fund the capital bill.

State legislators attending included representatives Kay Hatcher, Mike Fortner, Randy Ramey, and Linda Chapa LaVia, and senators Mike Noland and Holmes. Several others sent staff to represent them.

They were placed among six groups of county board members and county workers, with each group assigned several topics to discuss.

Fortner, who was not assigned to the video gambling group, said after the meeting that he doubts towns that banned video gambling will suffer state wrath, because Cook County legislators, who fill many of the majority leadership positions in the General Assembly, would not favor punishing Cook County, which voted to ban video gambling in areas outside of Chicago.