Early indications on St. Charles video gambling vote: Aldermen not in favor

St. Charles aldermen will decide in September whether to allow video gambling.

Aldermen, meeting as the government operations committee, voted Monday to bring an ordinance allowing it to the Sept. 8 committee meeting. The panel would then make a recommendation for a binding city council vote.

But fans of video gambling probably shouldn't read Monday's move as a win.

Aldermen Rita Payleitner, Ron Silkaitis and Maureen Lewis voted against even considering the idea. Alderman Todd Bancroft said it didn't appear the potential financial reward to the city outweighed negative aspects, such as people becoming addicted to it. And Alderman Jo Krieger said she would vote against reversing the ban.

Committee Chairman Dan Stellato, who opposed video gambling a few years ago when the city first considered it, said cuts in state funding to the city have him rethinking the matter.

Payleitner suggested finding other measures in that case instead.

"It is unconscionable for our city to financially benefit from the gambling losses of our residents," Payleitner said.

She said she also doesn't trust state officials, suspecting that they will rewrite the gambling law in ways that will hurt the city, such as cutting the city's share of the revenue.

"I don't trust the state as far as I can throw it," Payleitner said.

Alderman William Turner was the strongest advocate for lifting St. Charles' ban.

"People don't care about this," he said of conversations he had with residents over the weekend. "But there is some real angst out there about our government and control ... ."

"I don't want to see a city that tells people they can't spend money on a legal activity."

Alderman Todd Bancroft suggested the city see if it could have a limited trial of video gambling, perhaps for five years.

City employees were asked what it would take for the city to receive $100,000 a year from video gambling.

There is a 30 percent tax on the net terminal income - the gamblers' losses.

The city would receive one-sixth of that tax. The rest would go to the state.

To generate $100,000 for the city, gamblers would have to lose $2 million a year, according to Chris Minick, the city's finance director. There would have to be at least 53 video gambling terminals, each earning the statewide average of at least $13,000 a year.

His calculations were based on revenue reports for the past 34 months, since video gambling started, supplied by the Illinois Gaming Board.