Kane Co. task force recommends video gambling be allowed

Kane County's Video Gambling Task Force recommended Thursday the county board should allow local businesses to have video gambling machines.

The vote was a lukewarm approval. Only three members of what was originally a six-member task force voted. Sheriff Pat Perez recused himself from the task force as soon as he was appointed. State's Attorney John Barsanti followed. County Board member John Hoscheit, who has attended few task force meetings, was absent.

The result was a 2-1 vote in favor of approving video gambling.

Drew Frasz was the lone "no" vote. He said he has many businesses in his 26th District that could take advantage of video gambling machines, but his decision came down to economics and quality of life.

"Gambling doesn't make money; it distributes money," he said.

In formulating his decision, Frasz said he kept thinking about life and the images of the two versions of the community in the film, "It's a Wonderful Life."

"I know the people of my district would much rather be Bedford Falls than Pottersville," Frasz said.

Task Force Chairman Jesse Vazquez said the county has a long-established precedent of casino gambling on the north and south ends of the county, and video gambling would not represent a large expansion of what already exists. Of the 25 or so businesses in the unincorporated areas of the county, Vazquez estimated half have (non-payout) video gambling machines of some kind.

That left the deciding vote to Bob Kudlicki. Kudlicki, a District 25 board member, initially favored passing the issue on to the county board's executive committee without a recommendation.

"I'm not saying we should ban it, but there's still a lot of questions about it," Kudlicki said. "I don't want to say not to ban it either."

Frasz pressed the task force to only move the matter to the executive committee if the task force fulfilled its charge of developing a recommendation. Vazquez then moved to a recommendation to approve, seconded by Kudlicki.

The issue will likely come before the executive committee in November and receive a final vote by the full county board in December.