McHenry County bans video gambling in tight vote

Just barely joining their city and suburban counterparts aboard an anti-gambling bandwagon, the McHenry County Board narrowly enacted a ban Tuesday on video gaming in businesses located outside municipal borders.

Board members voted 13-10 in favor of the ban, which will affect about 45 eligible bars, restaurants and other establishments. The ban will not affect businesses located within cities and villages.

Owners of many of those businesses, along with labor unions and business interests, pleaded with board members over the past two months to allow video gambling that they hoped would provide jobs and boost their struggling bottom lines.

But their hopes were defeated by gambling opponents who said allowing the machines would have dire social consequences for the county.

"Permitting these machines to spread through our county will do more harm to our communities than it will return in tax revenues and jobs," board member Paula Yensen said. "Our (neighboring counties) have recognized that video gambling is a sucker bet, and we should, too."

With the vote, McHenry County joins Cook, DuPage and Lake counties in banning the video gambling machines. The Kane County Board is scheduled to vote Dec. 8 on a potential ban.

State legislators authorized the gambling expansion this summer to help fund a $31 billion capitol spending bill. McHenry County is expected to receive more than $170 million in road construction and other capitol project funding from the bill, causing some leaders to fear that money would not be there if the county enacted a ban.

"Thirty percent of the capital bill is supposed to be funded by video gambling, so it concerns me because McHenry County did very well in that bill," said board Chairman Ken Koehler, who voted against the ban.

Supporters of the ban, however, said their vote - as well as those of many other local governments across the state barring video gambling - should serve as a message to legislators to find another way to fund the bill.

"The public just cannot afford this anymore," board member Ersel Schuster said.

Others who opposed the ban wanted the board to wait - perhaps until spring - to make a decision, giving state leaders more time to address questions on how video gambling would be regulated and how bans would affect capital bill funding. The board earlier Tuesday rejected a measure, also by a 13-10 vote, to postpone a decision until March.

"I want to make a deliberate decision with all the information in front of me," board member Tina Hill said.

The vote would have been closer had board member Randy Donley been allowed to participate. Donley had to recuse himself from the debate and vote because his family owns a restaurant that would have been eligible for video gambling machines, but later blasted the ban as "hypocritical."