OK. I was wrong.
I predicted last night that the McHenry County Board would approved what proponents insist on calling video poker.
But, this morning social conservatives on the board pulled off a 13-10-1 victory.
That was with the help of all three Democrats on the county board. (Counting only Republicans, the vote would have been tied 10-10.)
Lake in the Hills member Paula Yensen has personal knowledge of how devastating gambling can be to a family.
Patriots United video slot machine debate panels, ban proponents on the right, opponents on the left.
Perhaps also influencing the vote was the leadership that Democratic Party State Rep. Jack Franks has taken on the issue. He attended a Patriots United debate on the subject after returning from one of this fall’s veto sessions.
All Republicans representing McHenry County in the Illinois General Assembly except State Senator Dan Duffy, that is, State Representatives Mike Tryon and Mark Beaubien, plus State Senator Pam Althoff, voted supported video slot machines.
Voting in favor of a ban of the video gambling machines in unincorporated areas were the following, who are grouped by county board district (those up for election this year are show in bold face type):
District 1
- Yvonne Barnes
District 2
- Jim Heisler
District 3
- Ed Dvorak (retiring)
- Kathy Bergan Schmidt
- Barbara Wheeler
District 4
- Sue Draffkorn
- John Hammerand
- Sandy Salgado
District 5
- Paula Yensen
- Jim Kennedy
- Virginia Peschke
District 6
- Mary McCann
- Ersel Schuster
Voting against the ban, thus in favor of expanding gambling were the following:
District 1
- Anna May Miller
- Bob Bless
- Marc Munaretto
District 2
- Scott Breeden
- Ken Koehler
- Lyn Orphal
District 3
- Mary Donner
District 4
- Pete Merkel
District 5
- Tina Hill
District 6
- Dan Ryan
Abstaining from the vote was District 6 Republican Randy Donley.
A month ago the board voted against holding an advisory referendum on the issue. The vote was 13-11-1.
The thirteen board members who voted against allowing their constituents to vote on the issue follow:
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Yvonne Barnes (R-Cary)
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Sue Draffkorn (R-Wonder Lake)
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Paula Yensen (D-Lake in the Hills)
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Ed Dvorak (R-Crystal Lake)
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Jim Heisler (R-Crystal Lake)
-
Ken Koehler (R-Crystal Lake)
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Mary McCann (R-Woodstock)
-
Pete Merkel (R-McHenry)
-
Virginia Peschke (R-Bull Valley)
-
Sandy Salgado (R-McHenry)
-
Kathy Bergan Schmidt (D-Crystal Lake)
-
Barb Wheeler (R-Crystal Lake)
Voting in favor of an advisory referendum were
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Bob Bless (R-Fox River Grove)
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Scott Breeden (R-Lakewood)
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Mary Donner (R-Crystal Lake)
-
John Hammerand (R-Wonder Lake)
-
Tina Hill (R-Woodstock)
-
Jim Kennedy (D-Lake in the Hills)
-
Anna May Miller (R-Cary)
-
Marc Munaretto (R-Algonquin)
-
Lyn Orphal (R-Crystal Lake)
-
Dan Ryan (R-Huntley)
Members of the Operating Engineers Local 150 lobbied vigorously against the gambling ban, arguing for the jobs its proceeds would finance.
Good job McHenry County Board!!!
Congratulations to the McHenry County Board for making a wise decision and joining the opt-out train by banning neighborhood gambling!
My bad. I’ve updated the article to reflect Senator Dan Duffy’s opposition to video poker.
Cal;
As a regular reader of your blog and someone you have known for over 30 years, I find your blanket statement: “Voting against the ban, thus in favor of expanding gambling were the following” is very misleading. A “NO vote” in no way was a vote for gambling. In my opinion it was a vote not to ban video poker at this time. There is still a lot of information that should be evaluated prior to a vote either way. Voting on something as important as this without the evaluation of all of the information is premature, and most of us who voted no were concerned about the timing not the promotion of expanding gambling in McHenry County.
You are capable of doing better, Cal.
Scott Breeden
Mc Henry County Board
District #2
Good job! The Board did a good job driving jobs from McHenry county. Let see another Motorola back-dooring. It seems that every one that wants to work keeps getting kicked in the teeth. No way to commute and now no money to rebuild our county. They claim that the county will still get part of the money but it will be less because the less businesses that have them the less money will be coming in. Just like the Lottery money for school districts. The more the lottery put in the more the state takes back. Well Cal I guess our County is just full of surprises.