McHenry County Blog

Yesterday, McHenry County Blog published a little of the unfocused situation surrounding the county board’s debate on gambling, as well as the roll call showing who was up for election this time around.

Today, I’m going to tell you what I saw from a civics classroom point of view.

From the beginning District 3 county board member Barb Wheeler has been ready to vote to ban video gambling in the unincorporated part of McHenry County.

She made that very clear in the License and Liquor Committee.

British Member of Parliament Edmund Burke took a position similar to Wheeler’s and several of her colleagues. He epitomizes the “trustee model” of representation. Some might refer to the role as a “statesman.”

Burke’s most famous quote of justification was to the electors of Bristol in 1774:

“Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion.”

My quick research indicates he lost the Bristol seat six years later.

Here’s how Wikipedia explains the different concepts of representation:

“The trustee model of representation is a model of a representative democracy. Constituents elect their representatives as ‘trustees’ (or ‘entrust’ them) for their constituency. These ‘trustees’ have sufficient autonomy to deliberate and act in favor of the greater common good and national interest, even if it means going against the short-term interests of their own constituencies. The model provides a solution to the problem uninformed constituents who lack the necessary knowledge on issues to take an educated position.“This model parallels the delegate model of representation, which is a model in which the representative is a tribune of the people.”

I have to admit on issues that I did not campaign on I tended toward the delegate model in my representation in the Illinois House of Representatives.

If the people of McHenry County wanted something, I would more likely than not be presenting that viewpoint in the General Assembly during my sixteen years there. I conducted mailed polls to gain a sense of the electorate in addition to putting out my listening post in public places.

On financial issues, I tended toward the trustee model, especially for those from the educational community hell bent on having me vote for a high income tax, most of the proceeds of which would end up in Chicago and Downstate. I cut my teeth doing cost-benefit analysis at the United States Budget Bureau right after grad school in public administration (probably called “policy analysis” now).

The debate on whether there should be an advisory referendum on gambling brought the various concepts of representation into focus like I have not seen them previously on the county board.

Part 3 tomorrow.

As we were on our vacation to the Intermountain West the last part of June, my family was amused at my taking photos of gambling signs and machines.

Look at the difference in the British Petroleum gas station sign in Minnesota, seen at the left, and the one just across the South Dakota border to the right. (Click to enlarge any image.)

Under the capital construction plan McHenry County’s Pam Althoff and Mike Tryon supported, there will be five slot machines (euphemistically called “video poker machines”) in all sorts of establishments that have liquor licenses.

Think your neighborhood convenience store.

No longer will people have to travel to the Elgin casino to lose their paycheck.

I found my first shot machines at a Wisconsin truck stop where we ate at the Happy Trails Roadside Dinner. (To my surprise, there was nothing about Roy Rogers.)

They were located in a little room between the gas station and convenience store and the restaurant.

One was called

My son thought it was neat.

The slot machine looked just like the video games younger kids play.

In the hall near the lottery stand was a machine I haven’t seen since the Caribbean cruise we took about seven years ago.

There, the

game was in the ship’s casino.

Clearly, it was a gambling device, luring people by showing racks of quarters which could, oh so easily, be swept into the tray for you to take home.

We found the same kind of machine, albeit jammed, at the Dixie Truckers Stop south of Bloomington on I-55.

It was called

there and can be seen sitting to the left of the other slot machines.

Governor Pat Quinn is about to break ties to his party’s liberals and sign this massive expansion of gambling bill on Monday.

I believe I have read that this expansion will make turn Illinois into the biggest gambling state in the United States of America.

Somehow, with our sordid history of corruption, that seems appropriate.

I don’t suppose calls to Quinn’s office would make any difference now that he has announced his deal with the devil, but, if you feel strongly about protecting the weakest among us, please give him a call.