McHenry County Blog

The following has arrived from McHenry County Board member John Hammerand, Chairman of the McHenry County Liquor and License Committee:

Public Hearing on Video Gambling in McHenry County

The McHenry County Board’s Liquor and License Committee has scheduled a public hearing to hear residents’ opinions on video gambling. The hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7, at the county Administration Building, 667 Ware Road, Woodstock.

If McHenry County takes no action, gambling will become legal in bars in unincorporated McHenry County.

Do you object, or are you in favor?

Bring your comments to the County’s Public Hearing. Let your Legislators know how you feel.

Thank You

John D Hammerand
Chairman
McHenry County Liquor and License Committee

State law authorizes five slot machines in every bar, tavern and restaurant serving liquor unless local units of local government forbid it.

Thus far in McHenry County, the Lake in the Hills village board has voted unanimously to allow the slot machines.

The McHenry County Board has the authority to ban the slot machines in only the unincorporated areas of the county.

Another option would be for the county board to authorize an advisory referendum pm how citizens would like them to vote.

Fox River Grove county board member Bob Bless made that suggestion about two weeks ago.

I wonder what the percentage would have been in the Chicago Tribune poll if the question had asked about slot machines, rather than video poker.

The 58% opposition to slot machines is down from 71% six years ago.

I wonder if the McHenry County Board has the courage to put the issue to an advisory referendum during the Republican and Democratic primary elections next February.

Here’s what local establishments could begin to look like.

The new law provides that five slot machines will be allowed in every establishment with a liquor license and truck stops.

You see the Dixie Truck Stop on Interstate 55 south of Bloomington above.

The following email popped into my inbox last night about how Libertarians favor allowing the slot machines that the Illinois General Assembly (including State Senator Pam Althoff, plus State Reps. Mike Tryon and Mark Beaubien) voted for and Governor Pat Quinn signed.

I thought you might be interested. A resolution will be considered today at 9:30 in the county’s administrative building–north of the courthouse and jail–by the Liquor and License Committee.

Video Poker and McHenry County

Wednesday September 9th McHenry County will vote to disallow video poker in the county. We should all disagree with this vote because it’s based on flawed and dishonest research. Let me explain.

The ordinance is based off of two statements. The first statement is “WHEREAS, states such as Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina have abandoned experiments with the legalization of video poker”.

That might be true however they conveniently left out that 22 other states have passed legislation and find it successful. Is their “Whereas” an error, misstatement or just plain slant? If they are going to include such line in an ordinance they should be required to add all of it or none of it.

The worse however is the second statement:

“WHEREAS, electronic gaming is designed to entice people to play longer, faster, and at higher rates of wagering, according to a study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology”.

This statement is just plain false. The study from MIT they site is not an MIT study at all but a book review by Sharon Schorow on Natasha Schull Book “Machine Zone: Technology Design and Gambling Addiction in Las Vegas,” is scheduled to be published by the Princeton University Press in 2010. This book review was published in the MIT newspaper. Yes some people, such as myself actually looked up the so called study.

If we’re not against this ordinance on the freedom and liberty idea and believe we don’t need government telling us what we should or shouldn’t do with our money we should be against it for the sole reason of having the county lie, mislead or falsely report their own supporting documents concerning this inaccurate ordinance.

The slot machines you see above are located at the Happy Trails Restaurant in Wisconsin.

State law allows similar machines in every truck stop and every location with a liquor license.

The county board is allowed to ban such machines only in the unincorporated parts of McHenry County. City councils and village boards have control over whether they are allowed within their municipal boundaries.