McHenry County Blog

A press release from McHenry County State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi:

MCHENRY COUNTY STATE’S ATTORNEY’S OFFICE HOSTS THE ILLINOIS GAMING BOARD

Louis A. Bianchi is pleased to announce that the State’s Attorney’s Office is sponsoring a free seminar on Legal and Illegal Video Games on June 4, 2013, in the State’s Attorney’s Office Grand Jury Room at the McHenry County Government Center at 3:00 p.m.

This seminar is open to all law enforcement, public officials, municipalities, judiciary, lawyers, business owners and the general public.

Mark Ostrowski, Administrator, Illinois Gaming Board will be presenting.

Pretend you are a legislator.

It is very highly unlikely you will read each bill. Actually, that is impossible as the deadline for passage out of each house approaches.

In the House, you don’t even know the order in which the bills will be called anymore.

It’s whenever Speaker Mike Madigan decides. (It wasn’t like that before Madigan. There was an actual calendar from which the bills were called in numerical order each day.)

Yesterday, the Illinois State Senate amended what is commonly called the “video poker” bill. It’s really about the slot machining of Illinois.

Here’s the summary that would have been on your computer screen about Senate Bill 1738, sponsored by Lake County’s Terry Link:

Replaces everything after the enacting clause with the introduced bill with the following changes: defines “electronic card” (and removes a cross-reference to the Illinois Administrative Code); provides that the central communications system vendor may be licensed as a video gaming terminal manufacturer or a video gaming terminal distributor, or both, but in no event shall the central communications system vendor be licensed as a video gaming terminal operator;

provides that the Board shall not permit the development of information or the use by any licensee of gaming device or individual game performance data;

provides that nothing in the Act shall inhibit or prohibit the Board from the use of gaming device or individual game performance data in its regulatory duties;

requires the Board to adopt rules to ensure that all licensees are treated and all licensees act in a non-discriminatory manner and develop processes and penalties to enforce those rules;

adds language authorizing the Illinois Gaming Board to adopt rules establishing standards for advertising video gaming;

removes language prohibiting the Board from disseminating information that is specific to individual licensed locations (and removes corresponding changes to the Freedom of Information Act); and,

in provisions amending the Criminal Code of 2012, provides that video gaming terminals for sale to a licensed distributor or operator (rather than a licensed establishment, licensed fraternal establishment, licensed veterans establishment, or licensed truck stop establishment) under the Video Gaming Act are exempt from seizure.

Effective immediately.

In the form legislators see the description, it is one fully packed paragraph. I have cut it up to make it easier to read.

Below is the roll call:

Locally, Senator Pam Althoff voted in favor, while her McHenry County colleagues Dan Duffy and Karen McConnaughay voted against the measure.

The Illinois Church Action on Alcohol and Addiction Problems (ILCAAP) offers the following commentary:

Wednesday, the Senate passed SB 1738, which hides information about video gambling at individual establishments from the public examination. The vote on SB 1738 was 35 Yes and 15 NO.

SB 1738 also changes the video gambling act to allow the company that has the contract for the Central Communications System (Scientific Games) to also manufacture video gambling machines. This is a conflict of interest.

Two issues were considered for the second time at Tuesday night’s:

• slot machines at bars and restaurants in unincorporated McHenry County
• electronic billboards outside of municipalities

Also called video poker machines, the electronic devices will be allowed after a 15-9 vote.

The argument that the unincorporated bars were playing on an uneven playing field seemed to carry the day over arguments that gambling can lead to addiction that can destroy lives.

In 2009 the McHenry County Board voted 13-10-1 to prohibit the devices.

At that time rules had not been promulgated and no municipality had voted to allow them.

As Ken Koehler, maker of Tuesday’s motion put it, “It probably made sense to send a message to the rest of the County.  Now twenty [cities and villages] have [approved video gaming."

Names of the fifteen who voted in favor follow:

• Michele Aavang
• Nick Chirokos
• Sue Drafkorn
• Joe Gottemoller
• Jim Heisler
• Tina Hill
• John Jung
• Ken Koehler
• Bob Martens
• Mary McCann
• Mary McClellan
• Anna May Miller
• Robert Nowak
• Sandy Salgado
• Mike Skala

Those voting “No” were

• Yvonne Barnes


Bethany Lutheran Church Pastor Carrie Smith, not speaking for her church, told of how gambling had devastated her brother’s life.

• Diane Evertsen
• John Hammerand
• Donna Kurtz
• Nick Provenzano
• Carolyn Schofield
• Ersel Schuster
• Mike Walkup
• Paula Yensen

The second issue was prompted by villages not wanting electronic billboard near their municipalities.

A moratorium enacted at their request was about to expire and, according to one village’s representative, “the word on the street” was that lobbying to let the moratorium run out was heavy.

Appearing were those wishing to keep the ban on electronic billboards in unincorporated areas.

Algonquin Village President John Schmitt. He pointed out that the issue was so important to him that he was missing only is fifth meeting in twenty years of having served on his Board.

Catherine Peterson, Lakewood’s Village Manager, also weighed in asking for a continuance of the billboards’ prohibition through the summer months until the new zoning ordinance could be approved.

Also present was Lake in the Hills’ Community Development Director Dan Olson.

Despite the apprehension of village officials, the County Board approved the requested extension by voice vote. I heard no dissension.

Besides the 6 PM meeting at McHenry County College at which the lame duck Board seems destined to renew President Vicky Smith’s contract, there are other meetings people might find of interest.

Each of McHenry County’s 17 Townships will hold annual meetings. They start at 7.

I’ve attended the Grafton Township Annual Town Meeting for the past four times, all of which were action-packed…often with Huntley Police presence.

It probably will be an interesting meeting, but the McHenry County Board might be more interesting.

It also starts at 7 PM.

The bar owners have retained attorney Tom Zanck to lobby County Board members to vote to reverse their prohibition of the video poker/slot machines from bars and restaurants regulated by the County.

My sources tell me that the proponents have about ten votes.

If all 24 members attend the meeting, thirteen votes will be needed to pass the measure.

The vote was 13-10-1 against legislation in late 2009.

That’s if no one abstains or, as they say in the Illinois General Assembly, someone “takes a walk.”

In any event, the last time around the vote was quite close.

Voting in favor of a ban of the video gambling machines in unincorporated areas in 2009 were the following, who are grouped by county board district (those up for election in 2010 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

I’ve been told that the proponents of repeal have only locked up ten votes and the lobbyist of those seeking to reverse the video gaming prohibition, Tom Zanck, is asking if those inclined to vote “Yes” could abstain to lower the number of affirmative votes needed to win the day.

Those wishing to let their Board members know where they stand can call them at the numbers below:

District 1

• Robert “Bob” Nowak – Home: 847-977-5516, email – rcnowak@co.mchenry.il.us
• Anna May Miller – Home: 847-639-5112, Work: 847-639-2700, email – ammiller@co.mchenry.il.us
• Yvonne Barnes – Home: 847-516-2719, email – ymbarnes@co.mchenry.il.us
• Nick Chirikos – Home: 847-658-3434, email -nachirikos@co.mchenry.il.us

District 2

• Carolyn Schofield – Home: 815-455-9550, Work: 815-341-2440, email – cdschofield@co.mchenry.il.us
• James L. Heisler – Home: 815-459-1971, Work: 815-459-0171, email – jlheisler@co.mchenry.il.us
• Kenneth D. Koehler – Home: 815-459-7841, email – kdkoehler@co.mchenry.il.us
• Donna Kurtz – Home: 815-788-0632, Work: 815-353-5972, email – dmkurtz@co.mchenry.il.us

District 3

• Nick Provenzano – Cell: 815-355-8540, email – nxprovenzano@co.mchenry.il.us
• Mary E. McClellan – Home: 815-482-5693, email – memcclellan@co.mchenry.il.us
• Michael J. Walkup – Home: 815-477-8978, Work: 815-459-7090, email – mjwalkup@co.mchenry.il.us
• Joseph Gottemoller – Home: 815-382-9940 (Cell), Work: 815-459-5152, email – jxgottemoller@co.mchenry.il.us

District 4

• Sue Draffkorn – Home: 815-653-6057, email -sxdraffkorn@co.mchenry.il.us
• John D. Hammerand – Home: 815-728-0700, email – jdhammerand@co.mchenry.il.us
• Bob Martens – Home: 815-675-6353, Cell: 815-354-9300, email – rmmartens@co.mchenry.il.us
• Sandra Fay Salgado – Home: 815-276-2317, email – sfsalgado@co.mchenry.il.us

District 5

• Tina Hill – Cell: 815-347-4222, email – trhill@co.mchenry.il.us
• Paula Yensen – Home: 815-404-3918, email – peyensen@co.mchenry.il.us
• John Jung, Jr. – Home: 815-338-6201, email – jpjung@co.mchenry.il.us
• Michael Skala – Home: 847-669-3804, Work: 815-337-5550, email – mjskala@co.mchenry.il.us

District 6

• Michele Aavang – Home: 815-648-4210, email – mraavang@co.mchenry.il.
• Mary T. McCann – Home: 815-568-1061, email – mtmccann@co.mchenry.il.us
• Diane Evertsen – Home: 815-943-3298, Work: 815-943-3298, email – dxevertsen@co.mchenry.il.us
• Ersel Schuster – Home: 815-338-2207, email – ersel@sbcglobal.net

Several new members have said they will vote as their perceived their constituents feel.

Thought you might be interested in this warning from a Friend of McHenry County Blog:

I wanted to bring to your attention an issue that is near and dear to our hearts, one that we have been rallying against for some time.

Recently, a gentleman by the name of Robert Dellutri applied for a conditional use permit for a tavern and an off-street parking variance for his proposed video gambling business on Rte. 120 (near Angelo’s and Jewel). He stated that it would be “much like a Starbucks, a cafe serving coffee, soft drinks, and packaged food items

IN ADDITION TO ALCOHOL AND VIDEO GAMING. he also stated that he was “looking for an area with high traffic volume of shoppers (i.e. grocery stores, shopping malls).

The McHenry City Council voted it down. FOR NOW. Two council members voted in favor.

This is what is happening. Since our state legislators voted in 2009 to allow video gambling, we have business owners, who have no interest in preserving our communities, trying to make their money here and live in other cities (as in the case of Robert Dellutri of Aurora).

The potential is that opportunists will try to move into any vacant building and open up a tavern. This is exactly what Dellutri tried to do in a strip mall in McHenry under the ruse of a “cafe like Starbucks”. Starbucks doesn’t stay open until 2:00am and is not a “mini-casino”!

Cities in McHenry county (like Spring Grove and Johnsburg) that have approved video gambling may be targeted in the future.

Please call your pastors and alert them. Then call your Village Board or City Council members and let them know that you are against this expansion!

OK. You can say another effort to legalize slot machines and video poker is not likely.

But, before you or I come to that conclusion, let’s look at what happened to the Liquor & License Committee make-up for the next two years.

Although its Chairman for the last two years and John Hammerand listed it as his first committee choice, Chairman Tina Hill took him off the committee. He supporter Ersel Schuster on both the first and second votes for County Chairman to replace Ken Koehler.

And, who got made Chairman of the Committee?

It was Ken Koehler. It was his third choice for committee assignment.

When the issue was last in the Liquor & License Committee, Ken Koehler spoke strongly in favor of allowing the slots (he called them “video poker”) in that part of McHenry County controlled by the County Board.

So, the leadership of the Committee has gone from opposition to support on the issue.

The other suggested Committee members are

• Sue Draffkorn
• Diane Evertsen
• Mary McClellan
• Robert Nowak

Of those, Draffkorn and McCann voted in favor of banning slots in the rural area.

Nowak and McClellan have not cast a vote on the issue.

I asked McClellan her opinion on the issue and she told me,

“I guess I’ll have to ask my constituents what they want.”

The vote to ban the slots was 13-10-1.

Of those ten who voted on the losing side of the 2009 vote (that is, in favor of video poker), seven (Bob Bless, Scott Breeden, Mary Donner, Pete Merkel, Marc Munaretto, Lyn Orphal,  and Dan Ryan) are no longer on the Board.

Newly-installed Chairman Hill, however, did vote for the measure.

So, after having looked at the loss of so many video poker proponents from the Board membership and the make-up of the Liquor & License Committee, if both of the members who have not yet had to vote on the issue (McClellan and Nowak) were in favor when a vote came up, it could get out onto the Board floor for a vote.

But, most of the newly-elected members would have to be in favor of expanding gambling at the local level for the decision to be reversed.

Odds would be against that, I believe.

Especially since a Chicago Tribune poll in 2009 found about 60% of the people outside of Chicago opposed the idea.

With slot machine salesmen and liquor licensees urging the Fox River Grove Village Board to legalize what proponents like to call “video poker,” the Board complied on a 6-0 vote.

Frank Gumma, owner, Ideal Gaming, Inc., East Dundee, made the successful pitch.

He characterized the proposal as “casual type gambling.”

What kind of gambling?

“Blackjack, poker and line games like slot machines,” Gumma replied.

He touted the regulation of the Illinois Gaming Board as “the most difficult gaming board in the whole country.”

He said Fox River Grove should approve video gambling in order to attract new restaurants, which would come to town because neighboring towns, such as Cary and Barrington, have not done so.  $30-35,000 more in income his competitor slot machine supplier Chris estimated.

“The nearest is Port Barrington,” he observed.

Gumma pointed out that Illinois was the seventh state “to go legal.”

One Trustee asked a prescient question, considering that coin-operated machines overseen by the Syndicate were run out of Fox River Grove for decades:

“How are we going to be sure there won’t be any criminal element involved in this?”

“They (the State Gaming Board) have done their due diligence and then some,” competitor Chris Hersh (sp?), sitting in the front row next to bar owners, added.

Trustee Michael Schiestel asked if the salesman had an studies on negative social impact.

Commenting on the possibility, Gumma replied, “I’d like to think not.”

No one was in the audience to provide a rebuttal to any of the proponents’ arguments.

One of Schiestel’s seatmates, Suzanne Blohm asked if “we can opt out at a future time.”

Trustee Michael Ireland pointed out that it was an “annual permitted use.”

Village Attorney John Donahue did not contradict Ireland.

When asked their opinions, the tavern and restaurant owners were uniformly in favor of approval of the extra stream of revenue.

“We’re just bringing in another vendor,” one said.

After the salesman observed that the average person will take home 92% of what he or she bet, Steve Knar pointed out that “the average person will end up losing a lot more” compared to an experienced player.

“Don’t misrepresent it to them or to us.”

“I don’t see this being any kind of problem,” the owner of Deadman’s Pub said.

He told of people coming in when his bar was empty, ordering a beer and leaving.

“This will entertain him for a couple of minutes.  He’ll play it casually. ”

“We need to help our businesses,” Knar said observing that people would go to Cary or Barrington, if they said, “Yes,” and we said, “No.”

Schiestel followed the line of argument that “if money is spent on a machine, it won’t be spent somewhere else” like “groceries.”

“I think it would help our businesses attract more people,” Jerry Menzel countered.

Schiestel asked the median income of slot machine players.

Chris said he didn’t have that information.

Menzel asked if the house didn’t “always win.”

“Of course,”Gumma replied forthrightly.

Menzel wondered if the proposal wasn’t “a recreational sport.”

“Yes,” Gumma said.

He then told of a trip he took to West Virginia to check out how the industry operates there.

Talking to two men watching sports at the bar, he learned that both of their wives were at the machines elsewhere in the establishment.

Village President Robert Nunmaker then entered the conversation.

“It’s not about the money,” he said, referring to the Village’s 5% cut of the money gambled.

“It’s an issue of supporting our businesses and doing what’s right for our residents.”

“I don’t think we’re in the business to dictate or allow how our residents enjoy themselves,” Knar added.

“I’m not particularly fond of social engineering,” Menzel agreed.

Although I didn’t get her words, Trustee Joanna Colletti expressed a similar opinion.

With the Mayor not voting, the proposal to bring back legalized open gambling in Fox River Grove passed 6-0.

Not just an off-track betting parlor.

Slot machines all over town.

That’s what the 5-1-1 vote last night in favor of allowing five slot machines in every bar and restaurant that wants them.

Andy Glab was the only alderman voting against the proposal.

Victor Santi abstained, surprising a friend of McHenry County Blog in attendance.

Let me share the observer’s reaction at the abstention and the approval vote by the others:

“Santi abstained after voicing an opinion which seemed to indicate that he felt MORE public input was needed in a forum setting …. Then his abstention totally floored me.

“ONE off-track betting location is manageable in terms of the negative influences, BUT the potential of 200 video gaming machines in 40 different establishments with liquor licenses pursuant to revenue generation (marshaled & regulated by SPRINGFIELD …) causes me to recoil with many concerns …

“Learning that Crystal Lake & Woodstock have essentially said ‘no’ leaves me wondering out loud …. Where’s McHenry going ?? …. ALSO, two reps from the VFW and American Legion spoke in solid support of the idea … puzzling for me …”

The others voted in favor.

It’ll be pretty much just like the old days, except the Mob won’t be taking a cut.

Replacing the private sector will be the public sector.

Guys won’t be on the top floor of the hotel next to the Fox River bridge watching for lawmen.

And weekly pay-offs will not be going to the two local judges who got them in the 1950′s.

Instead, state and local government will get a cut, as will those who provide the slot machines.

There won’t be raids by the Sheriff’s Department as occurred in Algonquin when I was in college in the early 1960′s.  I remember reading the slot machines were full when seized, but empty when destroyed.

No accounting for the missing money.

At least local officials won’t be getting a cut personally.

 

On night last week, I shot off 20-30 Freedom of Information requests for emails from announced McHenry County Sheriff candidate Andy Zinke.

I’ve gotten a lot of replies.

Today I received my first rejection.

It was from the Village of Spring Grove, the town that just approved video slot machines in its taverns.

Needless to say, I appealed the denial to the Public Access Counselor of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.

One has to wonder why a village would deny a document which is in its possession.

The folks I can see who will win here are the lawyers who answer the reasons why the denial was make.

= = = = =
I have been informed by a village official that Ancel, Glink, Diamond, Bush, DiCianni and Krafthefer represent the village.

Some notes from a friend of McHenry County Blog about the Spring Grove’s Village Board’s approval of what supporters call “Video Poker,” but what will really put slot machines at any restaurant or tavern with a liquor license:

Tonight, Spring Grove Village Trustees Bob McMahon, Del Houghton, Mike Lee and Village President Mark Eisenberg all voted in favor of “approval of an ordinance amending certain sections of the Village Code to authorize video gaming” and “approval of an ordinance amending Chapter 26, Section 2606 of the Village Code to prohibit video gaming”.

Trustees Del Houghton, Bob McMahon, Mike Lee and Mark Eisenberg’s arguments were that

• they “didn’t think government should control what people did”
• “there were only a few games”
• “they could be taken out if things didn’t work out”.

Eisenberg said that “village residents were against the new Jewel food store going up too” but that it had turned out to be a good form of revenue.

Eisenberg also stated that we already have people gambling in the Spring Grove businesses on these machines.

Trustee Jim Anhalt stated that if they are, then it is illegal and we should be enforcing the law.

When pressed as to where these machines were, Eisenberg said that didn’t know.

Trustees Jim Anhalt, Pat Mazzanti and Ron Kopke voted against amending the ordinances.

10 of 12 village residents in attendance stood up and spoke adamantly against bringing video poker into the Village of Spring Grove, 2 had other business to discuss.

Trustee Jim Anhalt was very outspoken in his opposition and presented extensive research on the dangers and addiction of video poker and noted that several other towns that had chosen not to introduce it, specifically that Crystal Lake stood to make a lot more money than we did but still voted against it.

Other points Anhalt made were of the limited revenue it would bring the village while increasing a need for police. Anhalt ‘s logic was to “wait and see what happened in Fox Lake” after they installed the poker machines before rushing to make a decision for Spring Grove.

Mike Lee said that he was against government telling people what to do.

Anhalt ( a former police officer) stated that government protect people from themselves all the time (i.e. seat belts, speed limits, no more than 5 poker machines in one establishment, etc.).

There are only 3 establishments in Spring Grove that would be allowed to have video poker machines.

Anhalt told the board that they were “supposed to be representing the entire village, not just 3 businesses.”

Del Houghton verbally attacked Jim Anhalt for “rolling people out” to speak out against the issue.

Anhalt ‘s response was,

“Don’t you think the people have a right to know what’s going on and what we’re voting on here tonight?”

Resident Ron Erdmann asked why we were supporting the corrupt stat of Illinois.

“30%” off the top goes to state.

We get 1/6 of the 30%.

What’s left is divided 50/50 between the business and and the company that owns the machines.

“We stand to gain little.”