The St. Charles City Council decided Monday that video gaming is worth considering and told city staff it’s time to draft a city ordinance allowing it.
The council still would have to debate that ordinance and vote yes or no in September, but after two long recent committee meetings hearing the pros and cons, alderman decided in a 6-3 vote that they should at the very least take a final vote.
“I think the citizens and businesses deserve a straight up and down vote,” said Ald. William Turner.
Turner has voiced the strongest support for the idea of allowing video gaming terminals at St. Charles establishments, a form of revenue for state, businesses and municipalities since the state made it legal in 2009.
He decried the idea of social costs preventing its implementation in St. Charles, saying that “we have to trust our people.” People from his ward say ‘it’s their money, let them spend it,’ he said.
But other aldermen are staunchly opposed. Ald. Rita Payleitner called it “unconscionable” that the city is considering this kind of measure to boost its coffers when the revenue would come from people’s losses at the machines. She questioned whether the city would even realize any financial benefits if the state changed the rules or withheld funds.
“The state of Illinois can’t be trusted,” she said.
Ald. Maureen Lewis, Ald. Jo Krieger, and Ald. Ron Silkaitis also said they were opposed.
“For the amount of money we’d be getting, I don’t know if this is the path,” Silkaitis said.
Finance director Chris Minick told the council that for the city to receive $100,000 in revenue, the city would need $25 million to be wagered, with players losing $2 million in the machines. According to Minick’s analysis based on the revenue reports from the state’s gaming boards, that amount would require 53 terminals. Because the state limits the number of terminals to five per establishment, that would mean that 11 different St. Charles businesses would have to have them, he said.
The city also invited Maurine Patten, a local psychologist and consultant, to detail some of the social costs that may be associated with video gaming. Patten explained the brain science behind gambling addiction, and said that video gaming is considered the most highly addictive of any kind of gambling.
“There is more at stake here than just money,” she said.
The audience didn’t weigh in at this meeting, after the council allowed hours of comments from residents at the previous meeting dedicated to the topic.
The ordinance will be on the Sept. 8 agenda.
Alexa Aguilar is a freelance reporter.
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