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While the vote was narrow, the decision was final. The Kane County Board voted Tuesday morning to ban video gambling in unincorporated areas of the county by a 12-to-11 vote, despite some board members’ concerns that they were acting prematurely on the issue.
Board member Jesse Vazquez, D-8th District, of Aurora, who headed up the Kane County Video Gaming Task Force, voted against banning video gambling. Vazquez said he was disappointed video gambling was banned so quickly and that board members Gerald Jones, D-7th District, Aurora, and Robert J. McConnaughay, R-11th District, Geneva, were absent, since he believed they would have voted not to ban it yet.
“Nothing is going to happen tomorrow on the state level,” Vazquez said. “Had all the players been here, (maybe it would have been) a different result. But it is what it is.”
County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay said she was disappointed the vote was passed by such a slim margin. She said she didn’t believe it was a good message to send.
“You supported the capital bill, you asked your legislator to support a capital bill,” McConnaughay said to the board. “You need to help your legislators understand what is the alternative, another funding mechanism. Your job is not done just because you voted against it. You need to step up and help your legislators understand (how to fund the capital bill).”
After the meeting, McConnaughay said she was pleased with the process as a whole, and that no other government body offered public hearings and looked into it as extensively as Kane County. However, she said it would have been prudent to table the vote until the board knew more facts about how video gambling would be enforced and handled on the local level.
The board was initially unsure whether they were going to conduct a final vote Tuesday. Board member William Wyatt, R-5th District, Aurora, motioned to indefinitely postpone the vote.
“We’re not prepared to act on this,” Wyatt said. “I want to (postpone the vote) until such a time where we know what the ramifications of the bill will be and how it impacts Kane County. Sitting here today, I don’t think we know that.”
Thomas Van Cleave, R-9th District, of Batavia said he wanted to send Springfield a message with his vote to ban video gambling.
“Let’s send a message today that this is half thought out, half conceived and we’re not going with it,” Van Cleave said.
While the vote was narrow, the decision was final. The Kane County Board voted Tuesday morning to ban video gambling in unincorporated areas of the county by a 12-to-11 vote, despite some board members’ concerns that they were acting prematurely on the issue.
Board member Jesse Vazquez, D-8th District, of Aurora, who headed up the Kane County Video Gaming Task Force, voted against banning video gambling. Vazquez said he was disappointed video gambling was banned so quickly and that board members Gerald Jones, D-7th District, Aurora, and Robert J. McConnaughay, R-11th District, Geneva, were absent, since he believed they would have voted not to ban it yet.
“Nothing is going to happen tomorrow on the state level,” Vazquez said. “Had all the players been here, (maybe it would have been) a different result. But it is what it is.”
County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay said she was disappointed the vote was passed by such a slim margin. She said she didn’t believe it was a good message to send.
“You supported the capital bill, you asked your legislator to support a capital bill,” McConnaughay said to the board. “You need to help your legislators understand what is the alternative, another funding mechanism. Your job is not done just because you voted against it. You need to step up and help your legislators understand (how to fund the capital bill).”
After the meeting, McConnaughay said she was pleased with the process as a whole, and that no other government body offered public hearings and looked into it as extensively as Kane County. However, she said it would have been prudent to table the vote until the board knew more facts about how video gambling would be enforced and handled on the local level.
The board was initially unsure whether they were going to conduct a final vote Tuesday. Board member William Wyatt, R-5th District, Aurora, motioned to indefinitely postpone the vote.
“We’re not prepared to act on this,” Wyatt said. “I want to (postpone the vote) until such a time where we know what the ramifications of the bill will be and how it impacts Kane County. Sitting here today, I don’t think we know that.”
Thomas Van Cleave, R-9th District, of Batavia said he wanted to send Springfield a message with his vote to ban video gambling.
“Let’s send a message today that this is half thought out, half conceived and we’re not going with it,” Van Cleave said.
St. Charles Mayor Donald DeWitte, who attended Tuesday’s meeting, said the city will address the video gambling issue after the holidays. He has asked City Administrator Brian Townsend and City Attorney Gerald Gorski to prepare an outline to determine what is known, what isn’t known and the proposed rules of video gambling in Illinois.
DeWitte said like many county board members, he has leaned toward waiting to vote until more is known about video gambling.
“Clearly, there seems to be a growing sentiment within the City Council that they would like to (do it sooner rather than later),” DeWitte said.
DeWitte said while some St. Charles council members may be interested in how the county voted, he believes the majority of elected officials will “make their own determinations based on their own consciences.”
State lawmakers legalized video gambling this summer to help fund a $31 billion capital improvement plan, but gave local officials the final say on whether they want gambling in their municipality or county.
In late October, the Kane County Board’s Video Gaming Task Force recommended not banning video gambling machines in a 2-1 vote.
According to Kane County officials, they may be able to opt back into video gambling. Multiple board members talked about bringing the discussion back once the rules and regulations of video gambling were clarified by the state.
