As Election Day nears in Rolling Meadows, where a referendum will ask residents whether they want an Indian-run casino in town, debate has centered not on Atlantic City but on River City.
As in the mythical Iowa town of the musical ”The Music Man,” where the game of pool is accused of destroying River City`s moral fiber, Rolling Meadows residents are expressing deep concern that a gambling hall will bring crime, traffic and a tarnished reputation to the northwest suburb.
”We`re selling out our city,” said Burt Neuner, a 15-year resident.
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The battle for nervous residents` support is being waged by casino proponents with academic studies and police reports that assert that the problems associated with Indian gaming halls like the one proposed for Rolling Meadows are manageable.
”We haven`t had a bad experience at all,” said Dick Powell, police chief of Prior Lake, Minn., outside of Minneapolis, where a large Indian casino operates.
But if the emotional reaction of some Rolling Meadows residents is any indication, the Nov. 3 referendum proposal must be considered a long shot to pass.
Monday night, more than 430 residents attended a three-hour meeting to hear details of the city`s proposal to permit a Wisconsin Indian tribe, the St. Croix Chippewa, to build a 200,000-square-foot casino on 20 acres of land at Algonquin Road and Illinois Highway 53.
The majority of those who spoke voiced concerns that a gaming operation would increase crime and traffic and lower property values in the suburb. Many also said they believe that the proposal sends an improper message that gambling is an acceptable solution to a fiscal crisis.
”My quality of life feels threatened,” said Jack Kellecher, a 29-year resident. ”There are too many unknowns and not enough guarantees.”
Supporters who spoke said they wanted their property taxes cut.
”Let`s get it and go to work on it,” said Joe Palella, an auto body shop owner. ”If the (Arlington International) racetrack doesn`t bring the crime, why will a casino?”
Should the referendum proposal pass, it would not guarantee that the Rolling Meadows casino will ever be built. The ballot is non-binding, meaning that after considering the result, the City Council will decide whether to proceed. Several aldermen said they would vote with the referendum majority.
The St. Croix Chippewa tribe also must leap several other governmental hurdles, including winning approval from Gov. Jim Edgar, who currently opposes the expansion of gambling in the state.
At the heart of the issue is money, of course. Rolling Meadows faces a budget crunch; the casino is projected to create 1,500 jobs and pay the city at least $10 million annually, nearly half the city`s budget. The money would come in the form of a yearly payment in lieu of property taxes. The tribe would also pay a one-time fee of $1.4 million.
The St. Croix Chippewa already operate two casinos and three bingo halls near its reservation in northwest Wisconsin. The tribe, which works with a non-Indian management company based in Palatine called Buffalo Brothers, proposes building the casino in Rolling Meadows under federal law that grants wide governmental autonomy to Native American tribes.
Since 1988, when the law went into effect, tribes have opened Las Vegas-style casinos from Connecticut to California.
Although the Rolling Meadows property would be taken off the tax rolls and placed in federal trust, city, state and federal law would be enforced by city police and other authorities.
Supporters of the proposed casino cite a study by the Northwestern University Traffic Institute, funded by St. Croix Chippewa money, that found that the proposed casino could be expected to bring about two police service calls and half a crime a day to Rolling Meadows.
The study said that most of the anticipated crimes would involve auto theft, forgery, bad checks and stolen credit cards.
”Is that a large increase?” asked Paul Bendis, chief investigator for the traffic institute. ”No.
”Can the police handle it? Yes, if it stays at that level.”
Bendis said a projection that the casino would bring 15,000 daily visitors in 7,500 cars to Rolling Meadows not enough to significantly impede traffic. He added, however, that a complete study on traffic flows must still be done.
Police Chief Gerald Aponte said his department would not tolerate robbery, prostitution, organized crime or any crimes against people. To cope with the extra people and traffic coming into the city, the Police Department envisions assigning a separate unit of 11 uniformed and plainclothes officers to a casino beat.
Rolling Meadows Sgt. Joseph Waitzman, who traveled to Minnesota and Wisconsin casinos to study their impact on local communities, said he believes that police would be responding the most to calls about car problems.
”From the research that we did, crime has very little impact on the immmediate community,” he said.
In interviews, law enforcement officials in communities where other Indian-run casinos operate said that making predictions about the long-range impact of gaming halls on local crime is difficult because many of the casinos have been open for less than a year.
”There`s no mass hysteria here,” said William Griffin, the resident state trooper in Ledyard, Conn., north of Groton, where an Indian casino opened in February.
”In the town of Ledyard, the only thing I can say is we`ve had a dramatic increase in calls for service, but that could be anything ranging from motor vehicle accidents to criminal activity,” Griffin said.
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Powell, the police chief in Prior Lake, about 22 miles outside of Minneapolis, said the casino there, which opened in May, has brought some instances of forgery, counterfeiting and parking lot assaults, but nothing unmanageable. He said prostitution has been kept out mainly because there are no motels in the area.
”Probably the worst thing we`ve had is several assaults in the parking lot, but you can compare that to a bar,” he said. ”The one thing we didn`t anticipate here is the amount of traffic. We are double capacity on some roads.”
Powell, who has offered advice to Rolling Meadows police, said the key to handling a casino is maintaining close cooperation between casino management and police. He said there must be a commitment to root out problems early and to spend enough to give police a fighting chance.
”It`s only as good as the people,” he said. ”If it`s not well-run, it`s going to be an albatross around your neck.”
It is fear of that worst-case scenario that grips many Rolling Meadows residents, who view the proposed casino as an assault on family values, as well as real estate values.
”As a banker, I can`t possibly believe that my home value won`t go down if (15,000) people are coming into Rolling Meadows,” said resident Mike Speziale, president of Avenue Bank in Oak Park and First Colonial Bank in Elk Grove Village.
But resident Renee Kollupayo said that if Rolling Meadows does not jump at the casino, either another community will or gamblers will drive to Indian gaming halls in Wisconsin or elsewhere.
”I`d like to see the money stay in Illinois,” she said.