A public hearing set up by the village of Lincolnwood May 17 midst the town’s ongoing quest to consider lifting its ban on video gambling failed to garner much interest from the community—though a few people who did show up opposed the measure.
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The Lincolnwood Village Board is considering a proposal from video gambling chain Laredo Hospitality to open video gambling establishments. Laredo owns about 40 video gaming operations in Illinois, according to CEO Gary Leff, who is seeking approval from the village to open a gaming center called Stella’s Cafe in an empty storefront in a strip mall anchored by CVS pharmacy on the 3900 block of Devon Avenue.
Instead of buying up bars and installing video gambling terminals, Laredo’s business model has made its way into the state’s gaming industry by scooping up liquor licenses for their cafes, which are designed specifically to cater to a gambling clientele.
Village officials said a decision to lift the ban would make Lincolnwood a rarity among the mix of affluent North Shore area suburbs that have upheld restrictions.
During an introductory presentation prior to Tuesday’s public hearing, village manager Tim Wiberg pointed to a map of the state showing the 900 or so municipalities that allow video gambling. The North Shore area is the only exception among the heavy concentration of Chicago-area communities that welcome video gambling.
“There’s kind of a doughnut hole where the North Shore is—no other North Shore area communities except Morton Grove have opted in,” Wiberg said, adding that the village hadn’t received any feedback in support of or against the proposal from the public prior to the hearing.
Among the handful of people who spoke in opposition to the proposal were Kathy Gilroy, an anti-gambling activist from Villa Park.
Gilroy, who said she represents the interests of several groups that comprise an anti-gambling movement in the state, urged the board to consider gaming’s potential negative impact on the community.
“Slots are legal (in other towns) but unlike the lottery you can vote to overturn the ban and prevent an addictive type of gambling from coming to Lincolnwood taverns,” Gilroy said. “Since the town can’t revoke a license from the state, a vote against slots simply allows you more time to consider the issue.”
While village trustees have taken a mostly-neutral stance on the proposal to lift the ban during a series of Committee of the Whole meetings held since February when Laredo representatives first debuted their plans, Lincolnwood resident Stacey Katsibaros sided with opinions expressed by some officials who say Lincolnwood’s reputation as a family-oriented community could be on the line.
“We’ve had a lot of businesses come in recently—a lot of them are liquor stores—so I’m concerned about having gaming in a village that is very quiet normally,” Katsibaros said. “I raised my son and now my grandson here, but when we start doing things to expand the village quickly, I ask myself whether I want to stay here.”
In the past year, Lincolnwood welcomed the owners of Chicago-based Begyle brewery to open a tap room and brew house at 7005 North Central Park Avenue and issued building permits to Binny’s Beverage Depot, opening later this year in the former Lincolnwood Produce store.
The village could still enact local controls such as limiting the number of gaming terminals allowed village-wide and restricting gaming to certain liquor license classes and zoning districts.
Lincolnwood isn’t the only town Leff has his eye on. The company has recently sought permits to open in Morton Grove, Norridge and Prospect Heights, according to Charity Johns, chief operating officer for Laredo Hospitality.
Leff described Stella’s cafes as innocuous tax revenue generators. “We think it’s a good entertainment option for people who want a certain experience, and if they’re not going to do it in Lincolnwood, they’ll go elsewhere,” Leff said.
Aside from annual licensing fees paid to the municipality by the bar or restaurant that hosts gaming and the operator of the gaming terminal, towns get five percent cut of the total gambling losses (the state of Illinois takes 25 percent, and the bar owner and gaming terminal operator each get a 35 percent cut).
Towns that have Laredo-owned cafes have brought in an average of $24,000 per year in gaming tax revenue, according to the Illinois Gaming Board.
In Morton Grove, patrons spent $55.3 million on gaming and lost roughly $4.2 million in 2015 between the village’s 42 gaming terminals, according to revenue reports from the Illinois Gaming Board.
Trustee Larry Elster said preserving the image of the community should outweigh the financial benefits of gaming.
“I have three young families who just moved in on my block,” Elster said. “People are investing in the village and I think we have to keep that at the forefront—that community is the biggest issue, and (gambling) could have an effect in the long run.”
Natalie Hayes is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
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