Alderman Wants To Open Chicago's Doors To Video Gambling, But Mayor Says No
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A freshman Chicago alderman has offered a new proposal to allow video gambling throughout much of the city, but its chances for passage appear limited.
Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) has introduced a measure that would open the doors for video gambling machines in Chicago, but would allow aldermen to ban the machines from specific areas, or entire wards.
Lopez said each aldermen could decide whether to allow video gambling in his or her ward, but he said it should be legal, and could bring in revenue for the cash-strapped city.
"This ordinance calls for a $1,000 licensing fee per machine, and based on what is currently allowable by the state, minus any kind of moratorium, we would be looking at about $16 to $17 million just in licensing fees alone," he said.
However, Mayor Rahm Emanuel promptly shot down the idea after Wednesday's City Council meeting. He said he's unequivocally opposed to the idea of video gaming in Chicago.
"As a city, if we're going to have gaming, I think it should be an isolated, or in a central location like a casino. I don't want to see it spread throughout the city of Chicago. I don't think that's good for the type of city we want to have," he said.
The mayor said he does support a casino in Chicago, but said he doesn't want video gambling machines spread across the city. He said a single location for gambling in Chicago would be better, so anyone opposed to gambling can easily avoid it.