But Oak Lawn officials did their own homework and came up with a list showing less than half of the establishments cited by Back to Work Illinois’ estimates – about 20 – would even be eligible for video gaming machines. <\/p>\n
Using figures from an outside study cited in an Illinois Municipal League report, village officials estimate an annual intake of about $225,000 in tax revenue. <\/p>\n
The state Legislature last year legalized gambling terminals in taverns, restaurants and clubs, but allowed communities to prohibit the machines. <\/p>\n
The state expected to reap some $287 million if 45,000 new video gaming machines were installed, but has not yet implemented a plan to regulate them. <\/p>\n
The proceeds would fund a $31 billion capital improvement program that includes roadwork and construction projects throughout the state. <\/p>\n
Oak Lawn officials have outlined several projects that would get funding from video gaming revenues. <\/p>\n
But what remains unclear – in Oak Lawn and around the state – is whether Illinois would withhold funding to communities that ban video gaming. <\/p>\n
A recent bill would require towns and counties that bar video poker to make up revenue themselves that would have been generated by the machines. <\/p>\n
If they don’t repay the state, then Illinois would deduct funds for other projects in their areas. <\/p>\n
So far, Oak Lawn hasn’t banned the machines outright. <\/p>\n
Now the question getting tossed around village hall amounts to this: How bad does Oak Lawn need the money? <\/p>\n
It’s hard to say. <\/p>\n
Oak Lawn’s officials have had little public discussion about it. <\/p>\n
They’ve said they’d like to learn the basics before any discussions can get underway. <\/p>\n
A little more light could be shed on the issue during a special public meeting scheduled for Monday at village hall. <\/p>\n
One top voice in the village is cautiously pessimistic. <\/p>\n
“My personal belief is that it’s not the way you should try to get revenue … I’m just not a big fan of it,” Mayor Dave Heilmann said. “But it’s incumbent upon me to make sure all the facts are out there.” <\/p>\n
HAVE YOUR SAY<\/p>\n
Oak Lawn officials will gather next week to discuss the merits of allowing video gaming in some local establishments.<\/p>\n
The meeting is geared toward local business owners but is open to the public.<\/p>\n
The meeting is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Monday at village hall, 9446 S. Raymond Ave. Residents are encouraged to stick around for a roundtable discussion among the village board scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services<\/a><\/p>\n As Oak Lawn’s officials debate the merits of allowing video gambling in local bars and restaurants, the most important component of the debate – the amount of possible new revenue the village would get from legalized betting on the machines – is up for dispute. According to Back to Work Illinois, a civic and labor […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-361224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=361224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361224\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=361224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/img><\/a>
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