Former Lake in the Hills Trustee Paula Yensen urged her ex-fellows not to legalize video gambling in the village Tuesday.
Yensen, now a McHenry County Board member, told trustees her own bitter experience should warn against gambling in the village.
"My ex-husband impoverished our family because of his addiction to gambling," Yensen said. "Professionals agree video poker is a fast track to addiction," Yensen told trustees. "I can only tell you the problem has had a profound impact on our family."
Legislators in July legalized video gambling in Illinois as one way to fund the state's capital projects bill. Lake in the Hills village ordinances currently outlaw gambling machines and trustees are considering opting in to the new regime.
In an informal survey the village found only 10 businesses eligible to install the machines in the first place and none with an especial burning desire to do so.
Nevertheless, "It's a revenue source," said Village Administrator Gerald Sagona. "Right now we can't afford to overlook any revenue source."
The McHenry County Board's Liquor and License Committee will consider a similar plan to legalize video gambling today with the question planned to go before the full board no matter what the committee recommends.
The Lake in the Hills board is expected to make their decision Thursday.
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2 comments:
First of all, I would like to extend my deepest sympathy to Ms. Yensen. I am sorry for the hardship you and your family have gone through due to gambling addiction.
However, despite all of the bad press video gaming has been getting in the local media, I am in favor of video gaming machines for the city of Lake in the Hills as well as the county of McHenry. In a time when local governments are hard pressed to find other sources of revenue it would be irresponsible to pass on a potentially lucrative revenue source. I care about our community and I care about its people, but I believe those that are/will be afflicted with gambling addiction due to Illinois video gaming machines will simply go to neighboring communities and gamble there as well as the non-addicted community members and other outside visitors/tourists. Lake in the Hills will lose out on, not only, the gaming machine tax revenue but also the revenue generated by simply having patrons in the community purchasing general goods.
In regards to gambling addiction, we are not hearing the "other" side. It seems the media has grasped onto those heart-wrenching, terrible stories of gambling addiction but never discuss the statistics of how often that occurs or the likelihood of that occurring for most adults. Looking online I found some information about gambling addiction as cited on the National Council on Problem Gambling website:
"The cause of a gambling problem is the individual's inability to control the gambling. This may be due in part to a person's genetic tendency to develop addiction, their ability to cope with normal life stress and even their social upbringing and moral attitudes about gambling. The casino or lottery provides the opportunity for the person to gamble. It does not, in and of itself, create the problem any more than a liquor store would create an alcoholic."
"2 million (1%) of U.S. adults are estimated to meet criteria for pathological gambling in a given year. Another 4-6 million (2-3%) would be considered problem gamblers; that is, they do not meet the full diagnostic criteria for pathological gambling, but meet one of more of the criteria and are experiencing problems due to their gambling behavior. Research also indicates that most adults who choose to gamble are able to do responsibly."
Thank you for listening to my point of view. Taking the time to listen to all sides is important in deciding what is best for our community.
I agree, alcoholism affected our family years ago, but you can't have prohibition. Addicts of any kind will find a way to feed those addictions. I know you can argue that you would be making it easier to gamble, but as the previous commenter states the village needs revenue and there are folks that will enjoy playing and be responsible.
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