"Blunder Games"

An interesting letter to the State-Journal Register, Springfield regarding Video Gambling:

“Contained within the 2011 publication “Wagering in Illinois,” produced by the commission on Government and Forecasting and Accountability, is a statement that could have a profound effect regarding the rollout of the Video Gaming Act.

“In the report’s preface it states, “Since video gaming was legalized in Illinois, a number of local governments have voted to ban video gaming in their areas. In addition, the city of Chicago, due to a pre-existing law, must ‘opt-in’ in order to offer video gaming, which they have yet to do.”

“This is significant because nowhere in the Video Gaming Act did it pre-empt home rule authority. Because of that fact, Chicago as a home rule municipality properly concluded it needn’t formerly “opt out” of video gaming as its local ordinances already ban it. More significant is that Chicago is not alone in that there are more than 200 other Illinois towns with home rule status, many which also ban video gaming in some fashion through local ordinance.\

“ Repeated attempts to find someone of authority in Illinois government to acknowledge this issue leads me to suspect the failure to pre-empt home rule may have been an oversight in their rush to pass the bill. For this reason, perhaps we should coin the video gaming rollout “The Blunder Games”!

 — Mark Evenson, Palatine”