Recently I was a panelist for a meeting of the Constitutional Rights Foundation of Chicago youth summit on the question of casino expansion. The premise was that gambling expansion would bring more money for Illinois education services.
One reason the high school students called for new money was because their sports teams may disappear. They argued this “sin tax” was better than raising the overall income tax which treats people more equitably. But, there are alternative taxes that could yield significant income to the state, city and local government without having more gambling, including a casino for Chicago.
Several of those ideas include:
All of these ideas should be discussed, debated and considered before casino gambling is expanded in Illinois. Certainly these are better ideas than video poker machines at the corner bar or a casino that preys on the lower income people and the visitor from Cleveland to Illinois.
The Task Force to Oppose Gambling in Chicago has opposed a casino for Chicago for the past 22 years. The principle reasons the task force opposes a Chicago casino are:
Doug Dobmeyer is spokesperson for the Task Force to Oppose Gambling in Chicago.
One reason the high school students called for new money was because their sports teams may disappear. They argued this “sin tax” was better than raising the overall income tax which treats people more equitably. But, there are alternative taxes that could yield significant income to the state, city and local government without having more gambling, including a casino for Chicago.
Several of those ideas include:
- A minute tax on stock trading and derivative products. This would have no effect on costs, but would yield millions because of the volume of business. This tax would be ripe for revenue sharing;
- A city income tax of one percent on money earned in Chicago above $30,000 annually would bring in millions to city tax coffers;
- The Center for Tax and Budget Accountability suggested taxing of retirement funds above a certain amount. This would be akin to what the federal government does with Social Security income now; and
- Blending of local property taxes above the average cost per student to help poorer school districts in the state. An example would be Winnetka property taxes would assist Ford Heights in providing better education.
All of these ideas should be discussed, debated and considered before casino gambling is expanded in Illinois. Certainly these are better ideas than video poker machines at the corner bar or a casino that preys on the lower income people and the visitor from Cleveland to Illinois.
The Task Force to Oppose Gambling in Chicago has opposed a casino for Chicago for the past 22 years. The principle reasons the task force opposes a Chicago casino are:
- Citizens have not been asked their position through a referendum;
- If a casino were located in Chicago the character of the city would change forever. If placed here it is likely more casinos would come in the future;
- Chicago is a city of crime and corruption – has been and is today, That corruption can reasonably be expected to embrace a city-owned casino;
- Chicago is a world-class city already – a center of finance and leadership.
- Chicago at the same time is being asked to overturn a ban on video poker machines allowed under previous legislation. That move would bring more than 15,000 poker machines to bars, restaurants and fraternal organizations. It is estimated that a half billion dollars would leave Chicago’s neighborhoods with VP machines.
- Money lost by families – $102 per gambling customer on average in March, 2011 – hurts families trying to educate kids, pay rent or just live with this recession.
- It shows poor judgment for the state to lead an effort for casinos to fleece citizens of Illinois or the visitor from Cleveland. The house almost always wins while the player loses.
Doug Dobmeyer is spokesperson for the Task Force to Oppose Gambling in Chicago.
The BTW Outfit is funded by coin machine operators and gambling equipment manufacturers. Video gambling in neighborhoods would put THEM back to work. Since the election and the appellate court decision, video gambling is no longer politically palatable.
If illegal, unlicensed, gambling machines all over the state were not eliminated before, how will bringing in legal gambling machines make them appear any more nefarious than before? Wouldn't both gamblers and machine owners prefer the higher payouts and profits that untaxed and unregulated gambling machines could offer?
Chicago, and almost every municipality and county in Illinois, has a decades-old prohibition of gambling and gambling machines.
The primary topic of the writer was a Chicago casino. Helping education was the sales pitch for approving a lottery in Illinois almost 40 years ago. It was a false promise then and still is now.
hello
you must be one of those "crusaders" who never leaves their house
this state is already LOADED with gaming devices...ILLEGAL ONES
they can be found anywhere...bars, diners, etc
there is absolutely NO controlling authority over these machines and likely as not they are RIGGED to steal the users money
by the state monitoring LEGAL video gaming the "industry" would be cleaned up and run not unlike the lottery
there are forces that do not want the video gaming legalized because then the ILLICIT MONEY that has been collected for years would end
think about it
you are making an argument that the CROOKS who have been running this industry illegally for years, want to be heard