Friday, April 13, 2007

Despite pressure from religious leaders and other gambling foes, the Lake
County Board today approved a resolution requesting a percentage of revenue
if Waukegan gets a casino. The proposal, amended on the boardroom floor
before the 13-8 vote, does not specifically back establishment of a casino
in Waukegan. That's a distinction several board members made during a
lengthy discussion, insisting the county should get funding for additional
police, transportation and social services if a casino opens. "I'm a
realist," said Mundelein-area Republican Diana O'Kelly, who sponsored the
amendments. "If this comes to Lake County, we are going to have to supply
some services." That argument didn't fly with those on the board who said
the measure - requested by local legislators - amounted to an endorsement of
gambling expansion. "We're being leveraged and used," said Lake Barrington
Republican Stevenson Mountsier. "With gambling, more people have to lose
than win for there to be tax revenue," added board member Michael Talbett, a
Lake Zurich Republican. "There's got to be a better way to raise that
revenue than this way."