Video Gaming Ordinance Being Considered For Downers Grove

DOWNERS GROVE, IL — At its Oct. 3 village council meeting, Downers Grove presented the first reading of a potential ordinance that would allow video gaming at restaurants licensed for on-premises liquor consumption.

As presented at the meeting, the ordinance would permit no more than 10 video gaming licenses to be issued. Each licensed business would be allowed no more than six video gaming kiosks.

Limits would also be in effect in downtown Downers Grove, with terminals permitted only at businesses with class C (club) and REC (recreational) licenses. According to village documents, Tivoli Bowl and the Loyal Order of the Moose Lodge would be the only applicable businesses as the draft ordinance is written.

Moose Lodge, which currently offers video gaming via the Illinois Gaming Board, would be required to apply for a video gaming license via the village if the ordinance is approved.

Terminals would only be permitted in businesses that have been open for at least 12 months. Additionally, the ordinance would have the following conditions:

• No video gaming cafés
• No video gaming terminals that are visible from outside of establishment
• Approved establishments must be more than 100 feet from schools or churches
• Video gaming must be located in a separate room with an area of up to 200 square feet

If approved, it's estimated video gaming licenses would bring in between $230,000 and $265,000 in annual revenue, per village documents. Establishments would pay annual fees of $1,500 per video gaming terminal, along with a $1,885 initial application fee.

According to supporting village documents, 36 establishments throughout Downers Grove are zoned to host video gaming under the proposed ordinance.

Ahead of the meeting, resident Anthony J. Schroeder submitted an online comment to share with the village that he prefers Downers Grove not to offer video gaming. Schroeder commented, "Many of our neighbors continue to not lean on gambling for revenue including Elmhurst, Glen Ellyn, Hinsdale, Lisle, Oak Brook, Wheaton."

Schroeder said if the ordinance were to take effect, he would prefer "several modifications," including increased licensing fees and a 1,000-foot distance from churches and schools.

Resident Kevin Bruno commented online that the ordinance "sends a poor message to our children and attracts the wrong individuals to our community."

At the meeting, several residents spoke against and in favor of video gaming.

Resident Laura Hois said, "I believe that video gaming will help businesses recover from the impact of COVID-19."

After the public comment portion of the meeting, Commissioner Danny Glover said, "While I understand and appreciate all the feedback from both sides —both those in favor and opposed of— basically lifting the ban on gaming establishments, my support of this draft ordinance remains unchanged."

Addressing concerns that video gaming will change the "vibrant, quaint, charming, safe, beautiful, family-oriented" atmosphere of Downers Grove, Glover added that he is "confident that Downers Grove will remain all of this...and more."

Glover went on to call the draft ordinance "a better draft ordinance that [he] could've ever even imagined."

Commissioner Leslie Sadowski-Fugitt said, "It's hard for me to see how the arguments against gaming are not based on perceived class differences."

Sadowski-Fugitt compared video gaming establishments to the cigar smoking lounges in downtown Downers Grove and mentioned the "deleterious" effects of secondhand smoke, saying, "yet we seem to accept those without question."

She added, "video gaming, which kind of is presented as a lower class" is "kind of presented in a different way" than cigar smoking, which she said is "historically enjoyed by more wealthy individuals."

Sadowski-Fugitt said that limiting gaming establishments downtown is a compromise based on feedback from residents.

More discussion will be held at the village council's Oct. 17 reading, with a second draft ordinance reading tentatively set for Oct. 24.