Voters Say No to Video Gambling in Forest Park, Despite Business Outreach

Voters advised Forest Park officials to continue the village's ban on video gambling in local establishments by a two-to-one margin in the election Tuesday night. 

An advisory referendum on the April 9 ballot asked voters, "Should video gaming continue to be prohibited in the Village of Forest Park?"

Among 1,428 ballots cast (which is just 15.9 percent voter turnout) nearly 68 percent of voters chose Yes, they would like to see the ban continue. The vote count was 951 to 452. 

See more Forest Park election results. 

Many Forest Park businesses displayed signs urging voters to choose "No" on Tuesday, and there were at least 15 people, many from local bars and restaurants, out in purple shirts saying "vote no" and urging voters to oppose the status quo.

"There's a lot of places hurting already. People are being told that their customers are going elsewhere," said Lynn Sorice, owner of Blueberry Hill in Forest Park. 

North Riverside, Brookfield and Berwyn all allow video gambling, and Sorice said some patrons are heading to those towns for food and drinks instead. She also has a location in Fox Lake, which allows video gambling, and said business is doing great there. 

"We have the same customer base, but we are seeing new faces," Sorice said. "The revenue is pretty amazing."

The state gets a large cut of that revenue, as does the business, and the village would also get a small cut of the profits. 

Even if voters approved of lifting the ban, the Village Council would still have final say on the matter because this was only an advisory referendum. But Sorice said she thought if voters showed support that the village would drop the ban on video gambling. 

Mayor Anthony Calderone sent a mass mailing in February water bills asking residents, "Would you like to see the Village of Forest Park allow Video Gambling in its liquor establishments?" 

At the time 500 responses were collected, 390 said they would not want it allowed, 88 said they would and 22 said they were undecided. 

"I’ll wait until (the election) results come in before I make any official statement, but if this ‘straw poll’ is any indication of the tone of the residents, which I believe it is, then the council technically will not need to do anything because gambling is currently illegal in Forest Park," Calderone said in a news release. 

Read here for more information about the video gaming referendum. 

Some of the people outside of the polling places Tuesday questioned whether the mayor would support video gambling, even if voters approved of it. They took particular aim at the way the question on the ballot was worded, saying it could confuse some voters. 

The ballot question asks voters if video gambling should "continue to be prohibited," whereas the mayor's survey asked them if they "would like to see" it allowed.

Don Ashcraft, owner of Circle Inn in Forest Park, said the absence of video gambling could continue to hurt his business, as well as all businesses in town. 

"Things are rough. Times are tough," he said. "You have to remain competitive. 

"You would have more money coming in town, and that could mean less taxes for everyone. It sure beats empty storefronts."