Palos Heights Alderman Brent Lewandowski announced Tuesday night that there will be a public hearing on March 7 to discuss video gaming. (Photo by Jeff Vorva)
Palos Heights to re-open discussion on video gaming
By Jeff Vorva
Video gaming discussion is back in Palos Heights.
The Palos Heights City Council’s License, Permits and Franchises Committee will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. on March 7 at the Orchard Room of the Palos Heights Recreation Center.
Members of the committee, headed up by Alderman Brent Lewandowski, will talk about ideas for limited gambling while taking the temperature of the residents about this controversial issue, which was defeated in a 2018 referendum, 3,319-2,522.
“It’s imperative to seek as much community input as possible on this issue,” Lewandowski said during Tuesday’s council meeting. “The first step is to hold this public hearing.”
He said for those who cannot attend and still want their opinion heard they should contact him at blewandowski@palosheights.org.
After the meeting, Lewandowski said he was not sure how the public hearing was going to go, but he was prepared for anything.
“Maybe there will be a whole bunch of silence,” he said. “Maybe it will be full of people with torches and pitchforks and we would say ‘forget it.’
“The whole thing is this – you can’t be afraid to discuss things, especially with a change in the environment. Alderman [Jerry] McGovern did a lot of work on this, and a lot of background and he knows all the stats on all the neighboring communities. It’s important to have the discussion. That’s as far as we’re at right now and we’ll see where that goes from there.”
McGovern brought this issue up in December 2020, to help some of the businesses in town recover money lost because of COVID-19 shutdowns.
He noted that other surrounding communities have video gaming and on Monday, Palos Park voted to allow Cog Hill Country Club and Golf Course to apply for a license that would feature video gaming.
“That makes us a deserted island out here,” McGovern said. “We’re the last of the Mohicans.”
McGovern said that since the referendum setback, the state has updated its gambling laws and soon betting at all of the professional sports venues in Chicago will be commonplace.
There are 17 Class A (bars and restaurants) liquor license owners in Palos Heights and one Class F (golf course) license.
Lewandowski and McGovern both said that they don’t want advertising of the machines and for them not to be visible in the businesses.
After the public hearing, the committee will hold a meeting on March 8. If the committee feels the need to bring it to the board, it would probably happen in April or May.
State of the City announced
Palos Heights Mayor Bob Straz announced that his State of the City Address will take place at noon March 22 at the Orchard Room of the Palos Heights Recreation Center.
3 Comments
Local News
Chicago Red Stars and Bay FC to play at Wrigley Field
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Chicago Red Stars forward Ally Schlegel loves Wrigley Field. “I adored Wrigley the second I went to my first Cubs game,” Schlegel said. “I fell in love with it thinking it was the perfect sporting experience with how they built it up down there.” She will go from a…
Trinity Christian College names new hoops coaches
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent Trinity Christian officials were busy on April 11 ushering in new eras for its basketball programs. Trolls Athletic Director Wendy Reid announced that Jordan Mast is taking over the men’s basketball program, while Jasmine Porter has been named women’s hoops coach. Mast comes to the school in Palos Heights…
Reavis baseball coach and Hall of Famer Don Erickson to retire after season
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent A deal is a deal. Longtime Reavis baseball coach Don Erickson has said he would retire after his son, Sam, graduates from high school, so he can watch Sam play in college. Erickson doesn’t get to many of his son’s high school games because Sam plays at Downers Grove…
Palos Park residents, mosque reps discuss noise issues at council meeting
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva What could have been an explosive situation was actually quite civil. Some Palos Park residents were angry about loud activity and behavior of some members of the Palos Islamic Center the past two years and sounded off at the April 8 village council meeting. Fresh on their minds was noise…
Midlothian man arrested for Orland Park carjacking
Spread the loveFrom wire reports The Orland Park Police Department announced the arrest of a suspect in a vehicular hijacking that occurred on the evening of April 3. Shawn Flores, a 44-year-old Midlothian resident, faces charges following his apprehension on April 4. The incident began when a male victim was forcibly removed from his vehicle…
Blotter: Evergreen Park police issue scam alert
Spread the loveThe Evergreen Park Police Department is warning the public of an ongoing scam where a caller claims to be an Evergreen Park Police Officer, and instructs the individual to send money in order to avoid criminal charges. In some versions of this scam, the offenders tell individuals they missed a court date related…
Palos South eighth-grade girls volleyballers go undefeated
Spread the loveFrom staff reports Palos South’s eighth-grade girls’ volleyball team finished first in the Southwest Interscholastic Conference (SWIC) on March 9, completing an undefeated season with a record of 19-0. This is the fifth straight year that Coach Marty Duggan has led the Cardinals to a first-place finish in the tournament, which was held…
Moraine Valley Speech and Debate Team headed to nationals to defend title
Spread the loveWhen the Moraine Valley Community College Speech and Debate Team heads to the Phi Rho Pi National Tournament in Reno, Nevada, for nine days this month, they’ll have a target on their back as incoming consecutive champions. But they’re ready. “Last year’s team was amazing. Everyone was on their A game. This year…
Bridgeview condemns wars around globe in new resolution
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch As village officials noted, warring factions in the Middle East and elsewhere probably don’t care much about what happens at the Bridgeview Village Hall. But the village board still took a strong stance against war at its latest meeting. At their April 3 meeting, trustees unanimously approved a resolution that…
Baseball | LW West stays unbeaten, snaps Sandburg’s seven-game win streak
Spread the loveBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Sandburg’s sizzling start to the season was cooled off, at least for a day, by a visit from even hotter SouthWest Suburban Conference foe Lincoln-Way West, which topped the Eagles 5-3 on Monday in Orland Park. The loss snapped Sandburg’s seven-game winning streak and ran the Warriors’ record to…
Neighbors
Capitol Briefs: Senate advances elections bill, measure targeting ‘predatory’ lending
By PETER HANCOCK & HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A bill that would put more controls on certain kinds of high-cost loans to small businesses cleared the Illinois Senate Thursday. Senate Bill 2234, known as the Small Business Financial Transparency Act, targets a relatively new kind of nontraditional lender in the credit…
Law enforcement community honors fallen officers at Illinois Capitol
By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Six fallen police officers were honored at an annual memorial service outside the State Capitol Thursday. The Illinois Police Officers Memorial occurs annually on the first Thursday of May to honor officers who died in the line of duty and to support their families. “No one…
Democrats muscle through changes to ballot access, advisory questions
By JERRY NOWICKI HANNAH MEISEL & PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Supermajority Democrats in the Illinois House moved quickly Wednesday to push through a change to state election laws that partially limits ballot access and adds three nonbinding referendums to the 2024 general election ballot. It’s a move that caused minority party…
After 3 years, state poised to enforce law aiming to end lending discrimination
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – In 1977, then-President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Community Reinvestment Act, a federal law that sought to wipe away the last vestiges of racial discrimination and redlining in America’s home mortgage industry. The idea was simple. By requiring lenders – primarily banks – to make…
Capitol News Illinois partners with ‘Illinois Lawmakers’ program to bring it back to air
Capitol News Illinois announced today it will produce the long-running “Illinois Lawmakers” program this spring, in partnership with longtime host and producer Jak Tichenor. “This new partnership is absolutely critical to providing Illinois residents with reliable, independent, in-depth, up to date coverage from the Illinois Capitol after many newspapers and broadcasters shuttered their Statehouse bureaus over…
Election officials to weigh whether Darren Bailey and GOP operative Dan Proft illegally coordinated
By ANDREW ADAMS & HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – A year and a half after Republican Darren Bailey lost his campaign to challenge Gov. JB Pritzker, state election officials are weighing whether he illegally colluded with conservative radio show host and political operative Dan Proft in the 2022 campaign. The State Board…
Immigrant advocates tout new report showing benefits of state-funded health plans
By PETER HANCOCK and JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Immigrant rights advocates on Friday continued to push for one of their top budget priorities: full funding for state-run health care programs that benefit noncitizens, regardless of their immigration status. Those programs offer health coverage for low-income individuals who would otherwise qualify for…
As state continues to inventory lead pipes, full replacement deadlines are decades away
By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois Clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com Lead pipes in public water systems and drinking fixtures have been banned in new construction since 1986, when Congress amended the Safe Drinking Water Act, but they are still in use across the U.S. and in Illinois. The presence of lead pipes has persisted due in part to…
Capitol Briefs: State unveils report on racial disparities among homeless populations
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Tackling homelessness requires addressing racial injustice, according to a new report commissioned by the state’s Office to Prevent and End Homelessness. The report found that Black people are eight times more likely to experience homelessness than white people. Remedying this disparity, according to the report, would require “long-term…
Flooding is Illinois’ Most Threatening Natural Disaster. Are We Prepared?
by Meredith Newman, Illinois Answers Project April 16, 2024 This story was originally published by the Illinois Answers Project. The electricity in Mary Buchanan’s home in West Garfield Park was not working – again. The outage lasted four days, starting just after a crew dug up her front lawn to install a check valve in…
“We’re the last of the Mohicans”-McGovern
Ignorance is bliss…
My money, my choice to use it as I wish? If the Puritans want to deny gambling, then lets get rid of liquor licenses, happy ending ‘massage parlors’, close all businesses on Sunday, etc. as well?
As an opponent of government sponsored gambling, I was pleased when the voters decisively rejected gambling in the 2018 referendum.
I avoid places with gambling and have been very much more likely to frequent Palos Heights establishments since many of the surrounding suburbs went the ‘gambling joint in every bar, restaurant and strip center’ route.
If the City wants to help businesses that suffered through the (approximately 2 year) pandemic, they should look at other ways (tax and fee rebates?) that could help more businesses than just the limited places that would qualify for gambling, and do it for a limited recovery time.
It’s good to have a public hearing on this topic. However, if there is an outpouring of support for allowing gambling, that should not be used to justify the city council approving gambling. The voters rejected gambling in the 2018 referendum and the City should be bound by that decision until the question is put to the voters in another referendum.