What the government giveth, the government taketh away ... or so it could be if Morton Village Board of trustees votes to opt out of video gambling.
Just months after the Illinois General Assembly passed legislation in Springfield that allows legal video gambling in establishments, members of the Morton 9-12 Project want the village’s governing body to cash out, citing social concerns.
According to the National Council on Problem Gambling, about 1 percent (2 million) Americans are considered to have a gambling addiction. An even smaller percentage struggles with video gambling addiction.
This is one issue that will take on the form of a miniature beer-and-wine-in-grocery-stores debate, minus the tears and emotion. The campaign against legalized video gambling in Morton was raised by the Morton 9-12 Project — an initiative started by Glenn Beck (does he need an introduction?) “designed to bring us all back to the place we were on Sept. 12, 2001. The day after America was attacked we were not obsessed with Red States, Blue States or political parties. We were united as Americans, standing together to protect the greatest nation ever created,” reads the mission statement on the912project.com Web site.
It’s goal appears well-intended but it is open for interpretation.
On Sept. 12, 2001, Americans made a knee-jerk reaction and went all in on a war that, unfortunately, left us with nothing more than a divided nation demanding “change we can believe in,” or “pitbulls with lipstick.” Do we really want that day back?
To digress, for the village board to make strenuous efforts to research a ban on video gambling, it would be thought and research wasted on a non-issue. Video gambling is an issue that should remain with the small percentage of citizens who struggle with said addiction.
A vote on this issue is simply a vote of moral authority — nothing more.
Whether it passes through the board, or not, it offers no benefit to the village’s bottom line.
Should the board vote to opt out of allowing video gambling, president Norm Durflinger maintains the village should waive the allotted percentage of revenue in funding from Illinois for building projects.
If the village does so, it is a matter of philosophy, as referenced by trustee Darrell Vierling.
If, philosophically, we should oppose legalized video gambling, then, philosophically, we should not reap the benefits from those who allow it. The reality is, local municipalities are not seeing much in return for allowing video gambling, but the state is.
So, the battle lies within the virtues of the 9-12 project to take state and federal government to task. This vote will do nothing more than offer a “hell no” or a “don’t care” to legislators. The village will not gain much, nor will it lose much.
If the local bottom line is not at stake, this is one issue that should be voted based on the reflection of the residents’ social persuasion. Or, it should not be voted on at all.
