The community of Orland Park, Illinois is going to have the chance to state its opinion regarding the pressing question of video gambling in the area. In a recent statement during a special village board meeting it was confirmed that there will be two referendum questions placed on the ballo. It is going to take place on 20th March and it will provide the people living in the village with the chance to decide whether video gaming should be allowed in the area under certain conditions.
As for the second question which will be featured on the said ballot, it will relate to the voters’ stance on whether the games should continue being banned in the village. The nature of the two questions will not be mandatory, which means that the officials of Orland Park should not necessarily adhere to the opinion of the community. They will be of the more advisory type and they will help the lawmakers gauge the general opinion in the region and how people feel towards video games being introduced within the limits of the village.
It was specified that the first question has some conditions in store when it comes to the operation of video gaming. What the officials have decided is to ask residents whether they agree with video gaming being permitted and managed by locations which possess Class A liquor licenses. The condition there is that they have to have been open for customers and in operation for a minimum of 18 consecutive months in order to receive the opportunity to host video gambling. The second question on the ballot comes as a result of a petition which has been conducted among the members of the community since they also feel the need to state their opinion on that question.
Timeline of the Video Gambling Debate
It could be recalled that back in 2009 the residents and the authority in Orland Park made the decision to remain one of the few locations which stays away from video gambling in general. The last month of that year brought the approval of an ordinance which strictly bans the operation of the machines within the borders of the village. In the time since then, however, many things have changed and last year saw the officials working towards a new framework which has the potential to change the status quo.
One of the reasons was the fact that the sales tax revenue was going down and some businesses claimed that it will be more beneficial if they were able to offer video gambling as well. The number of signatures which has been collected in relation to the referendum question amounts to about 2,200. However, there are people who think that the referendum is going to undermine the role of elected representatives while others think that it should not be trusted upon a small group of people such as the village board. Some residents also strongly oppose the introduction of video gambling and they consider it unnecessary to the community as a whole. The month of March will see the final decision of the debate.
