Would Lake County casino be a boon or merely spur social costs?

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The Rivers Casino in Des Plaines will open, pending regulatory permission, in July. The pros and cons of a Lake County casino are now being debated. | Brian Jackson~Sun-Times Media

Updated: October 28, 2011 12:17PM

Will a casino have a positive effect on the economy of Lake County?

The answer depends on whom you ask.

A gambling expansion plan that passed both houses of the General Assembly and is awaiting the governor’s signature would create five new casinos in Illinois, including one in Park City in northeastern Lake County. Supporters of the bill, including state Sen. Terry Link, D-30th, of Waukegan, believe a casino in Park City will be a boost to the local economy, adding jobs and generating sales-tax revenue for municipal coffers.

But critics of the plan, including a coalition of Lake County churches, feel expanded gambling will have unforeseen costs and actually hurt the local economy.

Link, who has long been a proponent of a Lake County casino, said the project will create jobs, including temporary jobs during construction and permanent jobs for employees of the casino. He said a casino which is scheduled to open this summer in Des Plaines is hiring 1,000 employees, and he expects a Park City casino would employ similar numbers.

“I think it will be a tremendous economic boost,” said Link. “There are going to be a lot of people that want these jobs.”

No analysis has yet been done on how much sales-tax revenue a Park City casino might generate. However, Link said, a few years ago an analysis was done for a proposed casino in Waukegan and it was estimated that it would generate $20 million a year in sales-tax receipts for local government units.

‘Flood of dollars’

Link said local gambling dollars are being spent in casinos across the border in Wisconsin.

“I believe this would be one of the most successful casinos because of the flood of dollars we’re now losing to Wisconsin,” he said.

However, a coalition of 106 churches in Lake County has signed a petition that has been sent to Gov. Pat Quinn, urging him to veto the casino expansion plan.

Carl “Spark” Ball, executive director of Love in the Name of Christ of Lake County, a Gurnee church which is spearheading the petition effort, said studies indicate that for every dollar that’s generated in taxes from gambling, there is $3 in social costs, such as increased crime and foreclosures and bankruptcy caused by compulsive gambling.

“The social costs are too high for the amount of taxes generated,” he said. “There are all kinds of measures that say this is not a good idea, it’s not a good plan. From a Lake County perspective, we don’t see it being a good business decision.”

Quinn has not yet decided whether he will support the gambling expansion plan, which would also add casinos in Chicago, Rockford, Danville and a still-to-be determined location in the South Suburbs.

Annie Thompson, spokesperson for Quinn’s office, said the governor has not yet received the final bill.

“It’s a very complex bill, not just in its size but in its scope,” she said. “The governor and staff plan to do a very extensive review of the legislation, and no final decision will be made until the governor has had a chance to thoroughly review the bill.”

County officials and business leaders say no independent review has been done on what financial impact a proposed Park City casino might have on the local economy and other businesses.

Steve Anderson, president and chief executive officer of Lake County Partners, a non-profit economic development group, said it is difficult to estimate the economic impact because, unlike other businesses, a casino tends to be a “self-contained facility.”

He said a casino typically has its own restaurants, shops and other entertainment that support casino operations and it’s difficult to gauge how much money is actually being spent in the local economy.

“Most studies do indicate they do generate a substantial amount of tax revenue and jobs within the casino itself,” he said. “The question is what will the local authority do with the revenue?”

Lake County Board Chairman David Stolman said he contacted Senator Link some time ago about the proposed casino but to his knowledge there’s been no agreement by the state to share sales-tax proceeds with county government.

Stolman said at this point he does not know if the plan will be approved by the governor or if a final site has been selected for the proposed Park City casino. He believes the state is considering gambling expansion to raise more revenue for the state budget, but it should not viewed as a panacea.

“The first premise is it’s not a solution to all of our problems,” he said. “It’s a pretty encompassing bill that creates a whole lot of gambling in the state.”