Road construction season is in full effect in the West Loop. The bright orange “NO PARKING” signs announcing road resurfacing projects are popping up across our neighborhood’s east side. Most of the roads have already been torn up, and sit awaiting asphalt.

Of the area I’ve seen, I’m most excited about getting some new road at the corner of Adams and Peoria streets. My Mini has nearly bottomed out there on the patch work of fillers used on a sinkhole at that corner over the years. I’ve taken to coasting through the mess at no more than a few miles per hour, much to the chagrin of fellow drivers waiting for me to approach the stop sign.

A new law upheld this week by the Illinois Supreme Court is responsible for the upcoming increase in local construction projects like these. The law, which passed the Illinois legislature but was challenged by business interests, packages construction projects with a tax increase among other goodies.

The capital bill will generate $31 billion and thousands of jobs, according to Governor Pat Quinn. It’s paid for by an increase in certain taxes including those on liquor and beer, as well as select grooming services. The program also counts on borrowing billions of dollars over the next six years for the roads, schools and other public works projects.

The governor doesn’t spend a lot of time discussing how the rest of the funding will be provided: by making gambling easier to access in Illinois. Along with the taxes and borrowing, the law allows establishments with liquor licenses like bars, restaurants and truck stops to have video gambling machines. Roughly 45,000 machines could be installed throughout the state that will make cash payouts on games like video poker.

Illinois Gaming Board Chairman Aaron Jaffe is concerned about scandals involving gambling if the video gaming part of the law ramps up as quickly as it could. He’s indicated that background checks and other ethics and legal measures will be near impossible to conduct before the games are installed because of an expedited process for approval that is part of the bill. But Illinois Representative Lou Lang, who sponsored the bill, thinks the gaming board is simply moving slowly on permits because they are against video gambling.

I’m actually concerned about where these machines will end up, and what kinds of incentives the establishments will receive to have them. A number of cities and towns have already indicated that they will not allow video gambling in their jurisdiction. Perhaps this leaves municipalities with less revenue to find ways to encourage installation of the machines so they can use the additional money to fill their coffers. Cities already mired in corruption will just have another outlet.

It seems that people on both sides of the issue agree that the state shouldn’t be counting on gambling revenues to pay for these projects anyway. Gambling is not a long-term solution to maintaining and improving Illinois’ infrastructure. But it would also seem that members of the legislature, in part, have attempted to satisfy all of the special interests that lobby them throughout the year by coming up with this solution rather than taking a harder look at the state’s tax structure, among other options.

One such option which might be a piece of the solution is something called a user fee. For example, an increase in the motor fuel tax would have vehicle operators paying for their use of the roads each time they fill their car with gasoline. Actually, West Loopers might benefit from this type of tax to pay for road construction since many of us walk to work downtown and can walk to get groceries, etc., as well. We use less motor fuel, so would pay less in motor fuel taxes.

Of course that brings me back to the fate of that sinkhole on Peoria Street. For the times that I do drive my car, it will be nice to traverse that street without the fear of losing a hub cap. Is it worth video gambling? How much would you like to bet?

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By AmySue from West Loop
Posted: 07/17/2011 2:57 PM

I want to clarify a point after discussion with Alderman Fioretti's office: the current road repairs are being funded by a few different sources, including local funds to complete work around the new Bartelme Park. Apologies for any confusion.

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By Matt Wos from Dearborn Park
Posted: 07/15/2011 10:50 AM

I think you missed the point about the video gaming. It is a component of the funding but certainly not the largest source. As you note, cities can opt out so a lot of revenue from that was not expected. The point is that these machines already exist in bars, etc. with the revenue going to the owner and place of business (& perhaps some nefarious folks). This is an attempt to get that money in the states' coffers. Technology exists now that monitors all the machines via a central server.