The Homer Glen Village Board approved updates to its gaming ordinance while extending a moratorium on new tobacco licenses into May.
Officials already had put a moratorium on any new liquor, tobacco and gaming licenses in September so they could review and update their ordinances. As part of the process, village officials compared their regulations to those of nearby communities.
On Wednesday, trustees approved a new gaming ordinance that increases the application license fee, which is split between the business and the terminal operator, from $500 to $750 per terminal and increases the terminal operator fee from $1,000 to $3,000 per location.
The new gaming ordinance also calls for increasing the minimum square footage of a business with gaming machines from 1,500 square feet to 2,000 square feet and requires a business to be in continuous operation for a year before receiving a gaming license.
A business must also have at least 60% of its revenue from the sale of food and drinks, so that gaming is not the primary use.
Trustee Sue Steilen said she would like to prevent truck stops from being allowed to have gaming licenses.
Steilen said according to the Illinois Gaming Board there are 20 municipalities that allow gaming but prohibit the activity at truck stops.
The village allows video gaming in a licensed truck stop that is at least three acres and includes a convenience store, has separate diesel islands for commercial motor vehicles and sells more than 10,000 gallons of diesel or biodiesel fuel a month.
A vote to remove truck stops from the gaming ordinance failed on Wednesday.
Some trustees said gaming from truck stops generate a significant amount of revenue, which would be lost to nearby towns if the village excluded truck stops.
“There’s two factors on this that kind of play against each other,” Trustee Jennifer Consolino said. “I love the tax revenue that it generates because it doesn’t burden our residents.
“On the other hand, I feel like we are getting inundated. I would like to see if we could maybe limit it.”
Trustee Curt Mason said there will be truck stops along the Interstate-355 corridor and the village shouldn’t allow other municipalities to lure a business that could have gone to Homer Glen.
The board may revisit discussion of gaming in truck stops in the future.
Board members are looking to have an update to their tobacco ordinances within the month.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
