Video Gambling

WGLT talks to Bloomington's mayor about city planning surrounding water quality and supply, a lawsuit involving Bloomington police, and a recap of a busy summer activity season.

The head of a nonprofit advocacy group urges local governments that collect tax money from video gambling machines to direct some of that revenue toward addiction treatment.

When the state rollback of the locally shared grocery tax first passed, then-Mayor Mboka Mwilambwe said he believed there was no appetite on the Bloomington City Council to impose a local tax. Though the vote was still split, the council passed the tax this week.

The Illinois attorney general has charged five men over an alleged burglary ring that targeted video gambling machines in 22 counties, including McLean.

More than two thirds of adult Illinoisans gambled last year (68%), and almost 4% have a gambling problem, according to a study done for the state Department of Human Services. DHS said the study showed 3.8% of residents of the states have a gambling problem. That's 383,000 people. An additional 7.7%, approximately 761,000 people, are at risk for developing a gambling problem .

The Bloomington City Council this week chipped away at the cap on video gambling licenses in the city—and at least one council member wants to go even further.

Projections made by the Town of Normal’s finance department anticipate a $10.4 million loss in the general fund, but officials say a strong fiscal…

Bloomington is still mulling over what to do with the city’s year-and-a-half long moratorium on new video gambling licenses. City council members agree…

State Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington has financial ties to the company that operates half the video gambling terminals in Bloomington-Normal.State records…

With the Illinois General Assembly poised to consider a tax hike on video gambling, some key lawmakers and their family members have developed previously…