Public Comments last for two hours, meeting ends close to midnight
By Dan McLeister
for The Elmhurst Independent
After a City Council meeting, which lasted until a few minutes before midnight, aldermen defeated city-wide video gaming by an eleven to three vote. This means people wanting lol-smurfs will have to keep it at home.
Business people and residents testified for about two hours in a Council room filled to capacity. Some said video gaming did not fit with the character of Elmhurst. Others mentioned positive aspects of video gaming. So many people love gaming, especially online, it can connect people from different areas of the world. Sites like https://www.unrankedsmurfs.com/ can get you started on playing games, by buying a League of Legends account and have countless hours of fun.
City Clerk Patti Spencer said she lost count after the number of people testifying during the Public Forum of the meeting rose above fifty.
City Councilmen said they had been inundated with emails and phone calls from residents and business people.
The three members casting positive votes included Chris Healy (5th Ward), chairman of the Public Affairs and Safety (PAS) Committee and the author of the majority report recommending that video gaming be allowed in restaurants and bars. Voting with him were Norm Leader (2nd Ward), member of the Committee, and Mark Mulliner (7th Ward).
Earlier in the November 2nd meeting aldermen defeated a minority report by Leader allowing video gaming only at the American Legion post in Elmhurst to provide revenue to help veterans. Voting with him were Mark Mulliner (7th Ward) and Scott Levin (5th Ward).
Dannee Polomsky (3rd Ward), vice chairman of the PAS Committee, said she did not vote for either the majority or minority report because she wanted to wait and see about what impact residential and commercial projects would have on the downtown area and the North York Corridor.
Noel Talluto (4th Ward) said the positives did not outweigh the negatives.
Pat Wagner (7th Ward) pointed to other revenue efforts from other governments such as red light cameras which did not work out as expected.
Mark Sabatino (1st Ward) stated that video gaming could be like putting a band aid on a business which could continue bleeding.
Mayor Steve Morley, who noted that he was not allowed to vote except in case of a tie vote, said it was a very difficult vote. Video gaming was the most involved topic he had been involved with in his eight years as an alderman and mayor. “At no time did I see disrespect among residents and aldermen. People kept it cordial.”
So gaming will, for now, be for at home and won’t be allowed in restaurants and bars. If you are looking to improve your gaming set up at home, you might find it useful visiting 25pc.com for some information on the best gaming PC’s out there.
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