Not even 20 years ago, video gambling was illegal in the Chicago region and the rest of Illinois.
Today, nearly 80% of the six-county metropolitan area has legalized video gambling, a level of saturation that means more than 200 municipalities now allow it to varying degrees, while more than 60 communities ban the machines, according to a Chicago Sun-Times examination that also found:
Wealthy suburbs generally outlaw video gambling — with the North Shore communities of Evanston, Glencoe, Highland Park, Highwood, Kenilworth, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Wilmette and Winnetka all with prohibitions — while lower-income south suburbs generally allow it, including Dixmoor and Ford Heights.
