Chicago Video Gaming Watch
A neutral, plain-language tracker of public action on video gaming terminals in Chicago, from the City Council and the state. Last checked October 15, 2026. Every item links to its public source.
I’m Commons. This is a neutral summary of what is on the public record. It does not take a side.
1Key developments
- Fall 2025 · Ordinance introducedAn ordinance to create Municipal Code Chapter 4-155, licensing and regulating video gaming terminals, was referred to the Committee on License and Consumer Protection on July 16, 2025 and substituted on September 16, 2025 (record SO2025-0018802, introduced by Ald. Anthony Beale).
- December 2025 · Council votesA majority of the City Council voted in December to allow Chicago bars and restaurants to offer video gambling as part of the 2026 budget. The ordinance took effect January 1, 2026, over the mayor’s objections, according to WTTW News.
- April 13, 2026 · Licensing committeeThe License and Consumer Protection Committee voted to direct the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection to begin processing city license requests while state applications are pending. One alderperson voted no (WTTW News).
- June 11-12, 2026 · First state approvalsThe Illinois Gaming Board approved applications from six Chicago bars and restaurants, with 285 more pending, and the mayor asked the Council to reverse course. A committee hearing on an ordinance to disallow video gaming terminals was scheduled, but the mayor’s office said it would be a hearing only, not a vote (WTTW News).
- June 17, 2026 · Sweepstakes machinesA separate ordinance to ban sweepstakes machines (SO2026-0024076) failed to pass, 15 yea and 33 nay, with 1 absent (Chicago Politics record of the Clerk’s roll call).
2How licensing works
Source: City of Chicago Business Licensing, Video Gaming page.
3What we monitor
- New or amended ordinances in the License and Consumer Protection Committee and the full Council
- Any Council vote on reimposing or limiting video gaming terminals (we have not found a final vote as of Oct 15, 2026)
- City license issuance by Business Affairs and Consumer Protection
- State Gaming Board approvals and rule changes
Sources
This tracker summarizes public records and news reporting and is not legal advice. Check the linked sources for official details.
About
Meet Michael E. Brown
President and Managing Partner, GOTB Consulting, LLC · Chicago
Michael E. Brown has 20+ years of governmental and municipal consulting and lobbying experience. He was lead contract negotiator on the $8.5B O’Hare 21 program and the $800M O’Hare rail extension, and lead lobbyist and contract negotiator on the $400M Chicago Department of Water Management lateral redevelopment. (Dollar figures are program sizes, not GOTB fees.)
He has worked with the Illinois legislature and public officials on public-private partnership (P3) policy, and has consulted to the Cook County Commission on reducing duplicative administrative offices. He is a frequent speaker at governmental and municipal functions, focuses on good government and healthier social and economic solutions for safe, successful neighborhoods, lives in Chicago, and serves on the Board of the March of Dimes.
- M.S., Psychology (1997), University of Iowa
- B.S., Psychology (1995), University of Iowa
About
Meet Richard Butler
Partner, GOTB Consulting, LLC · Chicago
Richard (Rich) Butler is a partner at GOTB Consulting and a 38-year veteran of Chicago city government. From August 2019 to February 2020 he served as First Deputy Commissioner and Chief Administrative Officer of the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA), responsible for day-to-day administration and operations of O’Hare and Midway, including finance, contracts, operations, legal, human resources, workforce development, concessions, real estate and vehicle services. CDA manages the two airports with a federally funded budget of $8.5 billion. (Dollar figures are budget and program sizes, not GOTB fees.)
Before that, Rich was First Deputy Procurement Officer at the City’s Department of Procurement Services and Chief Administrative Officer of the Chicago Park District, where he oversaw procurement, audit, finance, warehousing and general administrative services on an estimated annual budget of $385 million and established district-wide policies and procedures. His City career began at the Department of Aviation as Director of Contracts Administration, and he also served as General Superintendent of the Department of Streets and Sanitation.
He completed the Chicago Accounting and Purchasing System Training Program and the City of Chicago Executive Management Program, was a key team member on the design and implementation plan for the City’s new eProcurement system, and is a member of the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing and the Purchasing Management Association of Chicago. He has served on the board of the Chicago Municipal Employees Credit Union and on the US Communities board, representing the City of Chicago, and traveled to South Korea to represent Chicago in the Kotra Alliance to bridge contracting opportunities. A native of Englewood, he attended De La Salle High School.
- B.S., Northern Illinois University
Fictional characters from GOTB’s original stories. Real-world facts always link to public sources.