Lockport approves additional video gaming machines at some restaurants

Following a contentious debate, the Lockport City Council has voted narrowly to approve additional video gaming machines at restaurants.The vote passed on a 4-3 vote at the Oct. 21 meeting.The issue was raised when Coom’s Corner Sports Grill brought the request to expand gaming operations.When the State of Illinois first legalized the electronic gaming machines for establishments with liquor licenses, Lockport passed an ordinance requiring the machines to be partitioned off from the rest of the business and capping the number of machines for restaurants at five, which was the limit established by the state at the time.Recently, the state has increased its cap on machines from five to six, and representatives from Coom’s Corner petitioned the city to match the state by altering its own ordinance. Mayor Steven Streit said at the Oct. 21 City Council meeting that when the ordinance was passed, the city intended to prevent an unlimited number of machines from being added if state regulatio