A coalition of pastors, congregations, and neighbors urging the Chicago City Council to repeal the video gambling terminal expansion passed in the 2026 budget. One block, one ward, one vote at a time.
Gambling addiction harms families. It harms the mental health of individuals in our communities. And it can destroy lives.
— Ald. Jessie Fuentes, 26th Ward
Unlike a destination casino, video gambling terminals sit next to the grocery store, the laundromat, and the corner church. Neighborhood-adjacent terminals carry a documented higher risk of compulsive gambling, financial ruin, and domestic stress for the families in our pews.
Every dollar pulled into a video gambling machine is a dollar out of the collection plate, the youth program, the food pantry, and the small business down the street. Ministries across Chicago already feel the squeeze. VGT expansion makes it worse.
Illinois municipalities with a dense footprint of VGT establishments have seen targeted burglaries at those locations and elevated calls to problem gambling helplines. Our neighborhoods already carry more than their share of that weight.
The City Council legalized video gambling terminals in the December 2025 budget. Implementation is stalled and a repeal vote is in play right now. Several alderpersons have already moved to ban machines in their wards, citing addiction concerns and community opposition. Your voice — one email, one call — tips the math.
Choose your ward. Pick an action. Speak up. All 50 wards plus the Mayor's office are loaded below.
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When a congregation of 200 turns in 200 emails to a ward office, an alderperson reads them. This is non-partisan civic advocacy and fully within the latitude permitted to houses of worship under IRS guidance. Use the bulletin insert in Sunday's program. Speak from the pulpit. Make it a collective act.
"Before we close, a brief word about our neighborhoods. The City Council has legalized video gambling terminals across Chicago, and a repeal vote is near. Our coalition believes this expansion harms the families in our pews. In your bulletin is a simple card with your alderperson's name and email. Take one home. Send one note this week. That's all we ask."
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