Journal Reporter

Based on law enforcement statistics in other Illinois communities, Niles Police Chief Dean Strzelecki said he has no reason to believe that off-track betting parlors lead to higher crime rates.

But if an OTB parlor ends up in Niles, Strzelecki wants to make sure the parlor would be equipped with adequate security that would deter criminal activity.

That is essentially what the police chief testified during a meeting of the Niles Plan Commission/Zoning Board of Appeals on Monday, Sept. 12, where Inter-Track Partners has proposed building an OTB parlor inside the former Circuit City building at Golf Mill Shopping Center.

Strzelecki said he and his staff contacted police agencies in well over a dozen Illinois communities that are home to OTB parlors, asking if those businesses appeared to have caused any jumps in the crime rates there.

"The crime rate was really not affected," Strzelecki said. "We did not receive any negative feedback or reports from any of the police chiefs we spoke to."

Specifically, Strzelecki said that the communities did not report an increase in violent crime, nor in traffic-related charges such as driving under the influence (alcohol is traditionally available at OTB parlors). He added that more thefts and car break-ins might take place as a result, but probably not at any higher rate than other stores or restaurants.

As a deterrent to crime outside the proposed OTB parlor, Strzelecki recommended that Inter-Track install state-of-the-art security cameras that would videotape any incidents in the parking lot. Sufficient lighting would be needed outside, though not at an angle that would disturb the neighbors, the chief said.

"I just gave [the commission] my findings," he said. "My recommendation is based on, if they are going to approve it, this is what I would like to see."

Strzelecki said he has no evidence to believe that an OTB parlor would attract a "bad element" to Niles, a concern that many residents have publicly expressed.

"I don't know the clientele that would come to the Niles location," Strzelecki commented. "However that was a question that came up with the other agencies ... They said that they didn't have those problems. They didn't have any unruly people."

The Niles Plan Commission/Zoning Board of Appeals voted to recommend the OTB proposal. The village board will have final say over the issue, and is expected to make a decision during its Tuesday, Sept. 27 meeting. That meeting starts at 8 p.m. in village hall, 1000 Civic Center Dr.