Story posted Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Casino Crime Report Called 'Hilarious'
By CRAIG ADAMS Journal & Topics Reporter
Aldermen at the Committee of the Whole meeting on Monday, May 11 decried a crime and traffic study of towns near casinos conducted by the Park Ridge Police Dept.
"This is an opinion document," said Ald. Don Bach (3rd). "I found it hilarious."
Acting Chief Thomas Swoboda explained that no towns near any of the Illinois casinos conducted official studies when the casinos opened. Officers spoke to representatives from 36 municipalities neighboring casinos while compiling the report. Only two reported a noticed increase in traffic and none reported increase in crime. Swoboda said North Aurora did notice traffic increases just before the time the boat left the dock. Now that the boats no longer sail, their traffic patterns returned to normal, he said.
Creve Coeur near Peoria said that department has only seen a rise in DUI arrests and more citizens in their area with gambling problems.
"Why is it our problem to provide this data?" Bach asked. He explained Des Plaines and the Illinois Gaming Board are responsible for the casino. "Shouldn't the burden of proof be on those two bodies?"
Mayor Dave Schmidt replied, "It's too late." He explained that Park Ridge was not directly involved in the casino. "People aren't going to like this, but...Des Plaines doesn't have to give us anything. They don't have to give us money; they don't have to give us information."
Schmidt asked Swoboda to compare crime statistics from before and after the casinos opened. "There might be a way to do some kind of comparison. Pick a casino like Elgin," he said. However, Schmidt was inclined to believe the officers from the other Illinois towns. "If police departments in those towns thought there was a big problem, they probably would have told us," he said.
Bach requested the city perform current traffic count studies along several streets so Park Ridge would have empirical data with which to compare after the casino opens. "We could also benchmark the current crime statistics in Park Ridge," he said.
Schmidt also explained he spoke with new Des Plaines Mayor Marty Moylan. "He was very receptive to the idea of helping out Park Ridge with traffic problems and also with the possibility of helping us along with funding for an extra police officer if we felt we needed that," he said. Schmidt plans additional meetings with Moylan as the casino plans continue. Schmidt warned the council that Moylan would need approval of his city council for any assistance to Park Ridge, but feels both councils know it is in the cities' best interests to have a cooperative relationship.
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