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New Poll Shows Lake County Residents Are Concerned About Potential Kenosha Casino Impacts

Posted on: Thursday, 5 April 2007, 18:00 CDT

WAUKEGAN, Ill., April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- A just-released poll of Lake County, Ill., registered voters indicates that 71 percent of respondents support the need to extend the Kenosha Casino's social, economic and environmental impact study to Lake County. Lake County is in close proximity to the proposed Kenosha, Wis., casino.

If built, the proposed $808 million casino project will be one of the Midwest's largest casinos and will be located at Dairyland Greyhound Park, off of Interstate Highway 94.

The poll, conducted on February 20-22 by Fako & Associates, Inc., a polling firm based in suburban Chicago, included a random sample of 603 registered voters that are likely to vote in the November 2008 General Election.

When asked, seven out of every ten respondents agreed that the following is a persuasive reason for opposition to the casino: "The Menominee studied the environmental, social, and economic affect of the Casino in Wisconsin, but did not conduct this required study in Illinois, which is only six (6) miles from the casino even though it will cause the same adverse affects in Lake County as it causes in Wisconsin." Furthermore, 43 percent agreed that the fact is very persuasive.

Additionally, 72 percent of respondents found the casino's proximity of only six miles from the Illinois border a persuasive argument that the casino will "cause the same adverse affects in Lake County as it causes in Wisconsin." Seventy-three percent opposed what will be "the largest gambling complex between Atlantic City and Las Vegas" due to the impact it will have on local road congestion and deterioration.

A petition has been circulated urging U.S. Senators Richard Durbin and Barack Obama, Congressman Mark Kirk and Congresswoman Melissa Bean to require the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to study and include the social, economic and environmental impact on Lake County and Illinois in the proposed Kenosha casino's application. The 1,040 signatures in support of this effort have been shared with these four congressional representatives.

Congresswoman Melissa Bean voiced support for her constituents in a letter sent on March 12 to Jim Cason, U.S. Interior Department associate deputy secretary of Indian affairs. Her letter argues that "there is no good reason to continue consideration of the current EIS (Environmental Impact Statement), which fails to adequately examine the proposed casino's impact on Illinois."

This is not the first political action being taken to request that the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) formally review the impact on Lake County. State Representative JoAnn Osmond held a public hearing on March 6, 2006 in Zion, Ill., to openly discuss the Kenosha casino's potential impact on Lake County. Despite numerous invitations and indications of interest, no BIA officials attended. In November 2005, Congresswoman Bean, along with several other local Lake County officials, also sent a letter to BIA Midwest Regional Office Director Terrance Virden requesting that the agency require the inclusion of Lake County, Ill., in the Kenosha Casino EIS.

About the poll

Integrated Solutions Group of Illinois commissioned the survey on behalf of the Forest County Potawatomi Nation. Fako & Associates, Inc. (F&A) of Lamont, Ill., conducted the survey by telephone on February 20-22, 2007 using professional interviewers. F&A interviewed a random sample of 603 registered voters that are likely to vote in the November 2008 General Election. A strict screening process was used to ensure that only likely voters participated in the survey. The interviews lasted an average of 15 minutes. Scientific sampling techniques using a listing of registered voters and other methodologies were used to give all registered voters living in a telephone- equipped household within Lake County an equal chance of being interviewed. The interviews were conducted in proportion to gender and regional shares of the electorate based on known demographics and past election data. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 3.99% at the 95% level of confidence. This means that if the survey were replicated, the results would be consistent for 95 out of 100 cases. The margin of error is higher among the various sub-groups.

About Fako & Associates

Fako & Associates (F&A) is a national public opinion research firm based in Lemont, Ill., that specializes in polling and strategic/organizational planning for political candidates, public policy organizations and private sector companies. F&A has provided public opinion research and strategic advice to numerous successful political and public policy campaigns in Illinois and throughout the country. F&A's clients include the American Lung Association, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the Illinois AFL-CIO, the Illinois Federation of Teachers, the Democratic Party of Illinois, the Illinois Toll Highway Authority and numerous state and local officials in Illinois and throughout the country.

Contact: Ryan Richert, Edelman - (312) 240-2743

Fako & Associates, Inc.

CONTACT: Ryan Richert, Edelman, +1-312-240-2743

Source: PRNewswire

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