McHenry 4th Ward Alderwoman Chris Bassi said this week she’s concerned about the amount of video gaming in town as she voted against a gaming license request from Windhill Pancake Parlor.

She’s “repeatedly heard from residents is that we have too much gaming and it has a negative impact on the city’s reputation,” Bassi said.

“We do need to draw the line somewhere,” Bassi said before casting the sole “no” in a 6-1 vote granting the gaming license.

Phil Siudak, part of a group that purchased Windhill in 2024, was at the Monday McHenry City Council meeting. He updated the Council on his group’s plans for the breakfast and brunch restaurant and the land around it.

Those future plans include “trying to improve the whole riverfront,” Siudak said, as well as bringing other food concepts to the corner of Elm Street and Riverside Drive.

He sought approval for six gaming machines. The former owners held a gaming license, according to Deputy City Clerk Monte Johnson’s report to the Council, but those licenses were not renewed.

“They are now looking to expand inside the establishment, and they have future plans for an outdoor expansion towards the Riverwalk,” the report said.

McHenry has the highest number of video gaming licenses in McHenry County at 44, Bassi said. In comparison, Fox Lake has 29, Woodstock has 25 and Crystal Lake has 22, Bassi said.

Information on who holds current gaming licenses and communities’ tax income from the licenses is available through the Illinois Gaming Board’s monthly video gaming revenue reports.

The video gaming licenses are “more of a revenue plan for us,” Siudak said this week, adding that gaming “helps create a client that stays longer in the space.”

Video gaming terminals can help a restaurant’s bottom line with almost no investment, said Dan Hart. Hart has two restaurants in McHenry: D.C. Cobb’s on Green Street and Whiskey Diablo on Riverside Drive, both with video gaming.

Even $2,000 a month in gaming revenue for a restaurant with tight profit margins can mean the difference “between closing and not closing,” Hart said.

He’s also not surprised that the city has more gaming licenses than other towns.

“McHenry is a more desirable place to open a restaurant. That is why I have two in McHenry. It’s friendly to business, and the people there are supportive of local establishments,” Hart said.

Cities like gaming because it “brings in passive revenue,” Bassi said in a message to Shaw Local. But constituents have told her they do not like it.

“Residents have told me in the past couple of months that they are not happy with the amount of gaming,” Bassi said. “The default of businesses requesting a gaming license with their liquor license, particularly in the Downtown Districts, needs to change. There is a concern that the Downtown Districts are becoming ‘casino alley.’ ”

Hart said Bassi is “looking at the wrong statistic,” adding that his two McHenry restaurants are also his top-grossing. “It is extra income for someone who is local to the community.”