A Winnebago County judge has permanently blocked the City of Rockford from enforcing the local ordinance at the center of the Rockford video gaming ordinance lawsuit, ruling that the city overstepped its authority when it required bars and restaurants with slot machines to earn at least half their revenue from food and alcohol. Judge Lisa Fabiano issued the permanent injunction on May 29, 2025, in a case brought by Kelly Quinby, proprietor of a gaming establishment called Spinning Slots.1Rockford Register Star. Rockford Slot Machine Ordinance Blocked by Judge The decision affects roughly 60 establishments in the city, according to the Rockford Register Star.
What the Ordinance Required
Rockford’s City Council passed the ordinance in 2015, as a six-month moratorium on new gaming businesses was expiring. It required any establishment with video gaming terminals to generate at least 50 percent of its revenue from food and alcohol sales. Alderman Joseph Chiarelli said the goal was to keep local gaming consistent with what he described as the state legislature’s original intent, which was to help struggling bars and restaurants add a secondary income stream rather than enable standalone gambling halls. Businesses already operating were grandfathered in.2Rockford Register Star. Rockford Mulls Limits on Slot Machines
Alongside the revenue rule, Rockford managed gaming through its liquor-licensing process. Establishments needed a city liquor license that specifically authorized video gaming, and adding a terminal required approval from the city’s Code and Regulation Committee. New applicants went before the Liquor and Tobacco Advisory Board and paid an $870 application fee.3City of Rockford. Video Gaming
How the Case Got to Court
Spinning Slots, located at 1625 Sandy Hollow Road, had been authorized by the Illinois Gaming Board to operate a sixth video gaming terminal. In 2022, the city refused to issue a local license for that machine because the establishment did not meet the 50 percent food-and-alcohol threshold. The city also denied renewal of the business’s liquor license on the same grounds.4WIFR/MyStateline. Rockford City Barred From Enforcing Gambling Rules
Quinby, represented by attorney Mark Rouleau, sued in the 17th Judicial Circuit Court in Winnebago County, arguing that the city lacked the authority to regulate video gaming in ways that conflicted with state law.
What Judge Fabiano Ruled
Judge Fabiano agreed. She found that the Illinois Video Gaming Act gives the Illinois Gaming Board exclusive authority over the licensing and regulation of video gaming terminals, and that a 2021 amendment to the Act prevents non-home-rule communities from imposing their own restrictions on gambling parlors.4WIFR/MyStateline. Rockford City Barred From Enforcing Gambling Rules The judge quoted the statute as granting the Gaming Board “exclusive jurisdiction to restrict licenses based on local concentration of licensed video gaming locations.”
The permanent injunction invalidated the 50 percent revenue requirement. It also invalidated any local limits on the number of terminals an establishment can operate when the state has already authorized them.1Rockford Register Star. Rockford Slot Machine Ordinance Blocked by Judge
Why Rockford’s Non-Home-Rule Status Was Decisive
The ruling turned on the fact that Rockford is a non-home-rule municipality. Voters abolished the city’s home-rule status in 1983, and a 2018 referendum to restore it failed by a 46-to-54 percent margin. That makes Rockford the largest city in Illinois without home rule.5WIFR. Rockford Leaders Feel Need for Home Rule
Without home-rule authority, Rockford can only use powers the state specifically grants it. Under the Video Gaming Act, a municipality’s options are narrow: it can pass an ordinance prohibiting video gaming entirely within its borders, or it can put the question to voters by referendum.6Illinois Gaming Board. Video Gaming FAQ What a non-home-rule city cannot do, Judge Fabiano held, is allow gaming and then layer on local regulations the state never authorized.
A separate case shows where the line falls. In Illinois Gaming Machine Operators Association v. City of Waukegan, decided March 4, 2025, the Illinois Appellate Court for the Second District upheld a one-cent-per-play tax Waukegan imposed on video gaming terminals. Judge Ann B. Jorgensen wrote that the city’s authority to impose the tax was “clearly granted by the Illinois legislature,” and that Waukegan was not trying to eliminate gambling but to offset its “adverse effects.” The ruling meant Waukegan was owed more than $11.3 million in back taxes through the end of 2024.7Chicago Tribune. Court Upholds Legality of Waukegan Tax on Gaming Machines The 2021 amendment to the Video Gaming Act, Public Act 102-689, did curtail even home-rule municipalities from imposing certain taxes on terminal operators and players, but Waukegan’s tax survived.8Illinois Courts. Illinois Gaming Machine Operators Ass’n v. City of Waukegan, 2025 IL App (2d) 230431
Waukegan, with home rule, taxed gaming successfully. Rockford, without it, tried to regulate gaming and was stopped. A city’s home-rule status shapes what tools it has.
What Rockford Can Still Do
The injunction does not strip Rockford of every form of control. The city retains the binary option the Video Gaming Act preserves for all municipalities: it can prohibit video gaming within its borders entirely, by ordinance or by referendum. What it cannot do is permit gaming and then set the terms, whether by capping revenue mix, limiting machine counts beyond what the state authorizes, or imposing eligibility criteria the state has not written into the Act.
For context on what is at stake, net revenue from Rockford’s video gaming terminals reached $41.2 million in 2024, up 3 percent from the prior year, across 96 gaming-licensed establishments.9Rock River Current. Slot Revenue Rose 3% in Rockford in 2024 Under the state’s revenue split, municipalities receive 5 percent of video gaming revenue, with 35 percent going to the business, 35 percent to the terminal operator, and 25 percent to the state.2Rockford Register Star. Rockford Mulls Limits on Slot Machines
What Happens Next
As of late May 2025, the Rockford Register Star reported that the city was considering an appeal or a motion for reconsideration.1Rockford Register Star. Rockford Slot Machine Ordinance Blocked by Judge City leaders have also pointed to the ruling as a reason to revisit home rule, with one local report quoting officials who said they are governing “with one arm tied behind our back.”5WIFR. Rockford Leaders Feel Need for Home Rule Until either an appellate court reverses the injunction or Illinois voters in Rockford change the city’s status, local gaming operators are no longer bound by the 50 percent revenue rule, and any establishment the Illinois Gaming Board has authorized can seek to operate up to the state-permitted number of machines without the city imposing an additional cap.