Editor’s note

This summer has Gov. Pat Quinn pondering whether to sign into law legislation authorizing new casinos for Illinois, while the Springfield city council paves the way for legalized video gambling (p. 8). Although moral arguments are lost on legislators and aldermen, it is worth reminding the rest of us that gambling is a dispiriting way to raise revenue. Gambling counters the work ethic, encourages greed and robs families. Nearly all the players are losers. Those who can afford it least gamble the most. Addiction is a real problem. Politicians are scraping the bottom of the revenue barrel because they are too cowardly to raise taxes. –Fletcher Farrar, editor