Lockport’s City Council approved a change on Oct. 21 allowing restaurants with C-1 or C-2 liquor licenses to seek permission for a sixth video gaming terminal. Before installation, a restaurant must show the liquor commissioner that the added terminal would not reduce seating for diners. The city’s existing rules also require gaming machines to be separated from the rest of a business. Shaw Local reported that the ordinance’s five-terminal cap applied to nine Lockport establishments.
The proposal came from Coom’s Corner Sports Grill, at 1225 E. 9th St., which asked Lockport to align its local limit with the state’s six-terminal maximum. The restaurant’s representatives said an additional terminal could help businesses facing financial pressure, and its attorney told the council that the existing machines can all be occupied during peak dinner hours, according to Shaw Local.
Mayor Steven Streit, who is also the city’s liquor commissioner, opposed changing the local cap. He said Lockport had chosen its own limit to avoid automatically expanding it whenever state rules changed, and questioned whether the current terminals were regularly in use with customers waiting. He also proposed further review before a vote. Council members discussed possible security risks, while city documents estimated that the change could bring in about $36,000 in additional revenue; Shaw Local reported that the city had not identified gaming-terminal security incidents as a significant local problem.
The measure passed 4-3. JR Gillogly, Darren Deskin, Jonathan Pugh and Christina Bergbower voted in favor; Robin Lif, Joanne Bartelsen and Steve Cardamone voted against. Susan King was absent, according to Shaw Local.
State Gaming Board figures offer a broader measure of local activity: its June 2026 report lists Lockport with 20 video gaming establishments and 111 terminals. The city’s terminals recorded $10,395,343.59 in wagers played and $911,323.16 in net wagering activity that month, with a $45,606 municipal tax share, according to the Illinois Gaming Board report.
