Kane County committee reserves $7,108 for next year's external Riverboat grants after public critique of allocations

Chris Kious, chair of the Kane County ad hoc River Boat Grant Committee, said the panel recommended awards that nearly exhaust the fund and then voted to reserve the remaining $7,108 for external grants next year.

The committee reviewed 58 applications from 54 nonprofit and local-government applicants and, after staff presentation, recommended $824,579 of the $831,687 available. Staff member Jill Wash summarized the spreadsheet, saying, "out of the $831,687 available, you are making recommendations for $824,579 with $7,108 remaining," and walked members through the tiered review process used to prioritize applicants.

The decision followed public comment from Steve Lafler of St. Charles, who said he was speaking as a private citizen and criticized the current allocation mix, arguing that "roughly 80% of Riverboat Fund revenue goes to internal county departments, and only 20% reaches the nonprofits this agreement was actually written for," calling that "a near total inversion of its original intent." The committee did not take immediate policy action on Lafler's request but agreed to pursue further review.

Committee members debated whether to spend the leftover $7,108 now or return it to the Riverboat reserve. Bill Leonard proposed taking the unallocated $7,108, placing it into the general/reserve fund and adding an asterisk that the amount "will be applied strictly to external grants next year." Several members voiced no objection, noting the amount is small relative to the approximately $4 million reserve. The motion carried on a unanimous roll-call vote.

By committee direction, the subcommittee's recommendations will go to the executive committee and then to the full Kane County board, where the allocations may be modified. Members also requested that staff prepare a historical presentation of Riverboat fund allocations and that the policy matter be placed on a Committee of the Whole agenda in August for fuller discussion and possible changes to how internal vs. external awards are handled.

The committee's action was procedural: it finalized funding recommendations and a designation for the small remaining balance, while scheduling additional review of policy and historical practice. The executive committee will next consider the recommendations, followed by the full board.

Details: staff said 58 applications were received from 54 applicants; recommended awards total $824,579 of $831,687; the unallocated balance is $7,108; Riverboat revenue was noted in public comment as having fallen "from over 12 million a year to around 5 million."