Evanston’s Human Services Committee is scheduled Monday to discuss whether to lift the city’s ban on gambling establishments.

The measure, proposed by Ald. Devon Reid (8th), would apparently open the door to the establishment of video gaming parlors in Evanston.

Such establishments are legal under state law as long as they are also permited under local ordinances.

Reports from the Illinois Gaming Board indicate that some municipalities that have legalized video gaming are seeing significant revenue from them.

For example, in the 12 months ending in March, Niles netted just under $1 million in local tax revenue from the nearly $20 million lost by gamblers at the 31 video gambling establishments in that community.

That’s up from $377,400 during the village’s 2018-19 fiscal year. Niles devotes most of its video gambling revenue to police and fire pension payments.

Morton Grove earned $425,000 in video gambling revenue in the 12 months ending in March.

The communities surrounding Evanston — Chicago, Skokie and Wilmette — do not permit video gambling. But both candidates in Chicago’s recent mayoral runoff election said they support legalizing video gambling machines there.

Other, generally more upscale area communities, including Glencoe, Highland Park, Glenview, Northbrook and Winnetka, have opted not to jump on the video gaming money train.

Opponents of video gambling establishments argue that they increase the chances that residents of an area will become addicted to gambling.

Four years ago ProPublica reported that since Illinois legalized what the investigation called the “crack cocaine of gambling” in 2012, gamblers have lost more than $5 billion, but the state has failed to address the issue of gambling addiction in any meaningful way.

And studies indicate that poor people have far higher rates of gambling than the general population.

Reid’s proposal would also distinguish between gambling on private and public property — and reduce or eliminate enforcement of restrictions on gambling that occurs on private property.

The police department has indicate that it does not recommend modifying the city code to make a distinction between gambling on private and public property.