Cudahy : Bingo Is Outlawed After 7 1/2 Years of Controversy

An ordinance outlawing bingo in Cudahy received final approval from the City Council this week and will go into effect immediately.

The council voted 4 to 1 Monday night to repeal a 1983 ordinance that allowed bingo for charitable purposes. The issue of how the games should be played has become too politicized, city officials said. Councilman John Robertson voted against the repeal.

Currently no organization is sponsoring bingo games in Cudahy, and city leaders said that although several attempts have been made to start new games, none have succeeded.

In a report to the council, City Manager Jack Joseph said the intent of the original bingo ordinance that allowed games as fund-raising activities for nonprofit organizations had been undermined.

“The ordinance has been used to justify attempts to institute large commercial bingo establishments,” Joseph told the council. “Members of organizations seeking to play bingo have on two or three occasions launched recall drives against City Council members.”

In short, Joseph said, “the 7 1/2-year history of bingo in the city of Cudahy has been one of controversy, political maneuvering and general unpleasantness, but no bingo.”