Grab your wallets and purses, politicians want more of your money.

Both houses of the Illinois General Assembly, in an attempt to curb illegal gambling (and increase tax revenue) created a law that put poker runs under the control of the Department of Revenue. Now every motorcyclist knows that a poker run is only about gambling, right?

As part of the law there are new regulations, permits and fees. From what I could gather the permit is $400 and each stop (venue) is charged an additional $150. If you don’t pay the fees you will be an illegal gambling operation and subject to all the appropriate fines and imprisonments.

If you have ever participated in a poker run you know that they typically support a charity of some sort. You also know that they normally do not raise huge sums of money and if it rains they might even go in a hole. But, in Illinois I guess that the state is the only real charity that matters.

Luckly, there are a few members of the General Assembly who understand what a poker run really does and are attempting to change the law. So if you live in the People’s Republic of Illinois you might want to contact your beloved leaders and let them know your opinion on this subject.

If you live somewhere else, keep an eye on your esteemed politicians, if it works in Illinois it might becoming to your state soon.