12-11-2010 | Betting on the Gaming Commission
Letter to the Editor of Northwest Indiana Times, Saturday December 11, 2010
While reading the editorial “Betting on the Gaming Commission,” I agreed with the authority placed in the Indiana Gaming Commission’s (IGC) hands. This authority has been ratified by the Indiana Supreme Court. You also note that the IGC has developed rules which require reporting on who receives gaming funds, directly and indirectly, and how the dollars are spent. I wish to point out that the Foundations of East Chicago have been acting within these rules in all our business activities.
This can be verified through the investigations by the Indiana Attorney General’s office and the IGC’s staff. The Indiana Attorney General’s extensive examination of our activities found no wrongdoing in our operations as reported in a two volume report dealing with our work through 2006. The IGC has indicated that their examination of our operations and grants through 2009, although still under review, has yet to reveal any wrongdoing either.
The Foundations of East Chicago have been transparent. Our file systems and data collection-reporting system mirrors the IGC’s new rules. We post our audited financial statements on our website so that the public can see where our funds are used. One can see which agencies receive funds through grants, and one can visit those agencies and see the programs and improvements made with those dollars.
We plan to comply with the reporting rules as we have done in the past together with any required additions the new rule will impose.
I wanted to note that the Foundations have been open about how the gaming dollars it receives are spent so the Times can share that the new rules can easily be followed when nonprofit business and governments conduct normal business.
Russell G. Taylor
Executive Director
Foundations of East Chicago
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