On October 19, 2006, Cool Cleveland’s Thomas Mulready interviewed Jimmy Dimora, who was then one of three Cuyahoga County Commissioners and Chairman of the Cuyahoga County Democratic party, and who was recently convicted of racketeering and 32 other corruption related charges.
This segment is part two of a three-part interview. Remaining segments of this interview will be published subsequently on CoolCleveland.com.
This segment deals with Issue Three, which was on the ballot that November, nicknamed Learn & Earn, which proposed to allows slot machines and eventually casinos, with scholarship money going to students. Although the issue failed statewide, a different casino issue was eventually passed, resulting in casinos being opened in Ohio.
Cool Cleveland: Are we that desperate as a community?
Jimmy Dimora: We are.
Cool Cleveland: Is that what we’re saying to our children?
Jimmy Dimora: We are that desperate.
Cool Cleveland: Is that what we’re saying to our community, that we’re taking any offer on the table?
Jimmy Dimora: It’s not a cure-all, it’s not a fix-all. But it is a help. It is definitely a help. When you can pump hundreds of millions of dollars into funding for higher education, when you can pump tens of millions of dollars into economic development. It is definitely a help. There are no ifs, ands or buts.