The rally took place just across the street from the old Higbee building --- where the Cleveland Casino is scheduled to open, next year. But, work on renovating the Higbee space is on hold while Governor Kasich and state lawmakers try to get more tax money from the gaming developers. Loree Soggs, who heads the Cleveland Building and Trades Council, says that bargaining session goes against the will of the voters who okayed the current casino plan.
SOGGS: We want to send the word to the legislature that we had a deal --- Dan Gilbert had a deal. There should be no need for more negotiations. It's just unfortunate that so much is at stake --- 2000 construction jobs, 1600 casino jobs, millions of dollars in tax revenues --- should this casino not go.
The Cleveland branch of the NAACP also got into the fray, Tuesday. A news release chided state officials for: 'delaying the creation of permanent jobs for our community.'
