The lengthy court fight over East Chicago casino revenue got even longer Friday when the Indiana Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. But this fight is worth the delay.

Each Hoosier city hosting a casino has its own agreement for how the city should benefit from the casino, but East Chicago's arrangement is unique.

In Gary and Hammond, district councilmen each receive a pot of money to spend, as does the mayor. That money typically goes toward infrastructure and public safety needs.

East Chicago, however, diverts a large amount of the riverboat casino revenue to the nonprofit Foundations of East Chicago and the for-profit Second Century Corp. It's a Rube Goldberg creation by former East Chicago Mayor Robert Pastrick, whose supporters held sway over how the money was spent.

The twin foundations caused their own bit of consternation by paying large salaries to board members who could divert funding to their favorite projects. Nonprofit boards' members are generally unpaid.

But at least the foundations now report where the money goes. The same cannot be said of Second Century.

As a private developer, Second Century doesn't have to open its books for public scrutiny. So how can the public know whether its money is being spent effectively and appropriately?

The question before the Indiana Supreme Court is whether a clause in the state's 2007 budget allowing East Chicago to change these contracts is constitutional.

"The trial judge and court of appeals have found it constitutional, and we expect the Supreme Court to find it constitutional as well," said attorney Bill Bock of Kroger, Gardis & Regas, who is representing the city.

This issue before the court needs to be resolved, which would pave the way for the Indiana Gaming Commission to alter the agreement on how casino revenue is distributed and bring the money to the city rather than diverting the revenue stream.

Let the elected officials control the casino revenue so it will be easier to determine how the money is spent. And if the citizens disagree with the city officials' spending decisions, the voters can toss them out in the next election.

Give East Chicago the same arrangement that other host cities have.

Your opinion, please

Should a portion of East Chicago's casino revenue continue to be diverted to the nonprofit Foundations of East Chicago and the for-profit Second Century Corp.?

Share your thoughts at http://nwi.com/opinion