The battle over East Chicago casino funds seems to have more twists and turns than a carnival ride. It's time for the Indiana Gaming Commission to resolve it.

The Indiana Supreme Court's recent ruling on the case didn't resolve it. The court's 21-page ruling denied East Chicago's request for a court order to send millions of dollars in casino tax revenue directly to the city.

But the court also opened the door for the Indiana Gaming Commission to alter the agreement that now sends a portion of the riverboat gambling money to the nonprofit Foundations of East Chicago and to Second Century, a for-profit company controlled by allies of former mayor Robert Pastrick.

Under the current agreement, the city and the two foundations each get 1 percent of the casino's annual revenue, while 0.75 percent goes to Second Century.

This strange arrangement -- unique to East Chicago -- sends public money to a private firm, which makes accounting for the use of that money more difficult than it should be.

All of that economic development money should go straight to the city. If the money isn't spent wisely, the discrepancies could be found more easily and the culprits dealt with.

And if the voters don't like how the money is spent, they would have direct recourse, unlike the current arrangement.

The Indiana Supreme Court didn't grant East Chicago's request to funnel casino money to the city instead of the two foundations and Second Century, but at least it opened the door to the Indiana Gaming Commission being able to alter that agreement. The state agency should do exactly that, and send the money to the city instead of Second Century and the nonprofit foundations.