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Casino Donations Dominate East St. Louis Campaign

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois – As reported by the St. Louis Today: "The Casino Queen continues to reign when it comes to political donations in East St. Louis.

"Newly filed campaign records covering the last half of 2003 show that the gambling boat once again was the single largest political donor to East St. Louis Mayor Carl Officer. During that six-month period, the boat and one of its owners gave Officer $7,000 - almost one-third of all his campaign income in that time - continuing the casino's sometimes-controversial tradition of heavy financial support for local politicians.

"…The latest Queen donations came as Officer raised money to repay himself for thousands of dollars he had personally lent to his campaign for his April 2003 election.

"Though there were no state or local election campaigns in that six-month period, records show the Casino Queen or its owners contributed $21,400 to Illinois politicians during that time, about half of it in East St. Louis, and most of that to Officer.

"…Casino Queen President Charles W. Bidwill III defended the contributions as legitimate participation in the political process.

"…The Queen historically has been among the biggest political contributors in Illinois' gaming industry. It generally far outpaces spending by the Alton Belle, the only other Illinois boat in the region…"

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