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Emerald Casino Hires Governor's Donor13 May 2005ILLINOIS – As reported by the Chicago Tribune: "Facing disciplinary hearings that could yank its license to operate a riverboat in Illinois, the bankrupt Emerald Casino has hired as its defense counsel high-powered Chicago attorney Robert Clifford, a generous contributor to Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the private attorney for the governor's chief fund-raiser. "Newly impaneled administrative law Judge Abner Mikva announced Thursday that the long-awaited hearings, which were stalled nearly three years ago when Emerald went into bankruptcy, would resume later this month. "Clifford will face off against lawyers from the state, including a top-ranking assistant to Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan and a top attorney with the Illinois Gaming Board. The state will defend the board's decision in 2001 not to allow Emerald to open in suburban Rosemont. The board made its decision in part because of concerns that some investors had ties to organized crime. "…Since 2000, Clifford's firm has contributed more than $328,000 to Friends of Blagojevich. And earlier this year, Clifford represented Kelly during a flap between him and the governor's father-in-law, Ald. Richard Mell (33rd). "…Although Emerald is bankrupt, Clifford is being paid an up-front lump sum of $1 million for fees and expenses by Emerald's main owners, Donald Flynn and his son Kevin. But if Clifford wins, he could earn $75 million more in contingency fees, records filed in the bankruptcy case show. "…Emerald has been stuck in a yearslong political saga involving the state legislature, gambling regulators and state and federal courts, all of which has added up to a license that has gone unused for eight years and has cost the state an estimated $500 million in lost tax revenue…" |