Gambling was legalized in Ohio in 2009, and the first casino in Cleveland opened in 2012. Since then, the city of Cleveland has received around $10 million every year from the money Cleveland casinos make on gambling losses. Most of it is spent on general city services, but each of Cleveland’s 17 City Council members also get a portion of the money to spend on projects in their wards. Last year, each council member had about $116,000 to spend, plus any money they had saved from previous years. 

Cleveland Documenters interviewed more than 30 Cleveland residents across 13 wards to find out what they knew about Council’s casino revenue funds, what they wanted to know, and how they might spend that money in their wards. Listen to hear what they had to say. 

Listen to residents discuss casino revenue funds:

Further reading on City Council’s casino revenue funds:

Side Hustle: Mikael Ellis works four jobs focused on the LGBTQ+ community (video)

By Jeff Haynes

Mikael Ellis has purposely decided to work at businesses that either primarily cater to LGBTQ+ patrons or have a large clientele from this community.

YouTube video

Cleveland Documenters pays and trains people to cover public meetings where government officials discuss important issues and decide how to spend taxpayer money.