ILLINOIS GAMBLING DEAL RAISES SOME EYEBROWS

Whether or not any impropriety occurred, the fact that a former executive director of the Illinois Gaming Board was personally involved in the selection of riverboat casino operators in East St. Louis adds to the murky depths of gambling in our neighboring state.

Morton Friedman was the board's executive director in 1991 when he introduced the men who became partners in the Casino Queen and then recommended to the gaming board that it reject the licenses for two rivals.

Friedman, who currently works for the Illinois attorney general, says his motive was to bring a casino to East St. Louis. Others with interests in the Illinois gambling industry call Friedman a man of integrity.

But as the world of gambling grows larger, it is appropriate to call such arrangements into question. It was the Illinois Lottery, after all, that chose to advertise heavily during the recent network television airing of "The Last Don," a miniseries who plot included a Mafia family's bribed of a U.S. senator so that Congress would authorize gambling in every state.

It is difficult to believe this was only a coincidence. Running commercials for legalized gambling during a program whose characters talk about assassinating a president to achieve their greedy ends certainly leaves a lot to be desired.