COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Local unions representing firefighters in all four of the cities that would host casinos in Ohio - Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo - have now endorsed State Issue 3.

On Thursday, the Ohio Jobs and Growth Committee received endorsements from:

    --  International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 92 in Toledo    --  IAFF Local 67 in Columbus.

They join two other IAFF locals which previously announced their endorsements of State Issue 3:

    --  Local 93 in Cleveland    --  Local 48 in Cincinnati

All four local unions cited the hundreds of millions of dollars Issue 3's passage would provide for local governments, noting that since public safety is such a significant part of any community's overall budget, the new tax revenue would help improve all safety services for the public.

The firefighters' union locals join a growing list of public safety-oriented unions and organizations that have announced their support for State Issue 3, including:

    --  Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio    --  Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association    --  Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association    --  Toledo Police Patrolmen's Association    --  FOP Capital City Lodge #9 in Columbus

The Ohio Jobs and Growth Plan is a proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution that authorizes one first-class casino in each of the state's four largest cities (Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo). The plan will generate $11 billion in economic impact during construction and the first five years of casino operations. It will create 34,000 new jobs for Ohioans, and will provide an estimated $651 million in tax revenues each year, with the vast majority of the money designated for all of the state's counties, its major cities and every public school district in the state. Annual tax revenues are projected to increase to $772 million by 2017.

Primary backers of the proposal are:

    --  Penn National Gaming, Inc., a prominent operator of gaming facilities        and horse racing tracks, including Raceway Park in Toledo; and    --  Dan Gilbert, through his Rock Ventures partnership. Gilbert is majority        owner of the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers and operator of Quicken Loans Arena        in downtown Cleveland, Cleveland Clinic Courts, the Lake Erie Monsters,        Veritix and Fathead, as well as Chairman and Founder of Quicken Loans,        which operates a 350-person Internet web center in downtown Cleveland.        Gilbert, who began investing in Ohio in 2005, employs more than 2,500        people throughout the state.

Pd. for by Ohio Jobs and Growth Committee, Bill Curlis, Treasurer, 865 Macon Alley, Columbus OH 43206

SOURCE Ohio Jobs and Growth Plan