A class action lawsuit has been filed seeking to stop Ohio’s plan to use public funds to pay for a new stadium for the NFL’s Cleveland Browns.
News from the States reports former State Rep. Jeff Crossman (D-OH) is leading the legal team that is challenging the state’s effort to transfer $1 billion in unclaimed funds into a new account that will allocate $600 million to help finance a new stadium in the Cleveland suburb of Brook Park. The Ohio unclaimed funds account encompasses forgotten deposits, uncashed checks and abandoned bank accounts, and the lawsuit alleged the transfer of money into the stadium project is an “unconstitutional and unlawful misappropriation of private property.”
“The State of Ohio intends to steal over a billion dollars in private property from its citizens and pour it into the pockets of Jimmy Haslam, one of America’s richest men,” said Crossman, referencing the team’s owner. “Everyday Ohioans are rightfully outraged by this blatant abuse of power. The government can’t just take someone’s property and give it to someone else. This type of outrageous behavior ignited the American revolution 250 years ago.”
Although Gov. Mike DeWine approved the funds transfer in his signing of the state budget, he seemed less than assured in defending his actions during a press conference last week.
“Look, it wasn’t my choice of where to take the money,” DeWine said. “But I achieved the two objectives that I thought were the most important.”
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