Longtime regulator leaving

Thursday, Sept. 19, 2002 | 11:13 a.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Jack Thar, a former federal prosecutor who has served as the state's top gambling regulator since riverboat casinos were authorized in 1993, is leaving as executive director of the Indiana Gaming Commission.

Because of the sensitivity of his position, Thar said he would not be interviewing for another job until a leadership transition at the agency "is such that I would be in more of a consulting, advisory role."

"I have been told by the administration that I can stay as long as I want," Thar said.

Gov. Frank O'Bannon announced Wednesday that he has named Glenn Lawrence, the commissioner of the Department of Administration under O'Bannon, to succeed Thar as the gaming commission's executive director.

Lawrence is a veteran state administrator and former county deputy prosecutor, and once served as executive assistant for public safety under Evan Bayh when he was governor.

O'Bannon said Lawrence had proven his skills as an administrator during his years working for the governor, his predecessor, former Gov. Evan Bayh, and former U.S. Rep. Frank McCloskey.

"Quite simply, he gets the job done -- no matter what it is -- and he does it well. I'm pleased that Glenn is willing to take on this new challenge -- and I know he's up to it," O'Bannon said.

Bayh chose Thar as director of the Gaming Commission shortly after the General Assembly legalized casino gambling and created the agency to regulate it in 1993.

Since then, a seven-member commission has issued licenses to 10 casinos -- five on Lake Michigan and five on the Ohio River. But most of the day-to-day regulatory affairs fell to Thar and the agency itself.

Longtime state Rep. Robert Alderman, a Fort Wayne Republican who helped make revisions to the casino law in the mid-1990s, said Thar would be missed.

"I think he acquired a great knowledge of the issue and I thought he was very evenhanded," Alderman said. "I think he has a lot of character and a lot of credibility."