Recycled ESL leaders are breaths of stale air
Some things just never change. The sun always rises in the east. Water is always wet. Most politicians are professional liars, and East St. Louis loves to recycle their officials and so-called public servants at every opportunity. To hell with their credibility or history.
Take, for example, Gordon “The Great Pretender” Bush. Recall that Bush, former mayor of ESL – and, until recently, a “consultant” for the Casino Queen (after netting nearly a quarter of a million dollars in campaign contributions from the Casino during his days as mayor) – has earned the distinction of being a sort of a career political opportunist.
“Dr. Bush” has mastered the fine art of reinventing himself. He pretended to have brought casino gambling to ESL when, in truth, it was Mayor Carl Officer who acquired the licensing. Bush, after defeating Officer, just took the ball and ran with it (all the way to the bank).
Bush brought casinos to ESL the same way that Columbus claimed to have “discovered” an already occupied territory.
Recently, at the recommendation of convicted felon Charlie Powell, Bush was appointed County Assessor by St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern (don’t ask me why), following revelations of gross mismanagement by the previous assessor, Percy McKinney.
Now Gordon Bush is pretending to clean up the assessor’s office (at least while the press is looking), just in time for the March 21 County Assessor’s election. Scrambling to score political points, Bush (once again) is attempting to take credit for “discovering” about $134 million in property missing from the county tax rolls.
Bush is being opposed in the County Assessor’s race by A. Renee Lewis, who dismisses Bush’s sudden “discovery” as a “bogus claim.” Lewis points out that it was happenstance that Bush staff workers stumbled across some improperly filed building permits, thus determining that numerous parcels were left off the tax rolls. So much for Gordon’s “discovery.”
Lewis, unlike Bush, has nearly 10 years of experience in reviewing property assessments and an MBA and is the senior elected member of the St. Clair County Board of Review, as well as a certified Illinois Assessing Officer. I think the word is (gulp) “QUALIFIED.”
At last, here is a credible, competent and capable candidate who could be the breath of fresh air needed (in the assessor’s office) after years of incompetence and sky-high property taxes, which disproportionately burden the citizens of East St. Louis.
Gordon Bush’s brand of “recycled Negro leadership” is precisely what ESL doesn’t need at this pivotal juncture in her history. Voters should retire “Dr. Bush” from a career of political opportunism.
And speaking of “recycled” and “opportunism,” I have an update for you fans of Rudy “Showtime” McIntosh (the ESL cop turned FBI snitch in the ESL voter fraud trials). He’s baaaaaack!
That’s right. A circuit court ruling overturned McIntosh’s termination from the ESL police department, as well as awarded him back pay and attorney’s fees.
Originally, McIntosh was fired by the ESL Board of Fire and Police Commissioners for lying on his 1994 police application about having earned a GED. McIntosh claims to have since acquired the credential.
In essence, McIntosh’s firing was deemed as political in that (during his hearing) it was discovered that at least one other ESL officer did not possess a GED. However, then-Police Chief Marion Hubbard only recommended the termination of McIntosh and not the other officer.
McIntosh, who avoided the media during the vote fraud trial, is now, once again, in “Showtime” mode, letting the press know that he’s “ready to come back” and went so far as to state (to a TV reporter), “One thing about Rudy McIntosh….I fear nothing….I’ve been holding God’s hand…and I’ll continue to do that.”
You can tell those heroes from us mere mortals. They always refer to themselves in the third person. Just one thing, though. I didn’t know that God walked around in an FBI jacket. Those are the only guys I saw tailing “Showtime” during the last year.
I just wonder how an FBI snitch goes back on the streets of East Boogie after being wired up and spilling his guts for the past year? And who’s going to be crazy enough to be his partner? Can’t you just see old “Showtime” racing down the street in a squad car, followed by a TV truck and an FBI escort?
Sounds like a helluva reality TV show. How about “Showtime in the Boogie.” Stay tuned. I think he can beat out both “Survivor” and “American Idol.”
Email: jtingram_1960@yahoo.com.