In 2015, I found myself the constant bearer of bad political news despite glimmers of hope which was, oftentimes, quickly extinguished.
East St. Louis councilwoman Emeka Jackson-Hicks fought valiantly to unseat Mayor Alvin Parks, both legally and politically, becoming the new mayor of East Boogie. She offered the potential of change and a fresh start, only to be derailed a few short months later.
That’s when the ESL City Council, in their infinite “wis-dumb,” fired Mayor Jackson-Hicks’ newly installed City Manager Traycee Chapman, only to hire the ousted Alvin Parks as their new city manager at $100,000 per-year and with control of the day-to-day management of city affairs, given ESL’s city manager form of government.
Associate Judge Laninya Cason was also ousted by Judge John Baricevic in what amounted to a covertly, cowardly (and anonymously orchestrated ballot) in which Cason failed to receive enough votes for retention after 12 years on the bench.
Republican Governor Bruce Rauner took the helm of Illinois state government, with promises of budget cuts, accountability and an end to patronage, only to lock horns with Speaker Michael Madigan in a virtual shutdown of state government – and actually increased the number of patronage positions and salaries within his administration to the tune of $380,000, with no resolution in sight.
And our old friend state Senator James “Money Ain’t A Thang” Clayborne continued with his extravagant ways in 2015, starting a new law firm and charging the city of ESL 50 percent more ($778,039) in legal costs than was done with his previous firm.
Clayborne’s jet-setting lifestyle was also exposed when it was revealed, by KTVI reporter Elliot Davis, that between the years of 2003-2014 Clayborne utilized campaign funds to pay $43,000 for approximately 236 limos to speeches, golf outings, meetings, funerals and even to the impeachment hearings of incarcerated ex-governor Rod Blagojevich. But don’t hate the “player,” hate the game, right, playa’?
But 2016 promises to be an interesting, if not brutal, political season.
Enter Bob “The Grim Reaper of Radio” Romanik, a radio personality, who will face off against ESL City Councilwoman “Rowdy” Latoya Greenwood for the state representative seat for the 114th legislative district.
Greenwood was charged, back in 2012, with disorderly conduct for verbally assaulting an elderly Best Buy employee in Fairview Heights, IL while her male companion physically assaulted the man.
Anyone who has listened to Romanik’s show on KQQZ am or seen his very amusing political billboards knows that this will be an entertaining contest, to say the least.
Then there’s former ESL mayor Carl E. Officer who re-enters the political arena, running this time for St. Clair County coroner, hoping to replace Rick Stone, who retires after 34 years. Officer’s opponent will be retired state trooper Calvin Dye, who was hand-picked by the St. Clair County political machine, some say, to split the black vote.
Finally, vowing to revenge her political ouster from the bench, Laninya Cason will run for the position of circuit judge to fill the vacancy of Judge Robert Lechien, who has chosen, along with Chief Judge Baricevic, to run to reclaim their seats versus risking the chance of losing in a retention vote.
So, I’m stocking up on soda, popcorn, Lemon Heads and Boston Baked Beans because 2016 promises to be a dramatic political spectacle surpassing anything at the box office or on reality TV for sheer entertainment value.
Happy New Year and, God willing, we’ll meet here, again, very soon.
Email: jtingram_1960@yahoo.com; Twitter@JamesTIngram.
