Next Tuesday, February 22, East St. Louis voters will have a golden opportunity to take their future in a positive direction and empty a little “political trash” at the same time.
On that day, “East Boogie” will hold its primary elections, to be followed by general elections on Tuesday, April 5. At stake: the future and integrity of ESL city government.
Up for grabs are two key ESL City Council seats, as well as the position of Township Supervisor.ESL political boss Charlie Powell and his crony, Eddie Jackson, will defend their council seats against an array of competitors, including former ESL police top brass Delbert Marion and Lester Anderson.
Township Supervisor Robert Eastern will face off against controversial ESL Deputy Police Chief Rudy “Showtime” McIntosh, whose credibility is under investigation on multiple fronts.
Charlie Powell and Eddie Jackson’s campaign slogan: “Let’s continue progress and NOT GO BACK TO THE PAST!” is not only amusing (and hypocritical), but also assumes that ESL voters have amnesia and are too stupid (and blind) to pay attention to the slew of subpoenas and indictments resulting from the current federal investigation into voter fraud in ESL.
Memo to ESL voters: Since Charlie Powell is head of the ESL Democratic machine. So it would stand to reason that all fingers will be pointing to him and his cronies (come conviction time) since, in effect, he controls the focus and flow of campaign dollars in all ESL elections.
FYI, it was the ESL City Council majority of Charlie Powell, Eddie Jackson (and their gopher, Ed “Whatever you say, Charlie” Russell) who brought ESL the likes of former City Manager Bob Storman (who resigned in disgrace, following sexual harassment allegations). They also supported the appointment of felon Kelvin Ellis (who was recently indicted and accused of running a prostitution ring, attempting to have a federal witness murdered and tax evasion) to the positions of TIF director and director of regulatory affairs.
And, let’s not forget that Powell and Jackson overwhelmingly supported the appointment of Ron Mathews to the position of ESL chief of police. Recall that Mathews was recently arrested and indicted on obstruction of justice and perjury before a federal grand jury.
Mind you, all of these were Charlie and Eddie’s “boys.” So, if it’s true that “birds of a feather flock together,” then what will ESL accomplish by allowing Powell and Jackson to return to ESL City Council? I submit that the very notion, like rotten eggs, stinks, and the stench of their politics can gag a maggot clear across the Mississippi River.
Two of their opponents, Delbert Marion and Lester Anderson, are honorable opponents serving for over two decades in the ESL police department and known throughout the community for their independence and no-nonsense approach to crime and issues impacting upon the ESL community.
With a city already embarrassed by subpoenas, indictments and scandal, why gamble on two more politicians (Powell and Jackson) who have the potential of bringing further shame to ESL, should the federal grand jury continue to shake ESL’s political tree? Even Stevie Wonder could see that a vote against Powell and Jackson is a vote to move ESL away from scandal and toward reform.
Rudy “Showtime” McIntosh’s bid for township supervisor makes my skin crawl. It has nothing to do with what we do know about him: kicked in drug houses, federal snitch, busted Darius Miles on-cue (with cameras rolling), ya-da, ya-da, ya-da.
It’s the question marks in Rudy McIntosh’s past that raise suspicion about his fitness for office.
Even as I write these words, McIntosh is under investigation (by Illinois State Police) for a 1979 murder, in which he was named as the alleged shooter following a dispute over a dice game. His residency has also been a source of dispute, with accounts (over the past several years) of McIntosh living in O’Fallon and Fairview Heights as recently as last summer.
There are also questions as to why McIntosh allowed recently indicted felon Ayoub Quattoum to escort him and his federally funded SCAT Team on drug raids throughout the ESL community, not to mention thousands of dollars of unexplained charges to his city-issued cell phone.
And, most recently, McIntosh’s credentials are the subject of an investigation, by the ESL Police Department, to determine the validity of his high school general equivalency certificate, or GED. City Councilwoman Karen Cason claims to have, coincidentally, been present (11 years ago) at the time that McIntosh presented his GED to former Police Chief Isadore Chambers. Kay Frances Wicks, former deputy director of the Mary Brown Center, claims to remember McIntosh’s passing his GED test, but says that the records were never forwarded to the state and were lost in the 1986 ESL floods. Don’t you just hate when that happens?
Face it, Rudy. There are too many question marks in your past for the ESL community to gamble upon your future.
ESL voters, haven’t you had enough of the Charlie Powells, Eddie Jacksons and Rudy McIntoshes of ESL politics? Their Amos N’ Andy-like shenanigans are the source of laughter and amusement throughout the metropolitan area.
It’s up to the voters of ESL to put an end to this political nightmare by kicking Charlie Powell, Eddie Jackson and Rudy McIntosh to the curb.
Email: jtingram_1960@yahoo.com.