The definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result. Therein lies the problem with the city of East St. Louis.
East Boogie has, over the years, been a revolving door for city managers, with some staying as little as a few weeks and others for as long as a few years, depending on the political agenda of the city council and the prevailing “poli-tricks” of the day.
Most recently, despite being rejected by voters in the recent mayoral elections, Alvin Parks returned to ESL as the newly appointed city manager at twice his mayoral salary and with twice the power. Parks had the audacity to tell KTVI reporter Elliot Davis that he feels that it was a “good deal” for the citizens.
His predecessor, Traycee Chapman, only held the job for two weeks and was quickly dismissed without explanation.
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin was “stunned” and stated that it “doesn’t make any sense at all – voters voted for change.”
Whether it’s playing musical chairs with the city manager’s seat or controlling and manipulating the outcome of elections in St. Clair County by virtue of the board of elections, political insanity remains the order of the day in East Boogie.
Considering the number of ESL voter fraud convictions, one would think that scrapping the $500,000 per-year board of elections would send a clear message that ESL is out of the vote-stealing business and willing to become fiscally responsible by spending the half-million in savings on things such as police and firemen.
For those reasons, two referendums should appear on the ballot in the next elections.
One referendum should give the voters the option of eliminating the city manager position and return ESL to a “strong mayor” form of government. This would eliminate the political gamesmanship and instability that comes with using the city manager appointment as a pawn in a political game of chess.
The other referendum should be a vote to eliminate the ESL Board of Elections. It has outlived its usefulness, especially given ESL’s depleted population. It’s only purpose now is to harvest/steal enough votes to win elections for the St. Clair County Democratic machine. St. Clair County is capable of performing that function and ESL desperately needs the $500,000 in savings for more essential services.
Given the disgust and frustration of voters with whom I have spoken, the political climate is perfect to revisit both of these ideas and, hopefully, provide ESL voters with an opportunity to return East Boogie to some semblance of sanity.
Email: jtingram_1960@yahoo.com; Twitter: @JamesTIngram.
