Columnist James Ingram
On Tuesday, February 2, voters in Illinois’ 114th District will go to the polls to elect their state representative.
In that race, former East St. Louis Mayor Carl E. Officer and ESL School Board member Will McGaughy face off against incumbent Eddie Jackson, who was appointed (one year ago) to fill the vacant seat of the late Wyvetter Younge, who held the seat for 34 years.
Strangely enough, during 30 of those years, Eddie Jackson was an undistinguished ESL city councilman who was twice rejected by ESL voters in his bid to become mayor.
What did distinguish Jackson for three decades was his affinity for associating with criminals and his flirtations with, and pandering to, the criminal element in ESL politics.
Jackson is a buddy of felon Charlie Powell, convicted on federal vote fraud charges in 2005.
During his mayoral campaign of 2003, Jackson was also criticized for having received $6,000 in campaign contributions from Déjà Vu (a chain of strip clubs based in Lansing, Michigan), a curious donation considering the fact that strip clubs are illegal in ESL.
Following the incarceration of Charlie Powell (and federal vote fraud accomplices), Jackson advocated for the rehiring of Sheila Thomas and Jesse Lewis (at ESL City Hall), upon their release from prison. His advocacy allowed two felons to return to the scene of their crimes.
This begs the question: How did he become appointed to Wyvetter Younge’s coveted seat? “Poli-tricks” as usual. As the head of ESL’s political machine (inherited by default upon Powell’s incarceration), Jackson nominated himself and was selected by a committee of two (Bob Sprague, St. Clair County political boss, and Matt Melucci, Madison County political big-wig).
Now, Jackson wants to posture himself as a “born again” statesman. Consider that, in the last year, Jackson has voted to increase individual, trust and estate taxes from 3 percent to 4.5 percent, as well as voted no on IL House Bill 48, which would allow private gun sales without any required background check.
On the other hand, we have the strange candidacy of Will McGaughy who was recently caught mailing out $2 bills, along with a political mailing, while denying the implications. The district, given its multiplicity of problems, needs a more vibrant and articulate voice than McGaughy’s.
That brings us to Carl Officer, the youngest of the candidates, who does have the intellect and energy that has been missing in District 114 for some years.
Officer proposes to reduce or eliminate property taxes, to overhaul the state vehicle emissions program (which requires vehicle owners to spend up to $500 before even qualifying for a waiver). He plans to introduce legislation that would exempt the Casino Queen (and other Ill. casinos) from the smoking ban which has cost the City of ESL millions of dollars in lost revenues and jobs.
Aside from the usual campaign promises and rhetoric, Officer is the only one of the candidates who can lay claim to having actually produced meaningful regional change.
It was Mayor Officer who (during the 1980s) advocated for and received two gaming licenses for the City of East St. Louis. Today the revenues for the Casino Queen provide 50 percent of ESL’s operating budget.
Now, I’ve been critical of Carl Officer (in this column) before, a fact conveniently overlooked by a small contingent of “Ingram haters” who, irrationally, believe that any positive reference to Officer in this space is the result of my having worked for him over 20 YEARS ago.
However, many of these same hypocritical whiners have been on the payrolls or have flagrantly benefited financially from ESL, St. Clair County and Illinois state funded jobs and contracts throughout the same 20 year period.
I believe in giving credit (and blame) where it is due, irrespective of the politician or public figure in question.
And, while I don’t work for Carl Officer (or any politician), and while Officer is far from perfect, his opponents in this race makes the choice a no-brainer for voters in the 114th District.
Email: jtingram_1960@yahoo.com.