Independent candidate for mayor in southwest Illinois’ newest city removed from ballot

A candidate running to become the first mayor of Cahokia Heights was taken off the ballot for the upcoming election.

The removal of independent candidate Tami Brooks came after the only other mayoral candidate, Centreville Township Supervisor Curtis McCall Sr., objected to Brooks’ election petition at a hearing last month, according to St. Clair County Clerk Tom Holbrook. McCall is running as a New Vision Party member.

“The people objecting had certified copies of the registrations that were insufficient on her petitions, so she didn’t have enough signatures to get on the ballot,” Holbrook said. “She had to have 207, and she only had 187.”

Although Brooks did meet the minimum requirement of signatures from 207 people, 20 weren’t registered voters at the addresses listed next to their names.

Cahokia Heights is the name of the new city formed by the consolidation of Centreville, Cahokia and Alorton. Voters approved the consolidation in November.

Brooks said she was disappointed about being taken off the ballot, but plans to file as a write-in candidate. The deadline to file as a write-in candidate for the April 6 municipal election is Thursday.

“I have to admit, I did all of this in 48 hours, from the time I started putting out the paperwork and knocking on doors, so if I had a couple of more days, I would’ve had a lot more signatures,” Brooks, 55, said.

“I intend to finish up my paperwork and file as a write-in and try to see what I’ll do from there to keep my name out there, but that’s going to be difficult,” Brooks, a longtime Cahokia resident, said. “People are actually going to have to write my name in, and that’s not an easy task.”

Brooks said she felt shorted by McCall and his team. “For some reason, they’re wanting this merger to happen and for McCall Sr. to run Cahokia Heights,” Brooks said.

McCall could not be reached for comment. Since Friday, the Belleville News-Democrat has called McCall five times on his personal cell phone and left messages on his voicemail.

McCall was the leader of the merger. He previously told the BND that the New Vision Party’s mission relates to the formation of Cahokia Heights. The other candidates who filed to run as new elected leaders of Cahokia Heights are also under the New Vision Party. They include: Debra Duncan for clerk; Jan Scott for treasurer; and Tiffany Pearce, Lisa VanMeter, Sheree Jethroe-Franklin, Gloria Liddell-Ware, James Haywood, Tonie Townsend Sr., Gwen Mccallum and Demario Weeden for board of aldermen

“We do have to have a new vision,” McCall, 58, said in December. “It can’t be the same old thing. I believe that there’s a proverb that says people without a vision will perish, and so we have been, for quite some time, lacking a vision, and I think that’s a trend for many Black communities, and not just ours.”

Proponents of the merger have stated that it will mean a larger population, which they’ve said is needed to receive more federal funding that’ll help fix the area’s failing infrastructure and other problems, like Centreville’s flooding issues. Last summer, three public meetings were held for Cahokia residents to ask city leaders about the proposed consolidation. Residents said they hadn’t received enough financial information on how much the merger will cost them, which has made some skeptical about the plan.

After the April 6 election, the towns will officially merge into the new city.

Brooks, who’s against the consolidation, said her concerns about the merger caused her to run for mayor of Cahokia Heights.

“No communication has come out outside of the three meetings that they held almost six months ago, so the lack of that communication about what’s going to happen is very disheartening as a resident in the community,” Brooks said in December.

Despite the challenge to her candidacy, Brooks wants to continue her race to ensure residents in the community are treated fairly.

“I went this far, so I’m definitely going to keep pushing,” she said.

DeAsia Paige

Belleville News-Democrat

DeAsia Paige joined the Belleville News-Democrat as a Report for America corps member in 2020. She’s a community reporter covering East St. Louis and surrounding areas. DeAsia previously interned with VICE and The Detroit Free Press. She graduated from The University of Kansas in 2020.