Cahokia Heights City Council approves new alderman, zoning board members
Cahokia Heights will have a new alderman.
Starting next month, Clinton Lovett will replace Sheree Jethroe-Franklin, whose resignation from her position as alderman was approved last month.
“He’ll make a good addition to the board,” Mayor Curtis McCall Sr. said. “He served as alderman at one time for the city of Centreville as well.”
Lovett will make $12,825 in his new role. City council approved his appointment as alderman last week.
He recently served as the supervisor for Centreville Township before resigning on Dec. 15.
Although the dissolution of Centreville Township was touted as a part of the formation plans for Cahokia Heights (a merger of Alorton, Centreville and Cahokia, which became official on May 6), the township still exists. Mayor McCall said his team has to work on asking the unincorporated areas of the township - Signal Hill and Parkfield Terrace - if they want to be in the new town of Cahokia Heights before eliminating the township.
“What you have to do is, you have to go out and do what we did with the town hall meetings (and have them) in the unincorporated areas in Centreville Township, and with the COVID, we just feel that it’s unsafe to start holding these town hall meeting like we did when we did the consolidation,” McCall said.
Centreville Township includes Cahokia Heights, Signal Hill and Parkfield Terrace. Lovett said his role as township supervisor was mainly a volunteer position with a salary of $1 per year due to the township’s pending dissolution. Curtis McCall Jr, Mayor McCall’s son, will serve as the new township supervisor with the same salary. McCall Sr. was the Centreville Township supervisor before becoming mayor of Cahokia Heights, and McCall Jr. was the former mayor of Cahokia and currently serves on the St. Clair County Board.
Prior to his role as township supervisor, Lovett served nearly nine years as an alderman for Centreville. He said he wants to tackle issues that weren’t addressed when he was on the board for the former town.
“We were always financially strapped and we couldn’t get some of these things done and those were trying to get taxes lower for our taxpayers, improve our roads and we have an issue with flooding in certain parts of our city,” Lovett, 67, said. “I’m thinking we can get some of those things addressed in this term, and I just want to be a part of it.”
Lovett will join the town’s seven other council members who were sworn in on May 6. According to the Illinois Municipal Code, Cahokia Heights had 60 days after the submission of Sheree Jethroe-Franklin’s resignation to fill the vacancy. Jethroe-Franklin, who ran unopposed for the April 6 municipal election, resigned in late November. She now serves in the city’s water and sewer department.
Lovett’s appointment is for a two-year term before the seat is up for election by Cahokia Heights residents.
“I can better my community on the board of aldermen as we help with the vision as far as moving this city forward,” Lovett said. “I think I can have some input in that and be an advocate for the people I represent.”
New zoning board
Council members also voted to approve members of the city’s new zoning board committee this month. They are:
Michael Baxton Sr,
Donna Myers- Corley
Fannie Jones
Linda Heitman
Terry Gischer
McCall said they’ll be paid $300 per month.
Michael Baxton Sr. previously served as the police chief for East St. Louis and the former city of Alorton. In 2012, he was sentenced to one year in prison after being charged with stealing video game consoles from a stolen car and lying to federal agents about it. This is his first position since that time.
McCall said he is confident that Baxton will effectively serve Cahokia Heights residents.
“I’ve done over 20 years in law enforcement and have arrested all types of criminals in my law enforcement days,”McCall said. “However, I believe in two laws. I believe in God’s law, and God’s law says that you should be forgiving of people, and I believe in man law. However, I take my oath of god’s law that we all should forgive people, even those who have made mistakes in life.
“ Michael Baxton served his time. He made a mistake that he explained to me was one of the most grave mistakes of his life. He paid his debt to society. I’ve always been, as the chief of police, as township supervisor and now as the mayor, a believer in second chances.”
Baxton said his prior missteps won’t affect his new position.
“I’m there to do whatever I can to try to help the community,” Baxton, 59, said.
The new zoning board members were sworn in on Thursday.
