Centreville Township supervisor files to run for mayor in newly merged Cahokia Heights
Centreville Township Supervisor Curtis McCall Sr. announced Monday his candidacy to become the first mayor of Cahokia Heights.
During the Nov. 3 election, voters in Cahokia, Alorton and Centreville approved a referendum to merge the three towns into one called Cahokia Heights. Voters will get to decide on government officials for the new city during the April 6 election, after which the consolidation becomes official.
“I think that the people let their voices be heard on Nov. 3 when they overwhelmingly supported the merger, and it wasn’t a vote, in my opinion, against anyone or for anyone,” McCall said. “It was a vote for change. I decided to run for mayor because I believe that the new city needs somebody who’s ready to lead on day one, and I believe that I’m that person.”
The current mayors of Cahokia, Centreville and Alorton said they are supporting McCall’s campaign.
McCall said he has over 20 years working in law enforcement including experience as a homicide detective for St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department. McCall also served as Centreville’s chief of police from 1995-2005.
He started his role as Centreville Township supervisor in 2005.
McCall’s said his law enforcement background is the reason why he’s making public safety a main priority for Cahokia Heights, if he’s elected as mayor.
“I think that my vision of the new city, like any other city, must start with public safety,” said McCall, 58. “Public safety must be the top priority at the very beginning. We must assure parents in our new city that their children will be safe walking to and from schools and playing outside. Our business people must make sure that their investment has been protected.”
McCall, who’s the father of the Cahokia Mayor Curtis McCall Jr., was a staunch proponent of merging the three towns.
The merger is a part of the “Better Together” campaign, a four-phase plan. The first phase was the consolidation of Alorton and Centreville, which was approved by voters in March. The second was the Cahokia Heights referendum in November. The next phases include dissolving Centreville Township and adding Commonfields of Cahokia to the newly formed city.
Informational meetings about the Cahokia Heights consolidation were held during the summer so that residents could learn more about the proposal and ask questions of city leaders. Similar meetings were held earlier this year for merging Centreville and Alorton. Residents complained, however, that they hadn’t received information about how much the consolidation would cost, which created doubt among some voters concerning the feasibility of the plan.
The only financial information that residents have received is the $430 in average annual property tax savings for each household with the elimination of Centreville Township.
McCall said he’s confident in his ability to build trust with residents to ensure he’ll make the best decision for them if he’s elected mayor.
“The vote tells you the citizens trust me,” McCall said. “If this is a political power grab, what am I grabbing? I’m the township supervisor, the highest ranking office in that area. My son is the mayor of the biggest city out of the three, so I guess I’m grabbing what I already have.”
Local leaders have touted the merger as essential to boosting population, which could lead to greater political influence and federal and state funding.
Within the past 10 years, Cahokia has lost about 9% of its residents, which is the steepest population decline among cities in St. Clair County. Additionally, more than 360 residents have left Centreville and about 100 have left Alorton in the past decade. About 31% of residents in Cahokia live below the federal poverty line, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. In Centreville and Alorton, about 50% percent of residents live below the poverty line.
Officials hope federal funding to the new city will help fix failed infrastructure, like Centreville’s sewage issues. Residents in Centreville experience extensive flooding damage to their homes whenever there’s heavy rainfall, with minimal help from local government.
City leaders cited decades worth of poor infrastructure that demands federal government intervention as the reason for the issue. The problem has led to a visit from Sen. Tammy Duckworth and a lawsuit filed against the city and local leaders on behalf of residents. McCall is one of the defendants in the lawsuit.
McCall plans to give Centreville’s flooding issues immediate attention if he’s elected mayor, but he said it needs to be a collaborative effort.
“I pledge to the citizens of the new city of Cahokia Heights that they shouldn’t have to live with raw sewage coming in the yards of their own homes,” McCall said. “Those days should end. As the next mayor, I’m gonna do everything that I can to work with leaders on the local level, the county, the state and national level to make sure that we have the resources that we need to better the lives of our citizens.”
“There’s enough blame to go around. You can put blame on local leadership, including me. I think Black communities have been forgotten for several decades and Black voters must hold people that they vote for accountable, and as the mayor of the city of Cahokia Heights, I plan on doing that.”
Cahokia Mayor Curtis McCall Jr., Centreville Mayor Jackson and Alorton Mayor JoAnn Reed said they don’t have plans to run for mayor.
“I’m going to support McCall 100%,” Reed said. “I think he has the experience to run the combination of all three cities. I’m a small-town girl, and I’m a small-town mayor. I have all the love that’s needed, but I don’t have quite the experience I think that’s needed for success, and I think that he does. He has been a leader for all three cities. He’s worked alongside us. He’s helped us with our problems and opened doors of communication in St. Clair County.”
As of Monday afternoon, McCall Sr. is the only person to file for mayor.
The filing period for candidates for the April 6 election started this week and ends on Dec. 21. Other offices to be elected include clerk, treasurer and eight aldermen. If elected, McCall will serve a four-year term.
“I’ve never been one to shy away from a challenge, and this is a huge one,” McCall said. “To rebuild broken communities is gonna be a challenge, but I believe with God’s help and citizen’s input, we can get it done.”
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