Voters still don’t know financial impact of proposed merger of three southwest IL towns

A detailed financial assessment on the impact of a proposed merger of Cahokia, Centreville and Alorton that voters are being asked to approve in next week’s election is not complete, according to a project consultant.

Merger organizers said earlier this year they had planned to have detailed financial information available for public view before the vote. Early voting in St. Clair County began Sept. 24, and Election Day is next Tuesday.

Antonio Baxton, a lead consultant on the merger, said Tuesday in an interview he didn’t know when the information would be available for the public.

“We’re still working with the auditors on it,” said Baxton, who’s on the board for the Illinois State Black Chamber of Commerce. “I wish I could tell you. I do know that we’re working on it very aggressively.”

Cahokia Mayor Curtis McCall Jr., Centreville Township Supervisor Curtis McCall Sr., Centreville Mayor Marius “Mark” Jackson and Alorton Mayor JoAnn Reed could not be immediately reached for comment. All four are proponents of the merger.

Local leaders have said the merger is urgently needed, citing declining populations and the benefits of having one larger town. One merged community, they say, would help attract more funding to help pay for public improvements like fixing eroding sewer systems and other infrastructure.

Baxton has said the elimination of Centreville Township could result in savings of $430 in annual property taxes.

If approved, the new city would be called Cahokia Heights. Elections for city government would be held in April.

‘Too early to make a decision’

Tuesday’s referendum is part of the “Better Together” campaign, a four-phase plan. The first was in March, when voters in Centreville and Alorton overwhelmingly approved a referendum to merge their two towns. The third and fourth phases of the plan include future referenda and legislation on proposals to dissolve Centreville Township and add Commonfields of Cahokia to Cahokia Heights.

Three public meetings were held at Cahokia High School in August and September to discuss the Cahokia Heights proposal. Residents were able to voice their opinions about the consolidation and ask questions at those meetings. Similar meetings were held earlier this year before for the Centreville-Alorton merger vote

Cahokia resident Tami Hodges Brooks said this week her first time hearing about the merger was during the public meetings.

“With the meetings, the paperwork that they passed out really didn’t have any facts on it,” Hodges Brooks, 55, said. “Everything that the people were saying was more opinion-based and based upon their need to increase the population to get more federal funding. There were no financial statements, no numbers, nothing like that.”

Jessica McClelland, a Cahokia resident who attended the Cahokia meetings in September, said voters need more time and more information to make such an important decision about their city.

“ They had three informational meetings at the high school and there were about 30 to 40 people there are at each, and that’s a far cry from the number of people who need to be educated on this,” McClelland, 55, said. “I think it’s too early to make a decision.”

McClelland is concerned about what it would cost residents to change the area’s name from Cahokia to Cahokia Heights. If the referendum is passed, she knows she’ll have to change things like her bills and her driver’s license. It’s a question that remains unanswered since she first brought it to Baxton’s attention at the first meeting.

Tom Stahl, a Cahokia resident who’s running for St. Clair County Board, said he has tried to stay neutral on his thoughts about the merger for the sake of his election efforts. However, he agrees that minimal information has been provided to residents about the proposed merger.

“All of the details have just not been worked out and exposed to the public, and that’s where most people’s trepidation comes from,” Stahl said. “I don’t know really if anyone knows exactly what’s going to happen, and I really don’t know if anybody included or un-included knows what’s going to happen after it passes, if it does. There’s too many questions.”

Severe population decline

Leaders of the merger have touted the potential benefits of consolidation. They think merging the three cities will result in a much-needed population increase that will, in turn, lead to more federal funds.

The region has suffered large population losses in recent years. 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. In Centreville and Alorton, about 50% percent of residents live below the poverty line.

“The numbers don’t lie,” Cahokia Mayor Curtis McCall, Jr., said during the first merger meeting in Cahokia. “Over the last 25 years, Cahokia has seen an exponential decrease in population. For those of you who follow municipal government, you know that population numbers equate to revenue, and revenue equates to streets being fixed, sewer systems being fixed, demolition of houses and tons of everything. The answer is in the numbers.

“We are in a state of emergency. We have got to do something now because if we don’t do something now, our years look very bleak.”

This story was originally published October 28, 2020 at 3:55 PM.

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.