Family game night is here again in East St. Louis

State Rep. Eddie Lee Jackson is calling it quits and in his place the St. Clair County Democrats are putting up East St. Louis City Councilwoman Latoya Greenwood. Oh, the gamesmanship.

Greenwood would be one of the three council members who betrayed duly-elected Mayor Emeka Jackson-Hicks and halted her top-to-bottom city reforms by installing her defeated opponent, former mayor Alvin Parks Jr., as city manager. Suddenly the efficiency reviews, probes and professional management ended and the same-old patronage rules were back in place.

The mayor is the state representative’s daughter, so his sacrifice either bought her a few moves forward or was the opposition eliminating competition.

Greenwood is head of human resources for the East St. Louis school district. Her father is the school board chairman as well as the head of the city Democrats.

Rep. Jackson is a former administrator for the district. Parks is a former administrator for the district and his mom was the superintendent.

The three-way chutes and ladders between City Hall, the school district offices and Springfield continues to benefit those in the loop, with parents caring for adult children and trading jobs for power.

When the goal becomes advancing the security, economy and future of the city, this entire region will win. As long as the players are in it just to keep playing and helping their own, then it is all just a cruel game.

This story was originally published November 17, 2015 at 1:00 PM with the headline "Family game night is here again in East St. Louis."