Among these vying to turn out to be mayor of Ford Heights this spring are interim Mayor Freddie Wilson, former Mayor Annie Coulter and Village Administrator Antoina McMichaels, who has served in that function for 20 years.
Trustees Tyreese Andrews and Germaine Hooks are working for re-election, whereas trustees Douglas Jones, Elliott Harper and Johnny Griffin won’t be on the poll.
Hooks and Jones had been appointed final month to 2 board vacancies created after former Mayor Charles Griffin and Trustee Jimmy Viverette had been pressured to resign. Griffin was convicted of embezzling between $10,000 and $100,000 from the village and Viverette was deemed by the Cook County state’s legal professional’s workplace to have beforehand been convicted of a felony, disqualifying him from holding workplace.
However, paperwork obtained by Daily Southtown point out that trustee Jones, appointed by Mayor Wilson regardless of having lived in Ford Heights only some years, additionally has a prison file. Shortly after his appointment, the trustee requested that his 1995 theft conviction and his 1989 felony cost of producing/delivering between 10 and 30 grams of cocaine be sealed or expunged by Cook County.
Court data present Jones was sentenced to a few years within the Illinois Department of Corrections after pleading responsible to the theft cost. He additionally pleaded responsible to the drug cost, finishing probation in consequence. The state’s legal professional’s workplace didn’t reply to questions on his suitability to function trustee, however Jones was nonetheless on the board on the village’s newest assembly Wednesday.
Jones and Wilson declined to reply questions after the board assembly associated to Jones’ felony convictions or Wilson’s re-election marketing campaign.
“I’m working for mayor too, that is all I can let you know,” Wilson stated Thursday.
After Jones was sworn in for the primary time, Wilson stated he chosen him for the appointment due to his common attendance at board conferences and curiosity in village authorities.
“Only involved residents present as much as these conferences, except one thing loopy is occurring,” Wilson stated on the time.
Wilson will face 4 challengers within the April election, because the village will not be holding a main, in line with Village Clerk Nyota Figgs. They embody Coulter, who served as trustee from 2017 to 2021 after shedding re-election to Griffin, McMichaels, former trustee LaDell Jones and former trustee Scottie Hatten, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2021 All the candidates in Ford Heights ran as independents, Figgs stated.
McMichaels stated she selected to run partially as a result of she was missed as interim mayor after Griffin resigned, regardless of being the longest-serving council member.
“It’s not honest,” she stated after being the one one to vote no on Wilson’s nomination. “I’m not indignant concerning the place, it is a matter of respect.”
On Wednesday, McMichaels stated that as mayor, she’s going to work with companies and organizations to convey financial progress to the long-struggling metropolis of about 1,700 folks. He additionally desires so as to add crosswalks to make streets safer and return the village to its former identify of East Chicago Heights, which was modified to Ford Heights within the Eighties.
Challengers to the trustee place embody Tracey McDowell, Stacey Perry, Tiffany LaRue, James Morgan, Lorenzo Nichols, Amelia Owens and Jimmie Watson to tackle incumbents Hooks and Andrews. Figgs will face Wendell Franklin within the clerk’s race.
ostevens@chicagotribune.com
