By landslide votes at the Tuesday (May 5th) evening Danville City Council meeting, the votes on both the treasurer and mayor salaries were tabled until the Council meeting on June 2nd; but for very different reasons.
While the treasurer’s salary would have been increased from $65,000 to $90,000; the bigger issue there has been can the Council change the position from elected to appointed, via ordinance or referendum? The answer seems to be; yes, once the Central Illinois Federal Court determines that the Consent Decree from Danville’s 1987 governmental change has been satisfied, and Danville, a home rule community, could take such action. The general consensus was, “table the salary vote, until we know for sure about the Consent Decree.
That was the easy part.
The hard part was the next item, where the mayor’s salary would increase from $110,000 to $130,000 with the next election; after having been $75,000 as recently as 2019 through 2023. There were accusations about issues from the past, votes on point of order, accusations of campaigning, and a vocal crowd paying very close attention.
(1st Picture) Mayor Rickey Williams, Jr states his case towards end of meeting; (3rd Picture) Alderman Doug Ahrens, between Jaleel Jones (L) and Jon Cooper (R).
Summarizing; it began with Alderman Doug Ahrens, who has not yet officially announced candidacy for mayor, passing out a list of past actions he questioned done by the Rickey Williams, Jr administration. Ahrens’ major point was, the salary increases already made did not prevent these things from happening, so why bother talking about the “risk” of who you will get as mayor without more major increases? Alderwoman Sherry Pickering spoke up and said what Ahrens was doing was campaigning, but her Point of Order motion, seconded by Eve Ludwig, failed; allowing Ahrens to talk further.
AUDIO: We have a lot of discussions, and a lot of things sure sound like campaigning. So I guess I’m not sure what it was I was saying that sounded like campaigning. I’m an elected official that has a responsibility for providing data and information, to other aldermen and my constituents.
Mayor Williams did his share of responding to the points on Ahrens’ handout, stating once again that this is not all about him; as he may not be mayor after the 2027 election, and by the way has yet to declare his candidacy. Williams spoke with CIMG when the meeting was over, giving us his view of the meeting.
AUDIO: Again, Democracy prevailed; and so, that’s something that I’m always proud of. Here’s the thing; you can say whatever you want to, you have an absolute right as an alderman. But if you lie, I’m going to call you out on it.
(1st Picture) Alderman Ed Butler; (2nd Picture) Alderwoman Tricia Teague between Sherry Pickering (L) and Eve Ludwig (R); (3rd Picture, L to R) Aldermen James Poshard, Tom Hightower, Barry Johnson, and Mike O’Kane.
Alderwoman Tricia Teague, who is now officially a mayoral candidate; felt she had to defend the data she has presented in the past concerning why she thinks the mayoral salary should not be substantially increased. Alderwoman Ludwig stated that Teague was trying to shorten the field of candidates for her run for mayor by keeping the salary down. Teague reminded everyone that she planned to abstain from the vote when it happens, and told us afterwards that she stands by the data she previously presented; and keeps high standards for herself.
AUDIO: Any leader worth his salt, will look at themselves and say, “you know what, maybe I’m wrong. What are the other points of view? Let’s look at all; variety of points of view on this thing, and make sure that I have considered everything, before I make a decision, so I can make a firm decision.” And data helps with that. It takes the ‘personal’ out of it.
It was Alderman Mike O’Kane that first mentioned that the mayor’s salary vote should be tabled just like the treasurer’s, and he felt it was the only way to go.
AUDIO: Well, I want everybody voting with their conscience. And not being upset and then voting one way or another, just because of other feelings about something. I want them voting on the real issue.
Many other interesting moments happened, including Alderman Ed Butler saying prior to one of the Point of Order votes; “if you don’t want to hear what someone has to say, you can leave.”
There was also Alderman Tom Hightower stating, to the effect of, “I’m still a new alderman, and I want to learn things here; but all I’m hearing is people throwing darts at each other.”
Early in the meeting, during Public Comment; there was substantial talk about the three shooting incidents this past weekend, including numerous calls for the mayor and aldermen to be more involved, and to take more action. Mentioned many times was the Project Success community meeting scheduled for 6:30 PM Thursday (May 7th) at the Laura Lee Fellowship House.
