Alvin Parks

Banning Gang Colors is a Post-Hoc Solution. East Boogie Should Ban Single-Parent Homes

There's a war going on in East. St. Louis right now.  The forces of law and order are struggling to contain the forces of drugs, crime, poverty and desperation. The most recent solution conjured up by Mayor Alvin Parks and the cops: Ban gang colors, then lock up kids spotted on the streets duri ... More >>

Romanik's Interlude: An ex-con finds his second calling as the "Grim Reaper of Radio"

ESL Mayor Accused of "Slick Political Moves" in Battle Over Liquor Sales

Mayor Alvin Parks is finding himself more and more isolated these days in his quest to maintain the status quo in East St. Louis. Last week the City Council voted 3-2 to rein in late-night liquor sales that law enforcement believes contribute to violence in the cash-strapped and crime-ridden city. T ... More >>

Hell Hole vs. Murder City: Adjectives for East St. Louis Just Get Worse

Saturday Night Live poked some fun at East St. Louis with a political skit this past weekend that had Keenan Thompson (Good Burger, FTW), in character as ESL mayor Alvin Parks, proclaim his city to be a "hell hole." The real life Parks was reportedly not amused by the characterization.And then today ... More >>

Saturday Night Live Lampoons East St. Louis, Mayor Alvin Parks

East St. Louis Mayor Alvin Parks made an appearance this weekend on Saturday Night Live. Okay, so it wasn't the actual mayor. It was SNL actor Kenan Thompson portraying Parks as he attended a Mitt Romney speech to the East St. Louis Chamber of Commerce. Here's how it goes...

Mayor Alvin Parks Rethinks ESL's Late-Night Liquor Sales in Wake of Shootings

​East St. Louis native and Illinois Senator Dick Durbin last month urged Mayor Alvin Parks to end the city's late-night liquor sales in the hopes that it would cut down on violent crime. As he had done in the past, Parks rejected the notion. But after two separate shootings long after midnight thi ... More >>

Kellen Winslow Honored as East St. Louis Hometown Hero

Albert SamahaNFL great Kellen Winslow was honored at in his hometown, East St. Louis.​There were gator shoes, orange socks, brown fedoras, pinstripe vests, politicians, former NFL players, dozens of cameramen, hundreds of students, and lots and lots of orange and blue balloons packed into the East ... More >>

Mississippi River Bridge Project Employment Disparity Stings for African American Community Hit Hard By Recession

"I myself don't choose to be a third generation welfare mother. I want to work in the field that I'm trained in," says Dent.​Tiama Dent is a single mother of two children and a graduate of the Illinois Department of Transportation's Highway Construction Preparatory Training program. The eight-w ... More >>

East St. Louis Discriminated In Not Hiring White Officers, Federal Jury Finds

Photo: Jennifer SilverbergMayor Alvin Parks did not have much to smile about Wednesday.​Two black residents of East St. Louis won a civil rights lawsuit this week in southern Illinois complaining that they were harassed and discriminated against when they recommended that the predominately black c ... More >>

More Video Emerges as Blackmon's Plaza Loses Liquor License Following Brawl

YouTubeDozens of people skirmish around 4:30 a.m. Saturday at Blackmon's.​New video appears at end of this post.East St. Louis officials yesterday temporarily suspended the liquor license at nightclub Blackmon's Plaza following a wild fight early Saturday morning. During the fight, captured on vid ... More >>

Cops believe Reggie Allen mowed down an unarmed black man outside an east-side club more than a year ago. So why isn't he behind bars?

East St. Louis Mayor Alvin Parks Tries to Be Opposite of a Grinch

Keegan HamiltonEast St. Louis mayor Alvin Parks, Jr., at a town hall meeting earlier this year.​Whatever the opposite of a Grinch is, that's what East St. Louis mayor Alvin L. Parks, Jr., is trying to be. Upon hearing that his city was planning to lay off nineteen police officers, four public ... More >>

Albert C. Thompson: Accused of Helping East St. Louis Liquor Official Commit Extortion

The East St. Louis liquor scandal that first came to light two years ago continues to unravel. Yesterday, the southern Illinois U.S. Attorney's Office announced that Albert C. Thompson has been indicted by a Federal Grand Jury on charges of "attempted extortion under the color of official right," wh ... More >>

Kevin Johnson: East St. Louis Homicide No. 16; Killed Early Monday Morning

Johnson was found outside this building on N. 51st Street.​East St. Louis police have identified the man shot dead early Monday morning as 34-year-old Kevin Johnson. Johnson, of the 1700 block of Belmont Avenue in East St. Louis, was found dead outside a building at 742 N. 51st Street around 1:10 ... More >>

Tuesday Tussle, Part 1: Supreme Court's Gun Ban Ruling Will Lead to More Bloodshed

Image sourceThe Supreme Court shot America in the foot ​The timing of the Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling that the Second Amendment prevents cities and states from enacting strict gun control laws couldn't be more ironic. The decision overturned Chicago's ban on handgun ownership the day after 26 peopl ... More >>

East St. Louis Celebrates Miles Davis' Birthday with Jazz, Poetry -- and Cake

Christian SchaefferMiles Davis on a cake!​Earlier this afternoon, East St. Louis Mayor Alvin L. Parks threw a party to commemorate the 84th birthday of Miles Dewey Davis III, known to most as Miles Davis. The event, which took place in Parks' office, honored the jazz legend and paid tribute to ... More >>

Club Casino Fined $1,000, Liquor License Suspended After Fatal Shooting

Club Casino, the popular East St. Louis nightspot that was the scene of a fatal shooting Saturday, was fined $1,000 by mayor and liquor commissioner Alvin Parks at a hearing yesterday afternoon. The club's liquor license was also suspended for 30 days.Illinois State Police are still investigating th ... More >>

East St. Louis Councilmen: Not Mathemeticians, But City is Going Bankrupt

Image ViaEast Boogie will not pass go, collect $200​Two East St. Louis Councilmen say their city is on the verge of bankruptcy after a bid to borrow more than $1.5 million was denied last week. The city hoped the East St. Louis police and fire boards would lend them the cash but the agencies rebuf ... More >>

FBI Investigating St. Louis County Executive's Office?

Image Via Charlie Dooley's words exactly​That's the word coming from KMOX this morning. Citing anonymous sources, the station's Kevin Kileen reports that the FBI's "probe goes all the way up the elevator." Here's the issue at the heart of the rumored wrongdoing:  The feds are looking ... More >>

Black Man Killed At "Skinhead Nazi Strip Club" in East St. Louis. Then it Gets Weird...

Of all the places to open a nightclub that advertises "Hot Girls, Cold Beer" and supposedly only allows white people to enter, East St. Louis, Illinois has to be at the bottom of the list of likely locations. Not only is the city's population 98 percent African-American, it also prohibits "sexually ... More >>

Last Call: Mayor Suspends Late Night Liquor Sales at East St. Louis Nightclubs after Bloody Weekend

photo by Jennifer SilverbergEast St. Louis Mayor Alvin Parks​East St. Louis mayor and liquor commissioner Alvin Parks may have finally had it with his city's nightclubs. After a bloody weekend that left four people injured or dead in two days at nightspots scattered across town, Parks says last ca ... More >>

Former East St. Louis Deputy Liquor Commissioner Indicted on Extortion Charges

perfectsubstitute.blogspot.com​Former East St. Louis deputy liquor commissioner Walter D. Hill was indicted yesterday on federal extortion charges, the Belleville News-Democrat reports. Hill is accused of using his position with the city to extort money, liquor, and sex. He is also accused of lyin ... More >>

Last Call?: East St. Louis nightclubs under siege

East St. Louis Mayor Says City's Nightclubs Will Continue to Stay Open Late

photo by Keegan HamiltonEast St. Louis mayor Alvin Parks said Friday that the city's bars, liquor stores and nightclubs will continue to serve alcohol until the current closing time, despite criticism.Parks doubles as East St. Louis' liquor commissioner and said nightclubs will remain open until 6 a ... More >>

Post-Dispatch Put Sylvester Brown on Paid Leave over Alleged Pay-to-Play, Till Today When He Said, See Ya

Columnist Sylvester Brown says his employer, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, put him on paid administrative leave on Friday, March 27, and locked him out of the building over allegations that officials in East St. Louis paid for a trip he took to Washington, D.C. Photo: Nick LucchesiAsked about who he ... More >>

Lock 'Em Down, Lock 'Em Up

Did Lock 'Em Down Records exec Dewanzel Singleton lead a well-choreographed double life, or did the DEA finger an innocent man?

Battle of the Beats Update: Another Shooting

Complex God

The Constitution proves no match for Carl Officer

The Resurrection of Carl Officer

East St. Louis’ prodigal son is back — but is he the man to save Sin City?