Tagged: Francis Slay

Ald. April Ford-Griffin, who took over as chairman of the St. Louis city budget committee this year, is leaving the aldermanic chambers for the Mayor's office.

Mayor Francis Slay announced on Friday that Ford-Griffin, who has served as the Fifth Ward alderwoman since 1997, will be the new director of the city's Civil Rights Enforcement Agency, which Slay called a "vitally important agency." The former director, Ruby L. Bonner, retired on July 1.

Metro-East contractors delay Mississippi River bridge protest

According to the Belleville News-Democrat, about 200 protesters gathered at the East St. Louis City Hall early this morning, but delayed a protest to shut down work on the new Mississippi River Bridge. The newspaper reports Illinois Governor Pat Quinn promised to call and the state’s transportation secretary is heading to the city to meet them.

Saying they could not in good conscience declare that the city of St. Louis is in a fiscal crisis when it had a budget surplus last year, two members of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment on Wednesday forced a delay on implementing a third year of furloughs for city employees.

St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay will travel to the Sunshine State (that's Florida) this weekend to accept the United States Chess Federation's "Chess City of the Year" award for our own Mound City.

This is the second time St. Louis has received the designation - the city also won the award in 2009.

The award, according to the the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, "recognizes the U.S. city that has done the most to promote and further the game of chess, both locally and nationally."