Biden releases plan to stop pandemic
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St. Louis American See page A14
The
CAC Audited JAN. 28 – FEB. 3, 2021
Serving, empowering and advocating equity in St. Louis since 1928
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Vol. 92 No. 44 COMPLIMENTARY
Krewson keeps ward reduction off April ballot Vetoed bill that would have reconsidered decision to reduce city’s wards in 2023
By Dana Rieck Of The St. Louis American St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson on Tuesday vetoed a bill that would have put an amendment on the April 6 ballot to reconsider the decision St. Louisans made in 2012 to reduce the city’s 28 wards to 14 — a process set to begin in 2023. “In November 2021, more than 80,000 voters in the City of St. Louis decided to reduce the size of the Board of Aldermen beginning in 2023,” Krewson wrote in a statement Tuesday. “They sent a clear and convincing message to their elected leadership that they want a smaller legislative branch of local govern-
n “In November 2021, more than 80,000 voters in the City of St. Louis decided to reduce the size of the Board of Aldermen beginning in 2023.” – St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson
ment.” The mayor was referring to the 2012 election, when residents voted in favor of Proposition R, which would cut the number
of city wards, with the wards being redrawn after the 2020 census. Krewson was a co-sponsor of that 2012 legislation and said she continues “to be a strong supporter of this reform measure.” Under the proposition, the first election in the newly drawn wards would be held in 2023 for all wards and aldermanic president. Odd-numbered wards would start with twoyear terms, to stay in line with the election schedule set by the city’s charter in 1915. The Board president and even-numbered wards would run for a full four-year term from the beginning. The Board of Aldermen passed Board Bill
See WARDS, A6
Public school bus drivers survived summer on unemployment
Protestors call for Hawley to resign American Federal Government Employees Union organized a rally on Wednesday, Jan. 27 in front of the Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse in downtown St. Louis. They are calling for Josh Hawley to resign, stating that his actions no longer represent the people of Missouri’s best interests. AFGE Local 2192 President Keena Smith holds a sign while John Bowman, President of the St. Louis County branch of the NAACP, speaks.
Now Missouri wants that money back
By Sophie Hurwitz Of The St. Louis American
I already passed the law to close the Workhouse in a safe and responsible manner. That plan included moving detainees to surrounding facilities. Due to COVID-19 social distancing requirements, none of them will accept the detainees of the Workhouse.
On April 20 last year, Teamsters Local 610 representative Dan Thacker received an email from the Missouri Department of Labor indicating that some individuals who were not ordinarily eligible to receive unemployment benefits in Missouri were now able to do so under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Act. This group included seasonal public-sector employees — including the roughly 1,500 school bus drivers and bus monitors Thacker represents. So, Thacker said, “I reached out to all of my members, and I told them … I think there’s some potential that you guys will possibly receive it.” The school bus drivers, who would ordinarily be receiving some summer Teamsters income from summer classLocal 610 es and sports transportarepresentative tion, jumped at the chance, Dan Thacker Thacker said. Some were approved, while others never received a letter. Those who were approved for unemployment over the summer “collected money for … six to nine weeks,” he said. But in October and November, the Department of Labor began to ask for that money back. “About 500” bus drivers and monitors working for three St. Louis County districts Local 610 represents were told that they owed all the money they received over the summer back. For most drivers and monitors, Thacker said, that meant a sudden debt between $8,000 - $11,000. The Missouri Department of Labor’s website states, “If you receive unemployment benefits to which you are not entitled, you must repay them, even if someone else made the mistake that caused the incorrect payment.” Otherwise, the Department of Employment Securities is able to recover whatever amount they state has been overpaid from an individual’s “future benefits, state and federal income tax returns, and lottery winnings.” Now, Thacker says, “there are a lot of [union members] that are scared to death that when they file their tax returns, they’re going to take the only refund they have coming.”
See CANDIDATES, A7
See DRIVERS, A7
Photo by Jennifer Sarti / St. Louis American
What is your plan for closing the Workhouse and reducing overcrowding at Justice Center? 2021 St. Louis mayoral candidates respond
Ahead of the St. Louis Primary Election on March 2, The St. Louis American is asking a series of questions of the candidates for mayor of the city of St. Louis. Following are their responses to this week’s question. Tishaura Jones
Tishaura O. Lewis Once elected as mayor, I Jones Reed will bring all of the stakeholders to the table — the courts, our circuit attorney, the Department of Corrections, the Department of Public Safety, local organizations, and more to devise the city’s best path forward to finally close the Workhouse. The Close the Workhouse bill was written, passed and signed into ordinance in the middle of the same pandemic the city claims is
Cara Spencer
Andrew Jones Jr.
keeping it from finally bringing about its closure. Every day that the Workhouse remains open is a moral failing for our city, and I will close it. We must work to decarcerate our city and bring about a system of justice that recognizes the humanity of those incarcerated and the need to protect their health. Lewis Reed