Jacksonville mayor weighs timing to fill two council vacancies

Two Jacksonville wards are waiting for a seat at the council table, and Mayor Andy Ezard is moving carefully before he fills them. The city’s council is down to eight of its 10 members after Fifth Ward Alderman Don Cook retired and First Ward Alderman Eren White-Williams resigned April 7.

That leaves residents in the First and Fifth wards without a full-time alderman as the city handles the ordinary business that runs through City Hall, from streets and utilities to policing and development. Jacksonville’s council is built around two alderpersons from each of the city’s five wards, with four-year staggered terms that put one seat from each ward on the ballot every two years. The city redistricted into five wards in 2002.

Cook told the council at its Jan. 26 meeting that it would be his last. Local reporting has said he served Jacksonville for about 54 years in all, first as a police officer, then as police chief and later for roughly 14 and a half years as an alderman. His departure removed a familiar name from city government and left one of the city’s older political figures off the council.

White-Williams said she stepped down because she wanted to focus on her family’s health. She also left open the possibility of another run for office later, which adds another layer to Ezard’s timing decision. He has said he wants to fill both seats soon, but he is weighing how fast to act because the appointments will sit inside the next municipal election cycle.

Illinois law gives the mayor 60 days after a vacancy to make an appointment, and the person chosen must meet residency requirements for the ward. The city has already received interest in the First Ward seat, a sign that the race to replace White-Williams may move quickly once Ezard decides.

The timing matters because an appointment can shape more than one vote. With only eight members seated, the council is still making decisions for a city chartered in 1867, incorporated in 1887 and now operating as a home rule municipality. The choices made before both vacancies are filled will help set the tone for the next year of council debate, and the people in the First and Fifth wards are already short the representation their neighbors in the other three wards still have.