East St. Louis vote buying case goes to trial

(Editor's note: The following report, submitted by Cal Skinner, is reprinted with permission from the Illinois Leader).

East St. Louis Democratic Committee chairman and former city councilman Charles Powell, Jr., three fellow elected Democratic precinct committeemen, and one Democratic precinct worker are on trial for vote buying in U.S. District Court.

The beneficiaries of the alleged scheme were Democrat Presidential candidate John Kerry, Illinois State Supreme Court candidate Gordon Maag and Mark Kern, the Democratic candidate for Chairman of the St. Clair County Board of Commissioners.

The Democrats won two out of three. Maag lost his race for a seat on the state's high court to Republican Lloyd Karmeier. None of the candidates have been implicated in any wrongdoing.

“The race for county board chairman was decided by East St. Louis votes,” observed St. Clair County Board Member and Kern opponent Steve Reeb. “It was that close.”

It used to be called “walking around money.” Now, according to the St. Clair County Democratic Central Committee’s reports to the State Board of Elections, it’s called, “election expenses.” $76,150 was reportedly paid to 51 individuals living in East St. Louis days before the 2004 election.

Cooperating voters were paid $5-$10 per vote, according to a report by the Belleville News-Democrat.

"Powell explained that the amount was based on multiplying the expected number of voters in the precinct times an amount of five dollars each,” according to a FBI report obtained by the Belleville paper.

According to the indictment, Powell “explained that each Democratic precinct committeeman needed to determine how much he or she would pay voters in their own precinct.” Powell allegedly asked them to turn in “election day budgets…requesting funds from the St. Clair County Democratic Committee to be used during the November 2, 2004 general election.”

After discussing “these election day budget requests with members of the St. Clair County Democratic committee, the East St. Louis precinct committeemen received funds” from the county central committee “in most instance to the amount requested” on October 31st, according to one plea agreement.

Powell was a member of the East St. Louis city council until he was voted out of office in April. Two weeks before that election, he was indicted for vote fraud.

In late March three other Democratic precinct committeemen--Lillie Nichols, Leroy Scott, Jr., and Terrance Stith--pled guilty to “knowingly and willfully” paying or offering “to pay voters for voting” during a federal elections.

They agreed to render assistance that, if “found to be complete and thoroughly truthful” (underlining in the plea agreement), could lead to the U.S. Attorney’s recommendation of a reduction in their sentences. Democratic precinct worker Sandra Stith, Terrance’s wife, entered into a similar plea arrangement.

Standing trial with Powell will be fellow Democratic precinct committeemen Jesse Lewis, Sheila Thomas and Kevin Ellis. Ellis precinct worker Yvette Johnson is also charged.

Ellis is also charged with writing a "threatening and misleading" letter to Republican election judges “in order to intimidate” them “so they would not appear at their assigned polling place.”

According to filings with the State Board of Elections, the following people with East St. Louis addresses were paid the corresponding sums for "election expenses" by the East St. Louis Democratic Committee:

Blaylock, Levent-$1,500
Branson, Dora-$950
Carr, Cleophus-$2,000
Cason, Karen-$1,200
Dancy, Tommy-$700
Delaney, Patrick-$400
Eastern, Robert Jr.-$2,000
Eastern, III, Robert-$1,500
El-Amin, Khalil (Al Crockett)-$2,000
Ellis, Kevin-$2,000*
Ferguson, Delores-$1,500
Frierson, Melvin-$1,200
Greenwood, Lonzo -$1,500
Griffin, Pleas-$1,500
Haire, Jesse-$1,500
Hamilton, Oliver-$1,500
Hollingsworth, Harry-$2,000
Howard, Jeffery-$1,500
Jackson, Earl-$600
Jackson, Eddie-$2,000
Jackson, Richard-$1,500
Jones, Chester-$1,200
Jones, Fannie-$1,000
Jones, Harvey-$400
Krause, Richard-$1,500
Krause, Russell-$1,000
Landrum, Linda-$1,500
Lewis, Jessie-$1,500*
Longstreet, Henry-$1,500
Mayes, Edna-$1,500
McCaster, Kevin-$1,500
McGaughy, Will-$1,500
McIntosh, Rudy-$2,000
McKinney, Lori Lynn-$2,000
Moore, Daryl-$1,500
Moore, Edith-$2,000
Moseley, Robert-$1,200
Mosley, Roy-$1,500
Nichols, Lillie-$1,500*
Parks, Jr., Alvin-$2,000
Powell, Charles-$2,000*
Rattler, Charles Jr.-$400
Ross, James-$1,500
Russell, Edward-$2,000
Samuels, Donna M.-$1,400
Scott, Jr., Leroy-$1,200*
Smith, Frank-$2,000
Smith, Terrance-$2,000
Tarvin, Anthony-$1,500
Thomas, Sheila-$2,400*
Williams, Kennis-$1,400

(*denotes the individual as a subject of criminal sanctions)

In addition, the East St. Louis City Democrat Central Committee received $11,442 in October of last year for “headquarter expenses.”

No contributions to Terrance Stith, his wife Sandra, or Yvette Johnson were reported to state election authorities from the county Democrats.

Cal Skinner is a former Illinois State Representative. He ran for governor on the Libertarian Party ballot in November 2002.