Cairo works to revitalize history
(12/03/07)
CAIRO, Ill. -- This community once envisioned to become a great Midwestern metropolis has suffered from an economic depression for at least half a century. But flickers of life have appeared recently. Biodiesel and coal gasification are two of the industries considering locating in Cairo. There's talk of relocating the airport to make room for other industries...
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Cairo woes
Taking stock in Cairo
(07/30/07)CAIRO, Ill. -- Abandoned buildings crowd the landscape of this river town. The dilapidated buildings and vacant lots now define a city burdened with a declining population and tax base. Too few businesses. Too much poverty. But beyond the eyesore of vacant land and abandoned buildings, Southern Illinois University architecture professor Bob Swenson sees opportunity for redevelopment...
Cairo hires temporary school chief
(07/05/07) CAIRO, Ill. -- The Cairo School District has a new superintendent, but for now it's on an interim basis. The school board hired Bill Rogers as interim superintendent at a special board meeting Saturday, school officials said Tuesday. Rogers began his new job Monday, having just retired last week as superintendent of the Giant City, Ill., School District... 
Childs takes over in Cairo
(05/02/07)CAIRO, Ill. -- New Cairo Mayor Judson Childs didn't waste any time Tuesday in overturning the regime of Paul Farris. Within minutes of being sworn into office, Childs returned city clerk Lorrie Hesselrode and treasurer Preston Ewing Jr. to the jobs they held when Farris took office in 2003. ...
Childs takes bulk of Cairo absentee and early ballots
(04/19/07) CAIRO, Ill. -- After the final votes were counted early Wednesday morning, Mayor-elect Judson Childs spoke of reconciliation, but not before chastising a key antagonist for accusations that he engaged in questionable election tactics. Childs reproached Angela Greenwell, Alexander County commissioner, for questioning whether Childs' mother should have cast a ballot in the election. ...
Cairo mayoral hopefuls say their priority is business
(04/13/07) CAIRO, Ill. -- Reconciliation and reconstruction were the top themes for Cairo's mayoral candidates at a candidate forum just five days before an election that will replace at least four of the city's seven elected officials. Both Judson Childs, a retired prison warden, and Karl Klein, a retired utilities manager, said they will seek to bring harmony to the relationship between the city council and the mayor. ...
Honesty of Cairo ballots questioned
(04/12/07) CAIRO, Ill. -- As the days tick down to Tuesday's election for Cairo city offices, people questioning the honesty of the balloting are pointing to specific instances they contend prove their case. But officials and candidates defending the election process argue the particulars being cited prove nothing and, in fact, demonstrate the weakness of the charges...
Truckload of Cairo records destroyed
(04/12/07) CAIRO, Ill. -- With less than a week to go before voters choose his successor, Mayor Paul Farris gave approval for burning a truckload of city records. The disposal, reported to mayoral candidate Judson Childs and senior Councilman Elbert "Bo" Purchase by former city worker Ronald Harris, took place Wednesday at a dump site north of the city where tree limbs and other debris are burned regularly...
Alexander County replaces clerk
(04/11/07) CAIRO, Ill. -- Alexander County commissioners chose a temporary county clerk Tuesday with only a week to go before an election that will select a new Cairo mayor and city council. The decision, made by two commissioners (a third was absent), came as a poll watcher and some candidates are raising questions about the legitimacy of absentee and early voting in the contests...
Cairo official charged with four felonies
(03/29/07) CAIRO, Ill. -- City Councilman Elbert "Bo" Purchase launched into a obscenity-laced verbal attack on Mayor Paul Farris and five city employees last September that included physical threats and racial slurs, according to documents included with a criminal complaint filed against Purchase...
Cairo ousts Farris
(02/28/07) CAIRO, Ill. -- Cairo voters rejected Mayor Paul Farris' bid for a second term Tuesday while at the same time nominating three incumbent city council members for new terms. The closely watched primary election -- observers were on hand from the Illinois Attorney General's office and the state Board of Elections -- was the voters' verdict on four years of bitter fighting between Farris and a council majority that fought him on most major issues... 
Change coming to Cairo
(02/25/07)CAIRO, Ill. -- The final act of a four-year drama that featured furious scenes of clashing town politicos will be written Tuesday by ordinary voters. Cairo's municipal primary will determine which leading characters have played their parts the best. ...
17 candidates appear at Cairo forum
(02/23/07) CAIRO, Ill. -- The theme of the evening Thursday for challengers seeking Cairo City Council seats was harmony. At a candidate forum sponsored by Concerned Citizens for the Recovery of Cairo, 17 of the 33 candidates on Tuesday's primary ballot appeared to give their thoughts about their town. Only one current officeholder -- Mayor Paul Farris -- took part in the event. Of the six current council members, five are seeking either re-election or another office and they did not attend...
Judge reinstates Cairo City Council candidate
(02/02/07) CAIRO, Ill. -- Associate Judge Rodney Clutts said a city board overstepped its authority when it removed a convicted felon from the Feb. 27 city primary ballot without requiring the candidate's accuser to present evidence. Clutts issued an order Wednesday reinstating Charles Koen's candidacy for city council...
Cairo council members balk on veto override attempt to avoid admitting mayor holds power to veto
(01/24/07) CAIRO, Ill. -- The Cairo City Council refused on principle Tuesday to attempt to override a veto by Mayor Paul Farris, even when enacting a resolution over his objections could have dislodged paychecks he withheld for most of last year. Four Cairo council members haven't been paid since January 2006. Farris ordered their paychecks stopped after the four announced in December 2005 they would no longer attend regular council meetings because of Farris's "dictatorial" style of running the city...
Cairo has no ballots for city election
(01/19/07) CAIRO, Ill. -- No applicants have been seeking to cast absentee ballots for the Feb. 27 municipal elections in Cairo, Alexander County Clerk Kent Thomas said Thursday. That's good, he said, because there aren't any ballots yet. "No one has been turned away," Thomas said. "No one has even tried yet."...
Cairo may get coal-diesel plant
(01/12/07) CAIRO, Ill. -- Developers of a refinery capable of transforming coal into clean-burning diesel fuel -- and transforming the economy of Alexander County, Ill. -- have been promoting their idea this week in meetings with area officials. While the names of the investors are being kept secret, they have enlisted a retired Southern Illinois University administrator as a spokesman...
Cairo council orders resumption of pay
(01/10/07) CAIRO, Ill. -- In a meeting dominated by discussions of Cairo's deteriorating financial condition, the Cairo City Council unanimously approved Tuesday a resolution ordering Mayor Paul Farris to resume paying four members he has warred with throughout his administration...
3 Cairo council hopefuls off ballot
(01/06/07) CAIRO, Ill. -- Three city council candidates with felony convictions were removed from the Feb. 27 primary ballot Friday, but two mayoral candidates, one of whom also has a felony record, survived challenges. The rejected candidates for city council vowed to fight in court to be reinstated in time for the primary. ...
Qualifications of some candidates questioned
(01/04/07) The list of candidates for city offices in Cairo, Ill., could be shortened Friday when a panel of officials hears evidence of whether some contenders don't meet the qualifications set out in state law. When filing closed last month, 10 candidates for mayor and 26 candidates for city council seats had declared their interest and brought petitions bearing at least 16 nominating signatures to city offices. ...
Cairo makes progress on biodiesel plant project
(12/28/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- The $60 million biodiesel plant planned for Cairo isn't a done deal yet, but actions taken by the city council will help the project along, a spokeswoman for the developer said Wednesday. The council Friday approved four measures designed to aid the project and spur redevelopment in general in the town of 3,600 that has generally heard news of job losses and business closings for much of the past three decades...
10 file for mayoral post in Cairo
(12/19/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- The list of mayoral candidates grew to 10 Monday as filing for office ended, with another 26 Cairo residents seeking the six seats on the city council. The most prominent new candidate to file Monday was 12-year council veteran Carolyn Ponting, who immediately drew an endorsement from outgoing councilman-at-large Joey Thurston. ...
Seven file to become Cairo mayor
(12/16/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- Seven candidates have filed to become the mayor of Cairo, which has been politically paralyzed for much of the last four years by a feud between incumbent Paul Farris and the city council. Farris was among the first to file, as was one of his chief antagonists on the council, Bobby Whitaker. ...
Cairo unable to move on agenda for development
(12/16/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- A special city council meeting called to enact an agenda for revitalizing this impoverished town failed to attract enough members Friday to do business. After taking the roll -- only one of the six council members showed up for the meeting -- Mayor Paul Farris outlined the stakes for his town and criticized council members unwilling to meet to discuss his proposals. ...
Council members return for meeting, depart after dispute
(10/25/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- Time hasn't diminished the bitter feud between the Cairo City Council and Mayor Paul Farris, a fact made clear when four council members walked out during Tuesday's regular meeting. It was the first regular session in almost three months that enough council members attended to conduct business. It ended abruptly after an argument over whether Farris has the legal authority to withhold the council's paychecks... 
Cairo project seen as city's hope for peace
(10/17/06)CAIRO, Ill. -- Aqeela Sherrills knows about forgiveness. As a young man he struggled to forgive an older relative who once sexually molested him. As a father, he says he found it in his heart to forgive the murderer of his 18-year old son. Sherrills also knows about trading war for peace. ...
Judge: Mayor of Cairo has veto
(09/14/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- Mayor Paul Farris on Wednesday won an important round in his battle with the Cairo City Council when a state circuit judge ruled he has the power to veto council actions. In his order, Circuit Judge Brad Bleyer of Marion, Ill., also ruled that a 1980 federal court order changed the laws governing Cairo, moving it from a commission form of government to an aldermanic government...
Cairo mayor says council to blame for job cuts
(08/29/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- The city of Cairo laid off 13 part-time employees Monday and plans to terminate the employment of another eight or nine city workers in a month to save money, Mayor Paul Farris said. Farris announced the need for layoffs in a news release issued Monday. The cuts come from a city work force of 79 full- and part-time employees and include the fire and police departments... 
Summer project results in Cairo festival
(08/13/06)CAIRO, Ill. -- While the adult leadership of Cairo was busy bickering about the balance of power and city finances this summer, a group of 44 youths was working toward a common goal. They wanted to create something that would bring the people of the city together for fun and celebration...
Cairo mayor says he may veto items in new city budget
(07/26/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- The Cairo City Council Tuesday night approved a $2 million budget that is still $400,000 from being balanced. Mayor Paul Farris, long at odds with the council, declined to sign off on the appropriation until he has had a chance to review the document. After the council passed the ordinance Tuesday, Farris said he would spend the next few days examining each spending item. He informed the council that the mayor has the power to approve or disapprove any particular line item...
Cairo mayor: Budget plan shows $600,000 shortfall
(07/19/06) CAIRO, Ill., -- A $2.2 million proposed city budget foresees spending approximately $600,000 over expected revenue, Mayor Paul Farris said Tuesday night after a public hearing on the spending plan. Farris, however, said it is up to the city council, not him, to propose changes to bring expenses in line with income. "We'll see what they come up with Tuesday night."...
Mayor: Council ignoring state law on spending plan deadline, open meetings
(07/13/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- Apparently moving for a showdown on city spending, Mayor Paul Farris set a public hearing for Tuesday on a proposed city budget for the current year. In a reply to a critical statement issued by Councilwoman Linda Jackson, Farris accused the council of ignoring state law setting a deadline for a spending plan and of violating the state open meetings law by drafting previous budgets without public input...
Cairo councilwoman Linda Jackson calls mayor a liar
(07/12/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- Cairo city councilwoman Linda Jackson called out the town's mayor Tuesday night, calling him a liar who disregards state and local law. "From day one, you have single-handedly broken the laws of our state, ignored our local ordinances and dictated all city policy," Jackson said of Paul Farris in a news release...
Conflict sparks walkout; Cairo in danger of losing grant funds
(06/28/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- A confrontation between a councilman and a police officer led to a walkout at the Tuesday Cairo City Council meeting, leaving routine financial business unfinished and raising questions about the legality of city spending. In response to the walkout, Mayor Paul Farris led a town meeting that included a discussion of major grants that are in jeopardy and the need for the council to approve a budget by Aug. 1...
Cairo mayor's request for police aid goes unanswered when officers get called away
(06/14/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- During a confrontation between Mayor Paul Farris and Councilman Joseph Thurston on Tuesday, Farris sought police help to eject his antagonist, but none were on hand. Officers usually attend the meetings in uniform, providing security by checking for weapons at the door. Police had left the meeting on a call just prior to the dispute between Farris and Thurston, who is councilman-at-large and elected in a citywide vote...
Cairo council refuses to vote on appointees
(05/24/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- Mayor Paul Farris introduced his two latest appointees to the city council Tuesday evening but couldn't persuade the members to approve them. Council members who spoke after Farris introduced each of the new city employees gave varying reasons for being unwilling to vote on the appointments. For Councilwoman Carolyn Ponting, it was because she didn't know either person...
Cairo gets new city clerk and attorney
(05/13/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- Cairo Mayor Paul Farris on Friday announced the appointment of a new city clerk and city attorney. The city attorney's job, filled on a contract basis by Alan McIntyre of Vienna, Ill., will now be held by Patrick Cox of Anna, Ill., who will be a full-time city employee, Farris said...
Mayor: Mowing mandate was not misunderstood
(05/11/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- City clerk Debran Sudduth was fired because he ordered city workers to mow his lawn and sought to conceal his actions, Cairo Mayor Paul Farris said Wednesday. In a telephone interview, Farris said his investigation of Sudduth's actions revealed a sharply different version of events from the one told by the dismissed clerk Tuesday night. Sudduth has claimed a city work crew mowed his lawn when an office joke was misunderstood, not because he issued orders for the work...
Cairo clerk fired over lawn episode
(05/10/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- Embattled Mayor Paul Farris Tuesday fired city clerk Debran Sudduth, who up to now had been loyal to the man who hired him. Sudduth called the reason for his dismissal a misunderstanding, the bad result of office joking. A city work crew mowed his lawn, he said, and the mayor fired him for misusing public resources...
Cairo Councilman Whitaker draws firearms charges
(05/09/06) Legal troubles are piling up for Cairo Councilman Bobby Whitaker, who was charged Monday with two counts of illegally possessing firearms. The guns, a Glock handgun and a shotgun, were found in Whitaker's truck when he was pulled over for suspicion of drunken driving April 28 outside Mounds, Ill...
Cairo officials vote to take $146,559 loan, settle debt
(05/04/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- In a meeting unusual because it avoided the political bickering that has become commonplace, the Cairo City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to borrow money to settle the debt with its health insurance carrier. City employees have been working under a cloud of losing their coverage through the Laborers' Health and Welfare Fund. The town, which is paying current premiums, owes more than $140,000 for premiums dating to 2003 and 2004...
Cairo city councilman Bobby Whitaker charged with DUI
(04/29/06) A Cairo, Ill., city councilman was arrested and charged with driving under the influence Friday morning. Bobby Whitaker was pulled over around 2 a.m. on Highway 51 outside Mounds, Ill., for crossing the center line more than once, according to information released by Pulaski County Sheriff Randy Kern...
Audit sparks Cairo government fireworks
(04/26/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- A long-delayed audit of the city books is finally in the hands of Cairo officials, but the manner of its delivery has opened another fight for embattled Mayor Paul Farris. During a regular council meeting that again accomplished little, Farris accused auditor David D. Seabaugh of Cape Girardeau of shirking his duties and rudely dumping the audit reports and city records unannounced at Cairo City Hall...
Jury: Cairo jail death was suicide
(04/22/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- A coroner's jury needed little more than 30 minutes Friday to decide Demetrius Flowers committed suicide in a city holding cell Dec. 14, a verdict that family members of the dead man immediately challenged. A grainy security camera videotape showed that Flowers, 38, stopped moving in his cell less than 15 minutes after being locked up, Illinois State Police crime scene investigator Pete Sopczak told the six-person jury. ...
Cairo School District to lay off teachers
(04/14/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- The Cairo School District will lay off nine of its 64 teachers at the end of the spring semester in a move designed to save money amid declining enrollment and a decreasing tax base, school officials said. The move will save the district about $270,000, district superintendent Gary Whitledge said...
City attorney for Cairo alleges audit being delayed intentionally
(04/13/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- The long-anticipated audit of Cairo city funds for the year before Mayor Paul Farris took office is being deliberately delayed, city attorney Alan McIntyre charged Tuesday evening. During a discussion of the audit at the start of the regular city council meeting, McIntyre alleged that David Seabaugh was engaged in a pattern of conduct that clearly shows he is delaying the audit...
Cairo officials do little business as resentment remains strong
(04/12/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- The regular meeting Tuesday of the Cairo City Council was most notable for what members didn't do. They didn't approve the city payroll. They didn't approve paying the city's bills. And they didn't receive any respect from or give give any respect to Mayor Paul Farris...
Coroner announces inquest into Cairo death
(04/07/06) CAIRO, Ill. --The death of Demetrius Flowers Dec. 14 in the Cairo city jail will get a public airing during a coroner's inquest later this month, but a family member said Thursday she remains skeptical whether all the details will be revealed. Alexander County Coroner David Barkett announced on Thursday that he would conduct the inquest April 21. Under Illinois law, a coroner's jury of six people will rule on the cause of death after hearing the evidence...
Cairo city employees will not have health insurance suspended
(03/29/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- City employees won a reprieve Tuesday when the town's health insurance carrier announced it would not suspend coverage because of an unpaid premium bill from 2004. The announcement came after five members of the Cairo City Council walked out in anger over Mayor Paul Farris' refusal to issue them paychecks...
Cairo insurance left in limbo; mayor, council blame each other
(03/22/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- Health insurance coverage for city employees will be cut off April 1 unless the feuding council and mayor can agree on a plan to pay a $142,000 past-due bill. Mayor Paul Farris called a special council meeting Tuesday to resolve the issue, but only two of six council members attended. The lack of enough members to do business left the insurance issue in limbo...
City workers' health coverage threatened by Cairo impasse
(03/15/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- Health insurance coverage for city employees remains in danger following another deadlock between the city council and Mayor Paul Farris over whether to borrow money to pay a past due bill. Council members refused again to vote on a proposal to borrow approximately $140,000 to pay off a debt to the Laborers Health and Welfare Fund. If the debt dating from 2004 isn't paid, city employees will lose their health coverage on March 31...
Former city attorney for Cairo returns to position
(03/11/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- Alan McIntyre returned as city attorney for Cairo on Friday despite trepidation about the ongoing dispute between Mayor Paul Farris and the city council. McIntyre replaces Michael O'Shea, who died unexpectedly Wednesday at age 54. He was city attorney under Farris until June 2005, when he resigned in order to represent Farris for criminal charges stemming from the mayor's decision to open a new city bank account outside Alexander County... 
Cairo city attorney dies of heart attack
(03/10/06)CAIRO, Ill. -- Former Alexander County state's attorney and current Cairo city attorney Michael P. O'Shea died suddenly Wednesday morning at age 54. O'Shea, who received his law degree from St. Louis University, grew up in this town at the Southern tip of Illinois. He was remembered Thursday as a smart, tough attorney who fought vigorously for his clients' interests...
Cairo officials argue, leave insurance in limbo
(03/01/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- The four city council members in open rebellion against Mayor Paul Farris received another slight Tuesday from their foe -- he left their names off the city payroll list. The snub was only small part of a rancorous meeting where nothing was approved except a small contract to relocate a decorative clock. ... 
Cairo meeting mixes cooperation, antagonism
(02/15/06)CAIRO, Ill. -- The city council meeting Tuesday night began with confrontation but slowly moved toward a more cooperative, although still antagonistic, approach to town business. The most important effort at cooperation was aimed at preventing the cancellation of health insurance coverage for city workers. The council unanimously approved drafting paperwork aimed at allowing the city to borrow $136,000 to satisfy a court order over past-due premiums...
Lawsuits could hold key to city leadership
(02/13/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- Most people never give more than a passing thought, if that much, to the structure of local government. A city picks up the trash, fixes potholes and provides police and fire protection. How political architects designed a city is usually not a subject of conversation...
Kenya native's documentary tells the story of the rise and fall of Cairo
(02/12/06) Cairo, Ill., has plenty of woes today -- from high poverty to a slow business climate to a government in a state of disarray. But the town between the Mississippi and Ohio rivers wasn't always that way. A 30-minute documentary that will air on WSIU-TV at 9:30 p.m. Monday seeks to tell the story of how Cairo started and the journey that brought the city to its present state... 
Cairo employees may lose health insurance coverage
(02/08/06)CAIRO, Ill. -- Cairo public employees face a loss of health insurance coverage unless the city acts quickly to pay overdue premiums, Mayor Paul Farris said Tuesday. Despite the warning, members of the City Council refused in a special meeting to consider a proposal to borrow $136,000 against revenue from the coming year to pay the bill...
Cairo refuses newspaper's public records request
(02/08/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- City officials have not replied as required by law to two open-record requests from the Southeast Missourian, sent via e-mail in January. The requests, directed to city clerk Debran Sudduth, have been turned over to city attorney Michael O'Shea. The requests were sent Jan. 18 and Jan. 25. The Illinois Freedom of Information Law requires a written response to records requests within seven working days...
Bank says Cairo in default; accounts frozen
(02/07/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- The bitter fight paralyzing city government in Cairo now threatens the town's financial health as a bank last week declared it in default on its debts and froze city accounts. A letter dated Feb. 1 from First National Bank in Cairo, signed by bank president Jay Manus, calls for city leaders to work to solve the problems or face costly legal action...
Evidence in jail death given to county prosecutor
(02/07/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- The review of the strangulation death of Demetrius Flowers while in Cairo, Ill., police custody reached a new stage Monday when Illinois State Police investigators turned their files over to the Alexander County prosecutor. A written report and physical evidence -- including a videotape that shows part of the holding cell where Flowers died -- were among the items given to State's Attorney Jeff Farris. ...
Cairo city council members to go another month without paychecks
(02/05/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- City council members fighting with Mayor Paul Farris will go another month without paychecks. Council members Bobby Whitaker and Elbert "Bo" Purchase said Saturday that they have been told they will not be paid their $600 monthly salary for February...
Cairo, Ill., family says prisoner wouldn't hurt self
(02/05/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- The family of Demetrius Flowers questioned Saturday whether he would deliberately hurt himself, even to get out of a jail cell. Arby Davis, Flowers' father, and Cassandra Jones, his stepmother, said they don't believe Mayor Paul Farris' description of how Flowers died Dec. 14 in a Cairo Police Department holding cell...
Mayor: Cairo inmate was trying to injure, not kill, himself
(02/02/06) Demetrius Flowers accidentally killed himself in a Cairo, Ill., holding cell as he sought to inflict an injury serious enough to force police to take him to a hospital, Mayor Paul Farris said Wednesday. Farris, speaking to the Associated Press, said Flowers was found sitting, having "leaned forward and depriving himself of oxygen." He had wrapped a shoelace around his neck and tied it to an object above him, Farris said...
Cairo mayor fires two cops, dispatcher
(01/31/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- Three Cairo police employees were fired Monday for violating department policies in connection to the death of a jail inmate. Two others were able to keep their jobs. Mayor Paul F. Farris fired Lt. Gary Hankins, Lt. Timothy Brown, and dispatcher Don Beggs from their positions with the Cairo Police Department effective Monday... 
Locked out: Cairo council meets in city hall foyer after mayor locks building
(01/26/06)CAIRO, Ill. -- The sparring match between Mayor Paul Farris and the city council continued Wednesday when four council members found a locked door as they attempted to assemble. City hall was locked up and office workers were sent home early before the four could meet to address agenda items Farris refused to consider during the regular session Tuesday evening. At that meeting, Farris ordered police to clear the council chambers without a vote to adjourn...
Cairo mayor orders searches; councilman charges racism
(01/25/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- Mayor Paul Farris ordered police to use metal detectors to screen residents attending Tuesday's City Council meeting, angering council members who refused to submit to the searches. Five uniformed, armed police officers required anyone entering city hall to empty their pockets, submit to screening and remain inside the council chambers... 
Cairo official hints at jail death's cause
(01/22/06)CAIRO, Ill. -- The death of Demetrius Flowers in Cairo police custody was "not a homicide" and it was "not a suicide," city attorney Michael O'Shea told family and friends of the dead man on Saturday. During statements that delivered a shock to the gathering of about 45 at the Holy City Church of God in Christ, O'Shea hinted that an ongoing Illinois State Police investigation would reveal a cause for the death that has not been considered in public speculation...
Mayor may refuse family's request to talk about jail hanging
(01/18/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- A family's clamor for information into the death of a man in Cairo police custody could be met with official silence Saturday during a community meeting. Mayor Paul Farris, in an interview Tuesday prior to a special session of the Cairo City Council, said he's not sure he'll accept an invitation to attend the meeting organized by the family of Demetrius Flowers...
Cairo family still looking for answers about man's alleged hanging death
(01/12/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- The family of Demetrius Flowers, seeking answers about his death in Cairo police custody four weeks ago, asked Mayor Paul Farris to attend a community gathering next week. Farris didn't immediately agree to the request, made during a Cairo City Council meeting Tuesday. The meeting will be held at 1 p.m. Jan. 21 at the Holy City Church of God in Christ at 18th Street and Martin Luther King Avenue in Cairo... 
Meeting fails to clear air in Cairo
(01/11/06)CAIRO, Ill. -- A corrosive atmosphere choked off any chance of a working relationship between the Cairo City Council and Mayor Paul Farris during a meeting Tuesday that included threats to have police remove residents supporting council members. Farris and the council members kept their anger with each other under control for most of the regular session. ...
Business, not peace, spurs Cairo council to stop its boycott
(01/10/06) Cairo City Council members feuding with the mayor reversed course Monday, determined to confront their nemesis rather than avoid contact. Four council members -- a majority of the town board -- announced in December that they would not attend any regular meetings until Mayor Paul Farris resigned. The need to look after city business, not a desire for peace, brought about the change in tactics, councilman Bobby Whitaker said...
Boycotting council, mayor meet briefly
(01/07/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- Friday's special meeting called by the four boycotting members of the Cairo City Council didn't last long -- only about five minutes. Mayor Paul Farris didn't even stay that long, not wanting to preside over what he called an illegal meeting...
Cairo mayor seeks ouster of council
(01/06/06) CAIRO, Ill. -- The deadlock gripping city government continued Thursday when only one of six council members attended a special meeting called by Mayor Paul Farris. When the meeting dissolved, unable to conduct business for lack of attendance, Farris announced a petition drive to ask a federal judge to declare that boycotting council members have abandoned their posts...
Cairo City Council to hold special meeting today
(01/05/06) Cairo, Ill. -- The city council will have a special meeting today but it's unlikely that enough members will attend to conduct business. Two of the four members who last month announced a boycott of council meetings said they will not attend today's meeting, called by Mayor Paul Farris to consider a grant to repair sewer lines...
Cairo council takes stand against mayor with boycott
(12/29/05) A deepening schism between Cairo, Ill., Mayor Paul Farris and the city council erupted this week into open political warfare. While the council and Farris have been fighting since he took office in 2003, council members said they have generally been willing to fulfill their duties -- sometimes, they said, in spite of Farris...
Councilman says unpaid suspension hints guilt
(12/21/05) CAIRO, Ill. -- City Councilman Joseph Thurston said Tuesday that he stands by Mayor Paul Farris' decision to suspend five police officers who were working the morning jail inmate Demetrius Flowers was found dead. Flowers was arrested by the Cairo Police Department at 4:04 a.m. ...
Family questions circumstances of Cairo man's death
(12/16/05) CAIRO, Ill. -- The family of a Cairo man found dead in a holding cell Wednesday morning is questioning whether he killed himself and whether his civil rights were violated. Alexander County Coroner David W. Barkett has asked the FBI and the Illinois attorney general's office to investigate...
Cairo man found dead in cell
(12/15/05) CAIRO, Ill. -- A Cairo man was found dead hanging by his shoe strings in his jail cell at the Cairo Police Department on Wednesday, said Alexander County Coroner David W. Barkett. Demetrius Flowers, 38, was arrested early Wednesday, said Illinois State Police investigator Thomas Goessman. Investigations are ongoing, and he declined further comment until an autopsy was completed... 
Cairo's financial woes lead to battle over preservation
(11/14/05)CAIRO, Ill. -- Some people in Cairo think the key to the town's future lies in its rich history. What else is there in Cairo in 2005, they ask? Cairo is a city that has seen better days. The population is shrinking, historic buildings sit condemned on Commercial Avenue, city leaders are tied up in lawsuits over alleged abuses of power (and accusations that haven't turned into lawsuits). On top of it all, the tax base has crumbled and the city is in a budget crisis... |