Cahokia board meeting ends in chaos, yelling

By Ann Rubin

KSDK -- The regularly scheduled meeting of the Cahokia Board of Trustees dissolved into chaos Tuesday night. This after months of in-fighting between the mayor and two board members charged with voter fraud.

For residents the trouble is clear, the board is so divided, that Cahokia's business simply is not getting done. Forget Roberts Rules of Order, there was chaos at Tuesday night's Cahokia board meeting.

"The board meetings are just a mess," said Cahokia resident Bernetta Radford.

Resident Peggy Pierce said, "Oh, I think it's terrible because they're not doing anything."

The trouble is that a divide runs through the board. On the one side is the mayor and his supporters and on the other, the newly elected trustees, two of whom, Trevon Tompkin and Kyle Johnson, face charges of voter fraud.

"It has almost brought our government to a standstill. Essentially, we have two governments running right now," said Cahokia Mayor Frank Bergman.

In fact, there were even two agenda's for tonight's meeting, one from Mayor Bergman and the other from the trustees.

Tompkin and Johnson believe they aren't getting the respect they deserve from the village or the mayor.

"He's being the jury, the judge, the executioner and charging us before we're proven guilty or even come before the courts," Johnson said.

Tompkin said, "Hopefully we can get some state officials and some of the higher people involved because it's like the village is at a standstill."

One item on the agenda: paying more than $28,000 in legal fees for an attorney hired by the trustees. The trustees say a $200 fee for their criminal defense has been taken off the bill.

"We will not pay that bill. There's no circumstances," said Mayor Bergman.

The meeting itself ended when yelling from the audience got so loud several board members and the mayor walked out. Residents say it's sad this is what it's come to.

"The ones who are going to suffer is the people. They have destroyed this whole township," said resident Peggy Pierce.

Resident, Martha Gallion said, "Clean up our town, clean up their acts. That's all I want." She adds, "As you seen tonight, it gets kinda scary and it should not get to this part."

County officials tell us, even though those trustees face criminal charges relating to how they got on the board, they get to keep their seats until there is either a conviction or a new election. The mayor said there will be more court proceedings coming up in mid-December.