Lakeisha Purchase was the unanimous choice of Springfield aldermen to succeed Andrew Proctor as the Ward 5 representative on the city council. Proctor moved to the Chicago area.
“I wanted to do public service, and so I got active on the east side of Springfield with Ald. (Roy) Williams and Ald. (Shawn) Gregory and One in a Million and hit the ground running,” she told aldermen Tuesday just before the vote.
“Ward 5 is the economic engine for the city of Springfield,” Purchase continued, describing the area that includes part of downtown and north of there. “Not only is it centralized, but we have the two hospitals, the school of medicine, a lot of the state working bulidings, and a lot of older neighborhoods.”
There was some friction when the council was considering Williams for Ward 3, because, contrary to what some described as a “gentlemen’s agreement,” he would not commit not to run for a full term. Purchase says “we’ve moved past that” in her winning unanimous support despite declaring she will run as an incumbent in 2023.
The appointment brings the number of alderwoman on the council back to three and for the first time puts three Blacks on the council.
Source: wtax.com