East St. Louis has a mayoral election in April, and after a few years of change and prayer under his belt, Mayor Robert Eastern III is running for reelection. He told KMOX about what he’s accomplished in office so far and what his plans are for the future.
One of the biggest developments the city has seen is the announcement of a new Illinois State Police headquarters and the development of the Broadview hotel. Plus, Mayor Eastern is working on a rebrand, calling his city East Safe Louis.
“Our crime rate is down 37% In the city of East St. Louis,” he told KMOX. “So yes, we are East Safe Louis now, and I'm very happy and very proud of that as it happened in my administration.”
He said that the journey to reducing the crime rate has been a mixture of improving the police presence, having citizens keep an eye out, and prayer.
“You know, I'm a Veteran. I'm a military person. I'm a Navy vet. So it was an all hands on deck initiative,” he said. “We've been praying for change in the city of East St. Louis. It’s what I campaigned on, I said it at my inauguration, you know, I want my corners back. I want my streets to be safe.”
“The Bible says faith without works is dead. So we've not only been praying and you know, and putting that faith in action, but we've been putting the work in as well,” he added.
Mayor Eastern said the development in East St. Louis, including the hotel and the police headquarters, has been another key to their success.
“That's why the Broadview hotel is so impactful, you know, because it shows that you can come together and take a blight and really turn it into bright,” he said. “And you have groups like Lansdowne Up, that's doing a phenomenal job, you have the Christian activity center, who owns a lot of property, and they're getting ready to start doing their phases of construction. So, you know, I'm just excited that people really are getting fired up about the administration.”
Hear more from Mayor Robert Eastern III on what he sees for the future of East St. Louis:
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