Court strikes East St. Louis mayor's name from ballot

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) - The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that East St. Louis Mayor Alvin Parks Jr.'s name cannot be on an upcoming municipal election ballot because he did not submit enough valid voter signatures.

Monday's unanimous ruling reversed judgments by lower courts that had rejected a legal challenge by Emeka Jackson-Hicks, one of two candidates running against Parks in the April 7 election.

Parks submitted 35 more petition signatures than the minimum requirement of 136 signatures, but election officials determined that only 123 of those signatures were valid.

The East St. Louis County Election Board and St. Clair County Circuit Court had both ruled that Parks "substantially complied" with the requirement.

The eight-year incumbent told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he plans to mount a "ferocious write-in campaign."