CAHOKIA, Ill. (AP) — The director of a southwestern Illinois food pantry says that Cahokia village officials have shut down the nonprofit organization in response to her unsuccessful school board campaign.
The Belleville News-Democrat reports that Mayor Curtis McCall Jr. placed Cahokia Community Basket director Christina Walker on paid administrative leave last week.
Walker called the move “political payback” for her run in April against Cahokia school board candidates backed by McCall, who won their races. McCall told village residents at a Tuesday night meeting that the pantry will soon reopen “under new management.”
He cited complaints by pantry clients, not politics, for the leadership change.
The St. Louis Area Food Bank says the Cahokia pantry is one of the busiest in the two-state metro region, serving 1,200 families each month.
