Editor鈥檚 note: This story was originally published by the , a news partner of 漏 2024 外网天堂.
A state senator from Centreville made nearly $58,500 last year for a position that doesn鈥檛 have a job description at a controversial water and sewer district.
Democratic state Sen. Christopher Belt is listed as superintendent of in 2020 documents. He did not respond to the Belleville News-Democrat鈥檚 12 phone calls, text messages and emails over more than a week requesting information about what he does there.
General manager Dennis Traiteur and district board chairman Curtis McCall Sr. both declined to talk about Belt鈥檚 role, citing a pending citizen over years of flooding issues. Mark Scoggins, the Columbia attorney representing the district, did not immediately know about Belt鈥檚 role but confirmed he works there.
Alorton Mayor Jo Ann Reed, who is a cashier, clerk and board secretary for Commonfields, said Belt is heavily involved in the district鈥檚 day-to-day operations.
鈥淗e comes to work often,鈥� Reed said. 鈥淲hen he鈥檚 not in Springfield, he鈥檚 at work. He comes to work all the time. Chris is a good worker.鈥�
She added: 鈥淚f you had to do a survey of people who work here, they鈥檒l tell you that Chris works.鈥�
Belt has acknowledged he was superintendent at the district that serves 7,000 water and sewer customers in Cahokia, Centreville and Alorton, three predominately Black and largely impoverished communities just east of the Mississippi River across from St. Louis.
He mentioned the superintendent job on a , and listed it on a 2020 economic interest form lawmakers are required to fill out. A list of last year鈥檚 Commonfields salaries the BND obtained through an open records request also names him as superintendent. Commonfields provided job descriptions for its 11 other employees 鈥� including the general manager 鈥� after a separate request, but none for Belt鈥檚 position.
The district has been heavily criticized by residents who鈥檝e complained about poor management of the area鈥檚 failing sewer system. In 2020, St. Louis-area attorneys Nicole Nelson and Kalila Jackson filed a lawsuit on behalf of two residents in Centreville blaming Commonfields, local governments and public officials for decades of stormwater and raw sewage flooding homes, yards and roads.
Traiteur and McCall are listed as defendants, but Belt is not named individually in the lawsuit. Nelson said she and Jackson did not know Belt was an employee until the BND asked them about it.
鈥淲e were very shut out from Commonfields because we couldn鈥檛 get any information, so we had to piece together based on what we had,鈥� Nelson said.
Belt is McCall鈥檚 brother-in-law. It鈥檚 just one family tie in a network of people who share campaign money and political sway in the Centreville area.
McCall is Centreville Township supervisor and is expected to become the first , a new city that will be established by the consolidation of Cahokia, Centreville and Alorton after the April 6 elections. McCall is unopposed.
McCall鈥檚 son, Curtis McCall Jr., is the current mayor of Cahokia. Commonfields paid McCall Sr.鈥檚 other son, Kerchavian McCall, $27,439 as a laborer who did maintenance and operated equipment for 752 hours, according to 2020 salary documents the BND obtained through the open records request.
Reed was on the Commonfields payroll as a cashier, clerk and board secretary, earning nearly $29,400 in 2020 for 830 hours.
Three Commonfields board members, who were paid $2,000 each in 2020, also serve on the Cahokia Unit School District 187 board: Marilyn Stringfellow, Richard Duncan and Potina Powell. They do not earn a stipend as school board members.
Duncan also is the clerk for the village of Cahokia and his wife, Debra, is its deputy clerk. Debra Duncan will be the new clerk for Cahokia Heights, as she鈥檚 part of McCall Sr.鈥檚 New Vision party in the upcoming election.
Who is Illinois State Sen. Chris Belt?
Belt has deep ties to the metro-east. He graduated from Lincoln Senior High School in East St. Louis and then completed a bachelor鈥檚 degree in history from Illinois State University. He went on to get two master鈥檚 degrees 鈥� public administration from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and counseling from Lindenwood University in Belleville.
From 2013 to 2015, Belt worked for the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice Aftercare Services program as the central and southern region鈥檚 administrator, and before that worked for the St. Clair County Probation Department.
Prior to becoming a state senator, Unit School District 187. Belt鈥檚 sister, Yvonne, is married to the Commonfields board chairman, Curtis McCall Sr.
Belt assumed office as senator in 2019 and earns $69,000 as a part-time legislator.
Reed applauded Belt鈥檚 ability to split his time between being a senator and working at Commonfields.
鈥淲hen we run short and things are tight, Chris does everything he鈥檚 asked to do,鈥� Reed said. 鈥淚f he has to take a bill to the post office, he鈥檒l do that too. He just does what he鈥檚 asked to do. If we鈥檙e short and someone鈥檚 not there, he鈥檚 definitely a filler.鈥�
State lawmakers are allowed to have jobs outside of their legislative responsibilities, though if they work for another public entity, the state requires them to disclose it on their statements of economic interest.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 wrong with working and being in public office?鈥� Reed said. 鈥淲hen is that bad? Because everybody can鈥檛 do it? I should be able to work where I want to work and run for political office if I want to.鈥�
Centreville residents who鈥檝e faced persistent flooding and stormwater problems have criticized Belt for not being accessible.
Earlier this month, Belt did not attend a virtual town hall meeting aimed at seeking answers on . Belt, along with other local officials, have also been absent from meetings held by Centreville Citizens for Change, a group of residents demanding solutions.
In July, Belt did attend a about the crisis in Centreville, but that meeting wasn鈥檛 open to residents.
Belt, McCall and campaign finance
State campaign finance records also show connections between .
McCall is the chairperson for Belt鈥檚 campaign finance committee, Friends of Christopher Belt, and between 2018 and 2020, Belt鈥檚 committee contributed $16,850 to another committee chaired by McCall.
That committee 鈥� Centreville Township Citizens for Better Government 鈥� was formed in 2016 to support 18 candidates in various Centreville-area elections, including Belt and McCall. McCall individually loaned $80,557 to the committee between 2017 and 2020. Crowder & Scoggins, the firm representing Commonfields, contributed $26,000 from 2016 to 2020.
In 2019, Friends of Christopher Belt contributed $5,000 to yet another committee, Citizens for Commonfields Water District Trustees, to elect McCall to the Commonfields board.
Traiteur, the general manager, contributed $6,500 to Centreville Township Citizens for Better Government from 2016 to 2020. Belt, Scoggins and Traiteur have also contributed individually to Citizens for Curtis McCall 鈥� $1,100 from Belt, $5,000 from Scoggins and $11,500 from Traiteur since 2012.
The names of other Commonfields board members and employees also appear as donors to Belt and McCall鈥檚 committees.
Commonfields of Cahokia鈥檚 future
Dissolving Commonfields of Cahokia is part of the and will be included in a referendum on the April 6 ballot, which will ask voters if they want the district to be eliminated. It鈥檚 uncertain whether the district will be replaced by another entity.
The village of Cahokia has its own water and sewer department, and its geography and responsibilities overlap with the Commonfields district, according to Lynn Matchingtouch, manager of the Village of Cahokia Water and Sewer Department.
鈥淎 lot of our customers intertwine,鈥� Matchingtouch said. 鈥淐ommonfields of Cahokia will have the water, the village of Cahokia will have the sewer, or vice versa. Then we all at some point have just all water and sewer customers and we all just have either all water customers or we all just have sewer customers.鈥�
Belt鈥檚 future role, and that of other Commonfields employees and board members, has yet to be publicly specified.
The senator鈥檚 next economic interest statement is due May 1.
Kelsey Landis, DeAsia Paige and Kavahn Mansouri are a reporters with the , a news partner of 漏 2024 外网天堂.
