EAST ST. LOUIS: Bridge project talks making "progress", St. Louis Post-Dispatch

September 16, 2011 -- Demonstrators, including James O'Neal (speaking), crowd East St. Louis Mayor Alvin Parks' office at East St. Louis City Hall as he awaits a telephone call from Illinois Governor Pat Quinn early Friday morning. The demonstrators were planning to protest for more minority jobs on the new Mississippi River bridge and associated road projects. Erik M. Lunsford elunsford@post-dispatch.com

EAST ST. LOUIS > Bridge project talks making "progress" • Talks between state of Illinois officials and Metro East leaders averted a threatened protest of the new Mississippi River bridge project on Friday.

East St. Louis Mayor Alvin Parks said the midday meeting resulted in 'significant progress" on the issues of hiring more minorities in the construction trades on the bridge project. Another meeting has been scheduled for Thursday.

Early Friday morning, dozens of people gathered at the East St. Louis city offices to prepare for a protest that, organizers say, was going to target Illinois Department of Transportation work sites related to the bridge.

Metro East mayors and minority contractors contend IDOT and its contractors are not putting enough blacks to work on a project that cuts through communities with significant minority populations. IDOT insists the projects exceed federal goals and minority workers account for 23 percent of project man-hours. 

Parks said the group met Friday with representatives of the Illinois Department of Transportation and Gov. Pat Quinn's office. Courtesy of St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Our Message and Attitude of Protest is "If We Can't Work, You Can't Work"