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BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) The St. Clair County state's attorney's office has launched an investigation into allegations of voter fraud in East St. Louis during the November election. The investigation by county prosecutors comes in the wake of an investigation of voter fraud announced last month by the U.S. attorney's office. St. Clair County State's Attorney Robert Haida said his investigation is limited to 13 absentee votes that were cast from a boarding house in East St. Louis. ``Our investigation is separate but not in conflict with the federal government,'' Haida said Wednesday. The federal government has declined to talk about...

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) Some East St. Louis Democrats have been ordered to appear before a federal grand jury to answer questions about money spent during the Nov. 2 election, according to a published report. James Lewis, director of the East St. Louis Board of Elections, and Democratic Central Committee chairman and East St. Louis city councilman, Charlie Powell, both told the Belleville News-Democrat they had received subpoenas to appear before the grand jury. East St. Louis Regulatory Affairs director, Kelvin Ellis, also received a subpoena, said city manager Robert Storman. Ellis, who also serves as a Democratic precinct...

A high number of absentee ballots and multiple names registered to the same address in East St. Louis are raising questions about the integrity of the election Tuesday, Illinois Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka said Friday. During a news conference outside the East St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners office, Topinka highlighted suspicious cases. The cases were discovered by Illinois Republican Party members tracking absentee ballots in the Illinois Supreme Court race between Democrat Gordon Maag and Republican Lloyd Karmeier. "There are questions that jump up and bite you on the nose," said Topinka, who also serves as Illinois Republic Party...

EAST ST. LOUIS - Carl Officer, the four-term mayor of East St. Louis, Illinois, announced before local supporters today that he has accepted the position as head of the Illinois Steering Committee of "Democrats for Bush," founded earlier this year by Democratic Senator Zell Miller of Georgia. A life-long Democrat, Officer is a third generation African-American entrepreneur with a family funeral home business and mayor of one of the poorest cities in Illinois and, for that matter, America.

EAST ST. LOUIS - Carl Officer, the four-term mayor of East St. Louis, Illinois, announced before local supporters today that he has accepted the position as head of the Illinois Steering Committee of "Democrats for Bush," founded earlier this year by Democratic Senator Zell Miller of Georgia. A life-long Democrat, Officer is a third generation African-American entrepreneur with a family funeral home business and mayor of one of the poorest cities in Illinois and, for that matter, America. Officer was once a top aide to Secretary of State Alan Dixon, a Democrat who later served as a U.S. Senator from...

East St. Louis Mayor Carl Officer Joins "Democrats for Bush" Offers to Speak Nationally to Black Americans on BET on Behalf of the President EAST ST. LOUIS, IL -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 10/29/2004 -- Four-term Mayor Carl Officer of East St. Louis announced before local supporters today that he has accepted the position as head of the Illinois Steering Committee of "Democrats for Bush," founded earlier this year by Democratic Senator Zell Miller of Georgia. A life long Democrat, Officer is a third generation African-American entrepreneur and mayor of America's poorest city. The mayor was welcomed into the organization by...