Alton Candidate Forum: Presented by East End Improvement Association
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ALTON - During a candidate forum on Feb. 4, 2025, the two Alton City Clerk candidates introduced themselves and shared their platforms with voters.
The East End Improvement Association, in partnership with RiverBender.com, The Telegraph and The Big Z, hosted the forum at the Great Rivers Hotel. Aldermanic candidates and mayoral candidates were also in attendance; you can read more about the aldermanic candidates here and read more about the mayoral candidates here.
The City Council race is contested between incumbent Cheryl Ingle and current Deputy City Clerk Lauren Wilson.
Ingle has worked for the City of Alton for 29 years. She started in the City Clerk’s office and has worked in the Development and Planning and Building and Zoning departments, the Comptroller’s office, the Treasurer’s office, and payroll.
In these departments, she worked on the construction of the Alton police station and the conversion of the Humboldt School into the Humboldt Senior Apartments. She also administered the Community Development Block Grant program.
As clerk, she has created two new processes with the police department and the Alton Township General Assistance Office “to help the homeless and disadvantaged people” access their birth certificates. She said she “love[s] being your City Clerk” and has more planned if she is elected for a second term.
“I feel like with all my knowledge and experience with working with all these departments, it made for a much smoother transition when I won clerk because I know all of the department heads,” Ingle said. “I know the ins and outs of all the departments and how they work. So that has to be a good thing to make the council run because you have to work with all the departments and you have to know what’s going on. You also [act] as a liaison between the department heads and all the council, so it’s very important that I know that and I can work with that and make things work much more smoothly.”
Wilson is a fifth generation Altonian and Marquette Catholic High School graduate. She said she was approached by Cindy Slaughter, the previous Deputy City Clerk, four years ago and asked if she would take on the Deputy City Clerk position if Ingle won the election.
Wilson said she began working on Ingle’s campaign and was “thrilled” when she was elected. Wilson trained under the previous City Clerk and Deputy City Clerk and had a “smooth” transition into her position when Ingle took office.
“About a year and a half into the term, I was made acting clerk. I now had to do both the deputy job and the City Clerk’s job,” Wilson said. “There was no backup plan, no one to take over, just me. It was stressful, but I took it as an opportunity to grow. It was my responsibility to ensure that the clerk’s office continued to serve our community without interruption. I was determined that the mayor, aldermen, department heads and taxpayers wouldn’t see the clerk’s office as anything less than an asset to our city.”
She said she has taught herself every aspect of the City Clerk’s job and she “truly love[s] and excel[s]” at the job. She wants to continue working in the clerk’s office as a public servant, and she encouraged other candidates to remember that public servants are accountable to Alton residents.
For more information about Cheryl Ingle, visit her official campaign Facebook page. For more information about Lauren Wilson, visit her official campaign website.
The consolidated election is scheduled for April 1, 2025. For a full recording of the candidate forum, click here.
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