EDWARDSVILLE - The Edwardsville City Council approved the appointment of a new 2nd Ward Alderman to serve the remainder of Jack Burns’s term after his passing last month. Former Edwardsville Mayor Hal Patton will now fill the role after being sworn in at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
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Mayor Art Risavy said he’s honored to have Patton back on the City Council, where he first began his career in public service over 20 years ago - incidentally, as 2nd Ward Alderman. He also served on the Madison County Board before being elected and re-elected as mayor in 2013 and 2017.
“Hal approached me about honoring Alderman Jack Burns, who he encouraged to run for the Aldermanic seat, and he asked if he could be considered to fill out Jack Burns’s term,” Risavy said. “I can think of no better person to serve that seat. I’m going to be honored to serve with Hal Patton as alderman. I’m so honored that he would want to participate in the memory of Jack until the next election, and I’m just extremely, extremely proud that he’s going to be up here with us again.”
Patton will serve as 2nd Ward Alderman until the next General Primary Election in Madison County, which will be held on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. After his appointment was unanimously approved, Patton took his Oath of Office and was officially sworn in to applause from attendees.
After being sworn in, Patton said he was honored to return and spoke highly of Burns.
“Thank you for the honor of being able to come back and serve and work with all of you,” Patton said. “Of course, none of us want me here - we want Jack. We loved Jack, he was a great friend to all of us.
“I enjoyed reading the words that you all said about Jack after he had passed. I felt the same way about many of those things - of course, his quick wit, his sense of humor, that always comes out first - but as Alderman, I enjoyed asking him how the city was doing, and you could see it in his eyes … you saw the gleam in his eye and the pride that he had serving the residents of Edwardsville, and Ward 2 residents in particular. That was so fun for me to see in Jack.
“I will gladly serve the remainder of his term that he earned with honor, and make sure that his vision and what he loved about the city gets represented.”
A recording of the full Edwardsville City Council meeting is available at the top of this story or on the City of Edwardsville Facebook page.
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