A week and a day after former Riverdale Mayor Lawrence Jackson’s Nov. 12 conviction on federal perjury and obstruction of justice charges, the Riverdale Village Board voted Thursday morning to appoint Trustee Cassandra Riley-Pinkney as acting mayor.
Under Illinois law, anyone who has been convicted of a felony becomes immediately ineligible to serve in public office, with their position automatically vacated.
“We wanted the transition of power to be as seamless as possible,” Riley-Pinkney said after being sworn in. “Since the day of the mayor’s verdict, the trustees have been working tirelessly tending to the business of Riverdale.”
Jackson was elected to a fourth term in April after fending off two primary challengers. As there were more than two years remaining in his term at the time of his conviction, Riley-Pinkney will serve as mayor until the next regularly scheduled municipal general election in April 2027.
Riley-Pinkney said she has been on the Village Board for 10 years.
“I am asking that we stop and turn down the volume of criticism,” Riley-Pinkney said. “We need to unite and work together. Let us use this day as a new beginning for our community.”
Riley-Pinkney nominated two new trustees, one to fill her own now-vacant seat and the other to fill a seat vacated by Trustee Erik LeVere in December 2024, when he ran successfully for election to a different seat. The board unanimously approved both recommendations.
The new trustees are Riverdale Public Library District Trustee Katherine Bourné and former Riverdale police Chief Willie Darkreid. Both trustee seats will also be up for special election in 2027.
The board also voted to sell Jackson the 2019 Chevrolet Tahoe he used while mayor. Village attorney Ryan Morton said Jackson offered the village $9,000 for the vehicle, described as a service vehicle with 180,000 miles, which was double the next highest quote received.
Antoinette Horton, 90, was one of many residents who offered public comment following the appointments.
“Everyone in this room is complicit in what happened to us. We allowed this. We didn’t come out, we wouldn’t come to meetings,” Horton said. “Whatever went on, we’re complicit. This is our fault.”
Horton and others called for a forensic audit of the village’s finances.
“We need to know where we stand, where’s our money, where has it been,” Horton said. “We do know we don’t got any money. But where did our money go?”
The federal charges Jackson was convicted of stemmed from his 2021 deposition in a civil case brought while he was mayor, accusing him of corruptly using his position to benefit favored businesses. Those allegations were eventually found to have insufficient evidence behind them, but Jackson was indicted in 2023 for lying under oath in the case.
Specifically, prosecutors said Jackson lied to obscure his relationship with businessman James Bracken, who played a substantial role in the daily operations of a trucking company owned by Jackson and his wife.
A sentencing date for Jackson has not yet been set, and one won’t be scheduled until all post-trial motions have been ruled on.
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Resident Angela Dennis was among several who criticized the trustees for a lack of transparency.
“This board, everyone sitting here, except for the new ones, has continuously hid information,” Dennis said.
Like Horton, Dennis said residents need to be more involved and aware regarding their local government.
“I ask that you open things up to the village of Riverdale.” Dennis said. “They are the ones who pay your salaries. Who make your job possible.”
Former Dixmoor Trustee Michael A. Smith, who recently announced his intent to run for Riverdale mayor in the 2027 special election, said that the “honorable step” would be for the trustees who served with Jackson to all resign.
Members of the public including Smith also objected to the unusual morning meeting time, saying it made it difficult for residents who worked to attend. The board chambers were packed to standing.
Many residents shared their own thoughts on Jackson and his conviction, with reactions ranging from grief to glee.
“I’ll be the first to tell you that Mr. Jackson is a good man. This town is cleaner than most towns around,” said former village employee Donkor Parker, who now runs a PR firm. “No matter what he’s done in his personal life, what he did for the village was grand, and I’ll be the first one to say he did a good job.”
Parker expressed concern about the effects the high-profile conviction of a Black elected official would have.
“It may be a celebration for some, but it’s a catastrophe for Black people,” Parker said. “You see a Black man in power go to jail, it’s not good.”