Rasheen Aldridge

Members of the board’s Housing, Urban Development and Zoning Committee voted 5-2, with Anne Schweitzer and Michael Browning voting no.

In addition to the resolutions, the Public Safety Committee heard from acting Commissioner of Corrections Tammy Ross, who says her priorities for now include focusing on staffing and fostering partnerships.

Over the course of nearly seven-hour committee hearing, members of the Board of Aldermen discussed two visions for the money that are “coming closer together.”

The jail director, who reports to St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, was known to be at odds with the city's Detention Facility Oversight Board over the lack of transparency and conditions at the City Justice Center.

Homer G. Phillips Hospital, which has been in business for one year, is looking for additional funding and new blood supplies before it can reopen.

Betts — who has become known for saying just about anything — will depart at the end of the year after losing the Democratic primary to former deputy Alfred Montgomery.

Nearly 100 protesters and activists disrupted a city Board of Aldermen meeting on Friday, calling for immediate changes to the St. Louis City Justice Center, where 18 people in custody have died since 2020.

Jail deaths at the City Justice Center in St. Louis are slightly higher than public safety officials previously shared and much higher than online reports show. But deaths at the CJC so far this year are the lowest they’ve been since 2021.

The two bills lay out access requirements for attorneys, elected officials, clergy and members of the Detention Facilities Oversight Board. Any person who inappropriately denies access could face a $500 fine.

Proponents of the bill said it would relieve poor residents of a financial and mental burden. That's despite a recently released working paper by economists that shows the positive effects of medical debt forgiveness may be limited.