St. Louis already had its fair share of problems when three now-former aldermen were indicted in June for accepting bribes from a local developer. The city was still reeling from the aftermath of the worst of the pandemic. Its police force needed officers. Its downtown cried for businesses. The city still has those problems — but at least the federal government's investigation weeded out some of the city's most corrupt and powerful leaders. St. Louis quickly said goodbye to former Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed and Aldermen Jeffrey Boyd and John Collins-Muhammad. Even though some already had their suspicions of these electeds' corruption, the exposure of just how frequently three men sold City Hall to an undercover developer — and for how little money — shook the St. Louis area, disappointing constituents and tainting the city's image. The silver lining: they all resigned in disgrace and are no longer in office. As St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones put it: "Lewis Reed had to go."
Welcome to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of 2022, a look back at the ups and downs of a turbulent year in the St. Louis region.
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