Rickey Williams Jr.

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Rickey Williams Jr.
Mayor of Danville, Illinois
Assumed office
November 6, 2018
Preceded byScott Eisenhauer
City Council of Danville, Illinois
In office
2009–2018
Personal details
Born1977/1978 (age 43–44)[1]
EducationB.A. Millikin University
Alma materEmory University

Rickey Williams Jr. (born 1977/1978) is an American politician, the first African-American to serve as mayor of Danville, Illinois, the county seat of Vermilion County.

Biography[]

Raised in Danville, Williams is the son of Laura and Ricky Williams Sr.[2] His mother was an adult educator and his father was an assistant warden at the Danville Correctional Center and a teacher at the Danville Area Community College.[2] He has a younger sister.[2] He graduated from Millikin University with a B.A. in Political Science.[3] He then attended the PhD program at Emory University but left on a Christian missions trip to Malawi before completing his dissertation.[3] He returned to the US and served as a residential missionary in Clarkston, Georgia and in 2006, as Executive Director of the local Boys & Girls Club.[3]

In 2009, he won election to the Danville City Council.[4] In 2011, he ran for mayor, finishing in 3rd place.[5] In October 2018, he was named as acting mayor by the City Council after the early resignation of Scott Eisenhauer, who had served as mayor for over 15 years[1] in order to take a position as village administrator in Rantoul, Illinois.[2] He was sworn in on November 6, 2018.[4] In the general election held on April 2, 2019,[2] running on a platform of community policing and fiscal responsibility,[6] he won election to a full 4-year term with 47.8% of the vote defeating businessowner James McMahon (24.0%), Alderman and businessman Steve Nichols (19.0%), and Danville Code Enforcement Inspector Donald Crews (8.8%).[1] Danville was roughly 56% white, 33% Black, and 7% Hispanic at the time.[7] He was sworn in on May 7, 2019.[1]

While mayor, he solicited funds to demolish the Collins Tower, a Danville landmark built in 1917 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[8][9]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d Bailey, Jennifer (April 3, 2019). "Residents elect Williams as mayor". Commercial News. Williams, 41, and the other elected officials who won Tuesday night will be sworn in on May 7
  2. ^ a b c d e Crane, Tracy (May 8, 2019). "I can't wait to see where he's going to take Danville'". News Gazette.
  3. ^ a b c "Danville Mayor". City of Danville. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Bryant, Bailey (October 17, 2018). "Williams prepares to serve as mayor". WCIA.
  5. ^ Meadows, Jim (March 30, 2019). "Danville's Four Mayoral Candidates Present Cases For Fighting Crime, Boosting Economy". WILL-AM.
  6. ^ "ELECTION 2019 QUESTIONNAIRES Danville mayor: Rickey Williams Jr". News Gazette. March 15, 2019.
  7. ^ "B03002 HISPANIC OR LATINO ORIGIN BY RACE - Danville, Illinois - 2019 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". U.S. Census Bureau. July 1, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  8. ^ Hinton, Dave (October 15, 2021). "Danville sets aside money to raze Collins Tower, other buildings". News Gazette.
  9. ^ Hensley, Evan (October 15, 2021). "Council approves $4 million to demolish Collins Tower, other buildings". Fox News.
Preceded by
Scott Eisenhauer
 Mayor of Danville, Illinois
2018–Present 		Succeeded by
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