ALORTON - The mayor of a southern Illinois city has been charged with official misconduct for operating a police vehicle with its lights flashing.
Alorton Mayor JoAnn Reed was charged late Friday, a couple of weeks after a driver told Illinois State Police it appeared a civilian female driver was impersonating a police officer.
The unidentified driver told police on Sept. 15, he saw a black police car with blue and red lights flashing and a sign on the driver's side door that stated "Mayor Jo Ann Reed." The car was traveling east on Interstate 64.
Alorton Village Board member Gwen McCallum, a frequent Reed critic, said the board had not given Reed permission to drive the car.
Reed's bail on the charge was set at $75,000, which she posted.
Reed could not be reached for comment. Her attorney, Justin Kuehn, declined to comment.
