Mayor Alvin Parks is a product of East St. Louis School District 189, having graduated as Class President and Valedictorian from Lincoln High School in 1979.  He graduated from both Morehouse College and Washington University with Bachelor of Science and Master’s of Business Administration degrees.  Mayor Parks has twenty (20) successful years marketing and selling ideas and products for companies as well as public entities, including Procter and Gamble, the State of Illinois, and Assistant Business Manager for School District 189.  His experience includes serving as both City Councilman and City Manager; service to many civic causes, including NAACP, Urban League, East-West Gateway Coordinating Council, Behavioral Health Board, Martin Luther King Committee, and Jackie Robinson Khoury League.  He attends St. Luke A.M.E. Church in East. St. Louis where has served as a Trustee and member of the Stewardship and Finance Committee and the Men’s Chorus.  Alvin is married to Jo Anne and has two daughters Annalise and Nariah.