Correction added

Council member Lorelei Sims wants to dispel any rumors about ending her tenure on the Charleston City Council because of discontent with the other members.

“We all get along famously,” she said. “I am just finally at a point in my life where it is possible to realize a dream.”

Sims, who decided not to run for re-election in the spring, said there is not a negative reason for her leaving the council.

She said the primary reason for her decision is a childhood dream to move to the country.

State legislation says council members must live within the cities where they seek election. Should her dreams of vegetable gardening and personal freedom come true, Sims would no longer be within city limits.

“I didn’t think it was right to seek out another term knowing that if I would move I would have to step down,” she said. “Even though I have no current purchases outside the town, I wanted to be respectful of the voters and the council.”

Sims said her desire to leave the city life is not because of a desire to leave Coles County. She came to Charleston as a junior in high school in 1979 from the Chicago suburbs and attended Eastern as an art and art education major.

Sims, the owner of Five Points Blacksmith Shop, 218 State St., had no intention of becoming politically involved.

“It wasn’t until I was walking my dogs down by Lake Charleston that I saw something that really disturbed me,” Sims said.

Sims became concerned about the dumping of sludge from the Waste Water Treatment Plant into a small creek that filtered down into Lake Charleston.

She approached the City Council under Mayor Roscoe “Dan” Cougill, and was generally written off, she said.

“They didn’t think my concern had any merit,” she said.

Upset and angry because of the lack of interest by the council, Sims channeled her frustration into pursuing the mayoral position in the town, but was talked out of it by her peers.

“They all said to me, ‘Lorelei, do not do that. Run for city council first,'” she said.

Sims took the advice and ran for council in 2001 among seven candidates, including Charleston’s first female council member, Olga Durham. She was elected to one of the four positions.

“My first election was by far my proudest moment,” Sims said. “It was the first time two women had served on the council, and I was alongside the very influential Marge Knoop.”

Sims said she struggled with the immense amount of literature she had to study.

Getting to know Illinois law and municipal law and fact-checking were her primary focuses as a new council member – things she recommends anyone seeking office should do.

Another struggle Sims said she endured was differences with the new council.

“Under my first term, Mayor Cougill decided after the election to institute staggered terms, meaning that both Knoop and I would have our four-year term cut short to two years,” she said. “We knew that was illegal because you cannot change election parameters after the fact. We decided to file for a declaratory judgment.”

Sims and Knoop went through the entire process of the suit with the city that would claim no expenses except those filing for the suit.

Seeking out a decision only from the judge, Sims was surprised to get a call from a city official the day of the court hearing.

“They just said ‘Hey, why don’t we implement this after the next election,'” she said. “We felt it was a huge success and didn’t need a ruling. We were vindicated.”

Throughout her next term, under Mayor John Inyart, Sims said the entire atmosphere changed.

She said she believed the environment of the council encouraged questions and dialogue, something she thought was lacking in her first term.

Now, as Sims begins the process of stepping down from her seat on the council, she thinks Charleston has a bright future.

She said the council remains adamant about researching, aiding and supporting the retention and acquiring of small businesses.

She plans to continue to attend city council meetings whenever she feels the need to voice her opinion on the open public floor. But most of all, she hopes the council remains diverse.

“I hope that minorities and women can fill the seats left open by me and future council members,” she said. “They bring a different perspective to the council.”

As for future political involvement, Sims is uncertain.

“If I don’t find property in the country, or if I see a need for me to return after my two-year absence . there are always two seats open in the spring,” Sims said.

Krystal Moya can be reached at 581-7945 or at [email protected].