By AP/KWMU
East St. Louis, Ill. – East St. Louis mayor Carl Officer says he plans to ask for money to hire more police officers, as a result of the city's increase in killings.
Two men killed over the weekend were murder victims 13 and 14 this year. At this time last year, there had been ten murders.
Mayor Officer says police believe a lot of the killings are drug related, and he adds the city plans to enter into a contract with the Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southwestern Illinois to hire more officers.
The money to pay those officers would come from assets seized from drug dealers.