Megan Green

U.S. District Judge Matt Schelp is giving attorneys for St. Louis until Wednesday to show why they didn’t violate a rule against filing a lawsuit for an improper purpose in their case over state control of the city's police department.

No one responded by Monday to a federal judge who wanted answers to why the case should be in federal court.

St. Louis Board of Aldermen President Megan Green signed on as a plaintiff, saying she’s trying to protect the city’s financial future and officials’ First Amendment rights.

With both chambers approving the legislation, the bill now goes to Gov. Mike Kehoe, who made the issue one of his priorities.

St. Louis had $300 million and 16,000 ideas from the public on how to spend it at the beginning of this legislative session. A year later, the Board of Aldermen has made no progress.

After a little more than two hours of discussion, members did not agree to perfect any bill, instead moving proposals to the board’s informal calendar.

Alderman Joe Vollmer said he is considering legal action after Board of Aldermen President Megan Green accused him of being drunk during Friday’s tense debate over the Rams settlement.

The Board of Aldermen was preparing to question Ward 7 Alderwoman Alisha Sonnier, one of the bill’s sponsors, when Green gaveled the meeting into a recess, a move some members later questioned as possibly not being in accordance with the rules of the body.

Members of the board’s Housing, Urban Development and Zoning Committee voted 5-2, with Anne Schweitzer and Michael Browning voting no.

This compromise bridges the remaining gaps between Ward 7 Alderwoman Alisha Sonnier’s proposed Transform STL Act and Ward 13 Alderwoman Pamela Boyd’s alternative.