Former Marseilles mayor Patti Smith died last week. She was 76 years old. After she retired from directing the Illinois River Area Chamber of Commerce, she ran for mayor in a crowded field in 2007 and lost. She ran again in 2011 and defeated incumbent Jim Trager. Smith said she wanted to market the city so it could add to its tax base.
The thing she was most pleased with during her one term was how the city faced the flood of 2013.
Smith’s last run for office came in 2015 when Trager wanted the mayor’s job back and defeated her. Smith said she promised her family no more runs for mayor.
Funeral arrangements for Smith are through Seals-Campbell Funeral Home.