If you were laid off from your longtime job, only to see the very place that let you go naming a major building after you, you might have mixed feelings. Not Clara McLeod. Elizabeth Stump's report below explains how this longtime WashU employees feels about her whirlwind of a year. Ryan Krull also has the scoop from yesterday's Police Board meeting, which includes some eye-popping figures from the board's law firm.
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Clara McLeod has had a roller coaster of a year. Photography courtesy of WashU
THIS JUST IN
The namesake for WashU’s new dorm: A librarian it laid off (and then rehired)
Last June, Clara McLeod was let go from Washington University after working as a librarian on campus for more than 37 years. Now the university is naming its newest dormitory after her, as well as her late husband James McLeod.
Despite Clara McLeod’s lengthy tenure in library services, she was given just a week’s notice prior to her termination last summer, which the head of the library suggested to the campus paper stemmed from budget cuts. (A WashU spokesperson says the university does not comment on personnel matters.)
McLeod, though, brushes off the idea that she would be upset. She says, “Even through those trying times, I have felt the love and the support of so many people here at the university that it never occurred to me that I would ever not be a member of the family here.” Her faith was rewarded: Not only was she rehired in a new role last December, but last month, the university surprised her with news of the dorm naming.
WashU says the idea to honor the McLeods came from the board of trustees. McLeod says her first thought was of her husband: “I really haven't processed it, because I do believe that he would be completely embarrassed by this. He would have probably found another person that he thought was more worthy of such an honor.” —Elizabeth Stump
Mayor Cara Spencer, right, won a small concession from the Police Board yesterday. President Chris Saracino, center, wasn't on board. Photography by Ryan Krull
DEEP DIVE
Police Board agrees to pause double-digit command staff raises—but only for two weeks
Mayor Cara Spencer won a rare—and minor—consession from the rest of the Board of Police Commissioners yesterday when they voted to postpone a vote on double-digit raises for command staff.
Those proposed raises were first announced Monday night, and swiftly decried by Spencer. Her main concern was about ancillary costs to the city, chiefly due to rules related to pay parity with the fire department. Because of the adjustments the city would have to make to free up money for fire, the budget will be “out of sync,” she said, adding of the sudden announcement, “It’s so wildly disrespectful for every other department the city has to operate.”
Spencer yesterday proposed tabling the proposed raises, even while referencing several times that the only way to make them work for the city’s budget would involve “a time machine” going back several months, with the Police Board being more proactive about looping the city’s budget director into its plans.
The board ultimately agreed to give her two weeks—but no time machine.
Why It Matters: Police Chief Robert Tracy and others argued yesterday the big raises for top brass are warranted because the department’s ranks have seen “compression,” in which officers are currently taking a pay cut if they take a promotion to command staff. A lieutenant spoke about how he makes nearly the same as his subordinate, a sergeant, who is eligible for overtime. That sergeant, obviously, isn’t interested in a promotion that would mean more responsibility and no overtime. Spencer, however, has argued that every raise given to police has a ripple effect. Indeed, because of parity rules and a higher number of high-ranking officers, more firefighters will actually benefit from the Police Board’s proposal than police officers.
What’s Next: The Police Board will revisit the matter at its meeting June 17. Complicating matters: Aldermen have already sent the city's budget for next year to the Board of Estimate and Apportionment. Spencer said that “probably” the cuts required to move money to the fire department would be made at E&A, with the new budget then headed back to aldermen for approval. The new fiscal year starts July 1. —Ryan Krull
Experience the Oscar-winning animated masterpiece Flow in Concert
Follow a cat’s journey through a post-apocalyptic, water-filled world in this poetic and poignant film, as the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra performs the atmospheric score live.
Nelly wins $67K after ex-bandmate’s suit is dismissed (FOX2): A judge ordered sanctions against Precious Fielder, the primary attorney for Nelly’s former bandmate Ali Jones. Three other St. Lunatics members were originally listed on the lawsuit but quickly withdrew and said they did not authorize the suit.
States face tight timeline as feds unveil new Medicaid work requirement rules (Missouri Independent): States are staring down a January 1 deadline to put new work requirements in place as mandated in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. They want more clarity from the feds on how they’re supposed to implement them.
Water rate hike clears key hurdle (KSDK): An aldermanic committee signed off on a plan that would raise bills 18 percent in both 2026 and 2027, with further hikes through 2032. The Water Division says the increase is necessary to keep the department stable.
Around Town
☕ THE POLITICAL TEA
The firm of Chris Graville, the controversial lawyer representing the state-appointed Board of Police Commissioners, has been invoicing the board between $100,000 and $125,000 a month so far this year. Those invoices were a topic at yesterday‘s Police Board meeting, arising because Mayor Cara Spencer (who has a contentious relationship with Graville, to say the least) requested the firm’s invoices to date. At yesterday's meeting, Graville produced a 172 page document detailing his expenses and invoices. Spencer, offering a rare compliment, commended him on its level of detail, but pointed out that the invoices only ran through February. Graville stated that as the new Police Board builds “institutional knowledge,” he suspects he'll bill fewer hours. He added that his firm isn’t charging more for its services in matters of litigation, as its contractallows. Other than Spencer, commissioners heaped praise on Graville and his staff, so much so that President Chris Saracino quipped that he didn’t want the meeting turning into a commercial for the law firm. At a press conference an hour later, what the mayor said wouldn’t have made for very good ad copy. “The Graville Law Firm is being paid by the city to sue the city,” she said. “ And I want to know how much the city is paying the Graville Law Firm to sue us.” By her math, back of the envelope, she projects it will come to about $1.5 million this year. —Ryan Krull
🧳 THE REFUGEE SCENE
A nonprofit that helps refugees get a foothold in St. Louis sounded the alarm last week about how the Trump administration’s cuts have imperiled several of its initiatives—including a tutoring program designed to help Afghan immigrants. Welcome Neighbor set up the program at a cost of $45,000 per year at a time when the U.S. was welcoming Afghans after the military’s withdrawal left many American allies in peril. Attorney Jerry Schlichter worked to make St. Louis a destination for those Afghans, believing they could help reverse years of population stagnation. Now the federal government has not just turned off the refugee pipeline, but also cut funding for programs that ease their resettlement—and charities like Welcome Neighbor must raise private funds or terminate their services.
But last week’s call for help yielded an amazing opportunity. Welcome Neighbor executive director Ann Wittman says a generous donor agreed to match up to $20,000 to keep the tutoring program alive. She’s intent on making good on that offer, which runs until month’s end. Says Wittman, “We have approximately 2,000 Afghans here in St. Louis and they are doing great. They are no longer surviving, but thriving. Our programs are designed to support these families on their path toward independence and to help them become active, engaged members of our community.” As of press time, they’d raised $13,910 towards the match. Wittman is determined to get all the way to $20,000 to maximize the match. “This match opportunity can save this program for next year,” she says. More via Welcome Neighbor’s website. —S.F.
On June 16 at The Sheldon, Bill McClellan, longtime columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, will be interviewed by Sarah Fenske in a live podcast recording. Ryan Krull adds commentary. Stick around after to mingle with all three. Get tickets.
Heard on the Street
Climbing up those Fortune 500 standings: St. Louis. Yes, really! The list that dropped yesterday shows the region with eight Fortune 500 companies, up from seven a year ago. Credit Ameren for reclaiming a spot on the list. Also worth noting: As Joseph Schlaflypointed out in an essay last year, the region had just eight Fortune 500 equivalent companies when he joined the workforce in 1975. Today we have 14—much more than supposed competitors Indianapolis, Nashville, and Kansas City. To wit: Indianapolis currently has just three companies on the current Fortune 500 list. Kansas City? One. File that away for the next time you have to argue with an old timer convinced our best days are behind us.
Sporting a new fit: Waymo's driverless cars, which are not yet driverless in Missouri but have been driving around St. Louis more and more. Yesterday, a new larger model vehicle was spotted downtown mapping the streets for eventual autonomous driving. At a very brief interview conducted at an intersection, the drivers said the vehicle was called the Ojai (as in the California town or, perhaps, "Oh, hi!"). The vehicle looks like a minivan and answers the question of whether these Waymo could be any less cool. The answer: yes.
Arriving as hometown heroes: The Bosnia and Herzegovina national soccer team, which arrived at Lambert Tuesday afternoon ahead of its pre-World Cup exhibition match against Panama on Saturday at Energizer Park. A large contingent of St. Louis Bosnians gathered at the airport to greet the team and get autographs. “It was fun for us to have a small piece of that,” says airport director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge of the World Cup festivities.
Think you know St. Louis? Well, where in the Lou did we take this photo? Each week, we’ll share an image and you can mark your best guess on our interactive map. Play Now »
Last week’s photo showed a stone staircase at Arbor and Canterbury avenues in Maplewood, which apparently everyone knows, because a whole lot of you got it right. Here’s the staggering list of people notching perfect scores: Susan Szerzinski, David Liebman, Mark Malloy, Helen Pantazis, Sara Howard, Lisa Clancy, Jess Horton, John Riti, Sara M Davis, Milya Bee, Eric Peterson, Sean Belt, James Bogacki, Paul Sableman, Jennifer Alexander, ∆∆ike ∆∆ccubbins, Joe Monahan, Sandy Boxerman, Mike Rengel, Ron Crooks, Nelson Berra, Rick Rosen, Leah Freeman, Mary Gasch, Doug Houser, Robert Diesbach, Christian Bishop, Nancy Zander, Meghan Speiser, TJ Will, Peter Leritz, Carolyn Steenrod, Tom Campbell, Tommy Nagel, Tex Randle, Adam Treaster, Nick McClane, Brandon Eldridge, Susan Allen, Rob Krosley, Mark Gordon, B Will, Andy L, Richard H, Susan L, Sam, Lemon, Matt G, Liz M, Jamie, Matt, Emily SP, Douglas B, Brendan, MJ, and Truckey!
SOUNDBITE
“This was a place that I could land, in an environment where I could thrive doing this work.”
—Dr. Tim Miller, explaining on The 314 Podcast why he left California to practice medicine at WashU.
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