Dixon council to honor city’s first black woman school board member Tuesday

DIXON — The City Council will be honoring Linda LeBlanc-Parks on Tuesday with the Ike Mercer memorial award in celebration of Black History Month.

“Linda was nominated for her long dedication to education in our community and for being the first woman of color to be elected to the Dixon School Board,” Councilman Mike Venier said.

LeBlanc-Parks, a mother of three children who has a master’s degree in special education, is involved with the Sauk Valley Diversity Committee, the Sauk Valley Food Bank and the Sauk Valley YWCA. She was elected to the school board in April.

In 2019, the council changed the name of its annual Black History Month certificate of achievement award to honor Ike Mercer, who died in January 2019 and was renowned for his longtime support and service to the area, including co-founding the Al Morrison Baseball League and serving on the Lee County Board and the city’s former public safety commission.

LeBlanc-Parks gives credit to Mercer for “instilling in her at a young age the value and responsibility of giving back to her lifelong community.”

She is the daughter of Joseph and Josephine LeBlanc and one of eleven brothers and sisters.

Past award winners include Alice Collins, Annie Davis, Bennie Boyd, Isaiah Roby, Rahsaad Lane, Arthur Cox, Devrick Sayles, Jalen Carr and Tameka Deatherage.

The council will meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 121 W. Second St.

Source: The Daily Chronicle