Alexander County sheriff loses primary

CAIRO, Ill. -- Cairo police chief Tim Brown unseated Alexander County Sheriff David Barkett in Tuesday's sheriff election.

In an election that brought out 21.75 percent of voters in the Southern Illinois county, Brown received 55.5 percent of the vote, according to the Alexander County clerk's office. Barkett received 559 votes, or 39.9 percent of votes cast.

County financial problems shrank the department in September when the board of commissioners laid off 75 percent of county law enforcement. Later that month, First National Bank in Cairo repossessed five of the department's patrol cars because of defaulted payments. A Florida sheriff later donated cars to the county.