CAHOKIA — A Cahokia man has pleaded guilty in federal court to possessing illegal drugs with the intent to distribute, authorities said.

Courtney R. Hoffman, 65, entered a guilty plea on Sept. 3 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, according to court records. Hoffman is the father of East St. Louis Councilman Courtney Hoffman II.

The younger Hoffman, who is also a longtime business owner in Washington Park, said he is often confused with his father and his father’s criminal history.

“I have been dealing with this all my life,” Hoffman II said. “I love my father, but the sins of the father are not the sins of his son. My mother always told me that I could have what my father has, but I can get it in a different way — the right and legal way.”

Federal agents

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