Mayor Francis Slay has swatted down a request to deem September 2nd, 2007 "Ike Turner Day" in St. Louis Missouri. Turner is set to return to the city he called home for the Big Muddy Blues Festival that week, and receiving the key to the city would have been a nice touch. But you know... people tend to hold a grudge over the whole "beating your wife" thing that Ike had, so the public displays of admiration for Ike may be over.

Cathy Smentkowski, an aide to Slay, commented that the petition "was brought to the mayor's attention, he did not feel comfortable issuing it." without offering any further explanation. Festival director Dawne Massey thought the honor would be a nice addition to the weekends festivities, "We were only looking to celebrate his contributions to the music industry. Many entertainers have checkered pasts, He helped put St. Louis rhythm and blues on the map."
In additions to his storied past with Tina Turner, Ike was jailed for almost 2 years in the 90s for drug related charges. In addition to the mayor Bridgette Brennan, executive director of the St. Louis Healthy Marriage Coalition was opposed to the request. "We believe there is a zero tolerance for any kind of violence," Brennan said. "We would not want to honor someone who has publicly stated they have hit their wife."
"Yahoo News":http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070720/ap_en_mu/people_ike_turner