Galesburg City Council meets Tuesday night after the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. The seven members can vote on starting the process of selling about $5.2 million in general obligation bonds to fund a future Community Center. If Council approves the resolution, administration would move forward with developing an official statement for the sale of bonds, meeting with a credit rating agency, and proceeding with other required steps. LGBTQIA Resolution Council will also vote on a resolution in support of the City's LGBTQ+ community. This comes after a Council member is alleged to have made some inflammatory posts and reposts about transgender individuals on social media. Mayor Peter Schwartzman originally was looking into a resolution specifying "proper conduct on social media" for Council members. The resolution was changed when legal counsel advised the Mayor that "specifying proper conduct" for Council members was inappropriate. New TIF The Council can also
Galesburg Police on Tuesday night responded to the 200 block of North Seminary Street for a report of a residential burglary in progress. Upon arrival, officers were met outside by a woman who said her boyfriend was inside with the burglar. Officers responded to the back of the residence where the woman's boyfriend said the white male suspect took off running. After police were unable to locate the man, they responded back to the residence and discovered the man had gained access to the house through a hole in a wall in the attic. The residents were able to capture a video of the suspect whom police were able to identify as a 31-year-old Galesburg man. Officers noted that the male suspect removed his shoes before entering the house knowing shoe imprints can sometimes be used as evidence. Police found where the suspect gained access from a vacant apartment. The male suspect was added to the Galesburg Police pending arrest list for Attempted Residential Burglary.
As Galesburg City Council considers a .25% sales tax increase business owners have been making their concerns about the tax known. Many of the business owners that spoke at Monday's council meeting were concerned about the negative effects of an increased tax on them while still voicing support for the idea of a community center. Adam Vitale, President of G&M Distributors, says the public should know that Galesburg's prepared food tax would be 11%, equal to restaurants in metropolitan City of Chicago. Vitale says Galesburg restaurants wouldn't be getting the same value as Chicago establishments because their additional sales tax dollars are reinvested into areas of Chicago that drive business to prepared food establishments. In Galesburg, the additional 2.0% sales tax goes to the general fund. Galesburg's sales tax rate is 8.75% and that's combined with a 2% food and beverage tax the council imposed in 2007. SideTrax Bar & Grill owner Brad Bernardi says