The Galesburg City Council on Monday denied a one-month contract extension to the interim Public Works Director on Monday night. It was originally on the consent agenda before the contract extension was removed and then tabled, effectively leaving the city without a Public Works Director. The vote was 5-2. Voting to table was Bradley Hix, Wayne Dennis, Evan Miller, Heather Acerra and Steve Cheesman. Ward 1 Council member Bradley Hix says he doesn't think the council has enough information to extend given that interim Mark Rothert's contract pay is equivalent to $183,000 a year. City Manager Gerald Smith says Rothert has operated under this contract for the past two months and the cost includes salary, insurance, and benefit costs. Ward 5 Council member Heather Acerra moved to table the item which was seconded by Ward 3's Evan Miller. Acerra says that $183,000 is still higher than many other similar city administrative positions when you factor in things like benefits. Wa
The votes officially have been counted and there will be four Galesburg City Council members sworn in on Monday night, including three new members. Voter turnout in Galesburg was 13 percentage points higher than in 2019, the last municipal election in which the Mayor wasn't up for election; about 21 percent up from 8 percent. Turnout nearly even matched 2021 when there was a competitive race for Galesburg Mayor. No ward had a better turnout in 2023 than Ward 7 with about 38 percent of registered voters casting ballots. In fact, although Ward 7's winner Steve Cheesman had the most votes of any aldermanic candidate, his opponent Larry Cox had the second most votes. Ward 5 had a turnout of 26 percent, followed by Ward 1 with 24 percent and Ward 3 with 18 percent. Even though Ward 3 had the lowest turnout among the Wards with competitive races, the turnout was much higher than in 2019 when their turnout was about 5 percent. Ward 6 showed themselves to be reliable voters. Even tho
The Galesburg City Council on Monday night tabled the purchase of the Galesburg Rescue Mission buildings on E. Third St. Mayor Peter Schwartzman told WGIL that the city hoped to buy the two buildings to turn them into a warming shelter and a possible homeless shelter. City Manager Gerald Smith says there are no agencies that are immediately committed to partnerships but the city would pursue those partnerships as opportunities arose. 7th Ward Alderman Larry Cox says it might be "putting the cart before the horse" to purchase the properties without having those partnerships in place. Cox made the motion to table the purchase until the next meeting in which three new Council members will be sworn in; Heather Acerra, Evan Miller and Steve Cheesman. Schwartzman told WGIL before the meeting that he didn't suspect the purchase would be controversial with the new council members.