The Galesburg community has been no stranger to violence in recent months and years.
However, many community members and leaders are insisting that Galesburg is a good, safe place to live despite recent challenges.
Devone Eurales, President of the Galesburg chapter of the NAACP says that its a “violent world and Galesburg is not immune.”
Eurales, in speaking about the WE ARE GALESBURG rally that was held in the town square last Saturday, he says its important for residents to know each other. He says the rally, organized by Anthony Law and Carl Sandburg College’s Men of Character/Women of Distinction student groups, was a way to reaffirm the community’s positive qualities.
“This was just a way to say ‘guess what now this is a great place to live, there are things that are happening here that are positive – that are uplifting, yet we just need to make sure we understand and know each other,'” Eurales told WGIL.
Eurales says so often when unfortunate things happen then people go negative, calling each other names and blaming. But he says it was more about people meeting each other and sharing viewpoints than coming up with tangible solutions.
Mayor John Pritchard said the common theme among the rally attendees was they were people that care about the town that don’t want “recent bad events” to define Galesburg.
Pritchard says anytime residents are put in an unsafe environment its unfortunate, but concedes that bad things sometimes happen and Galesburg is a relatively safe place to live, adding that Galesburg is a safe place to live and “you can’t always prevent bad things”.
He thinks recent violent events in town are in part a reflection of the “lack of opportunity” and a lack of “people who care.” He tells WGIL despite these events shouldn’t distract from good things happening locally.
“I think that’s really probably one of the reasons [Anthony Law” organized this,” Pritchard said. “[It] was to give voice to the positive as apposed to listening to the negative minority.”
Pritchard says in regards to the fatal shooting at the Seminary Street Pub in April, the stabbing on Monmouth Boulevard and the shots at Railroad Days, that police and the court system are doing what they’re supposed to.
In all three of those cases individuals are in custody and awaiting court proceedings.
Pritchard says specifically in regards to Railroad Days, he’s sure the event committee and city will discuss adjustments.
