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Tourism Council Tackles Courthouse Issue
A local tourism council may soon weigh in on what to do with the aging Knox County Courthouse.

The Galesburg Area Convention and Visitors Bureau's tourism council met Tuesday and decided on developing a sub-committee of three of its members to decide whether or not to compose a letter to the Knox County Board in support of, or against what to do with the courthouse.

Tourism council member Steve Watts proposed the subcommittee to investigate the role the courthouse plays in local tourism. Orpheum Theatre President Kate Francis and Galesburg Second Ward Alderman Wayne Dennis will also be on the committee.
Knox County Board and tourism council member Paul Stewart told the council there are currently three options on the table of what to do with the building.

"The first is to remain in the courthouse for judicial purposes," Stewart said. "Move the non-judicial offices out as a second option, which would mean remaining in the courthouse, keeping judicial services, and adding an addition to the courthouse. The third option...is to leave the courthouse entirely and build a new courthouse."

Stewart says when an area maintains it's historic fabric, it becomes much more attractive to tourists.

Director of Tourism Diane Bruening says currently she feels like the courthouse ranks a 2 on a scale of one to ten about how important tourists think the courthouse really is. Bruening says it isn't visitor friendly but she understands the historical value of the building.
10 28 09 by Newsroom
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