Several local elected officials have voiced some support for a proposed 708 Board of Mental Health, a measure that voters will decide on in April. The idea of the board is to draw from property taxes to help plan and oversee strategy in community mental health treatment. After KCCDD CEO and mental health board campaign leader Marc Rudolph pitched the 708 board to Galesburg City Council members on Jan. 17, several alderman gave some form of support to the idea.
Ward 6 Alderman Wayne Allen says mental health is “all of our problem”. About 3/4 of Illinois counties have enacted some kind of mental health authority, excluding Knox.
Ward 5 Alderman Peter Schwartzman echoed Allen’s comments and say it’s imperative that voters take a look at this issue for the “betterment of our community.”
Ward 4’s Corine Anderson says something like the 708 board has been sorely missing.
Angela Bastian of Ward 1 says she hopes we implement something to lend a hand to lose dealing with mental health issues.
Ward 7 Alderman Jeremy Karlin was not at that night’s meeting.
Sheriff David Clague says that 31 percent of inmates in the County Jail last year had some form of mental health problem, which could soon balloon costs for a psychiatrist to over $145,000.
“Fifty years ago,” Sheriff David Clague says, “we had Galesburg Research Hospital, we had facilities in Peoria and now we have nothing.”
Mayor John Pritchard hopes voters think carefully about this issue. He says Galesburg has a history of being at the forefront of these kind of situations and now we find ourselves at the tail end.
