The director of the Pekin Public Library had some good news to convey to the Pekin City Council this week in the Pekin Public Library's annual report to the council.
Jeff Brooks, the library's director for 22 years, said patron visits continue to climb while steps to curb the number of unhoused individuals in the library but not using the services have proven to be successful.
As of mid-July, library visits this year have topped 118,600. That's already about 84% of the 140,800 visitors for the entire year in 2025, continuing a four-year trend of increases from 95,000 in 2023 and 126,350 in 2024.
More than 170,600 library materials were circulated, nearly 15,000 public computer sessions were documented and program attendance exceeded 21,400 during 2025.
As for the homeless issue, Brooks said from the winter of 2023 to the end of spring in 2025, "we saw an increase in homeless use of the library. A day in the life of many homeless patrons involved frequent trips outside, including the of the [Children's Garden].
"Over the past two years, the library has taken several proactive steps to improve safety and address behaviors that can impact the use of the facility, regardless of who is involved."
Those steps have included providing library staff with professional de-escalation training, updating the library's Rules of Conduct for the the facilities and grounds, and updating security systems. The library also put $48,000 in grant money toward installing an AI-assisted camera monitoring system for the interior and exterior of the library, and installed a security fence around the Children's Garden.
"These measures, as well as the Pekin Outreach Initiative relocating to Derby Street, have resulted in increasingly fewer homeless visitors spending several hours [a day] at the library over the past 18 months," Brooks said.
TIF building grants
During Monday's meeting, the council approved six businesses and building owners for tax increment financing [TIF] commercial building improvement grants.
Each recommended grant amount was based on a project scoresheet:
- 343 Court Street to Mary Teresa Lohman, $100,000, which includes funding for new water service and fire suppression in the building.
- Pekin Alignment and Autobody, 716 Court Street, $50,000, replacing a TIF property tax rebate projected to pay out about $30,000 in a 10-year period.
- Yesterday's Bar and Grill, 363 Court Street, $32,000.
- 437 Court Street to the Gambetti Girls, $9,000.
- 423 Court Street to Frank Hoffman, $4,000.
- Blitz Laundry, 312 Derby Street, $1,000.
Each grant must be approved again by the council after an official TIF agreement is prepared.
Truck routes and traffic signals
In other actions, the council approved:
- Purchasing route management software for the city's Solid Waste Department that will lead to more efficient routing for drivers. Texas-based Routeware will provide the software for $34,320 for the first year, including startup and training costs, and $19,320 in subsequent years.
- Authorizing Giffin Reeise Engineering, the city's engineering contractor, and Hansen Professional Services to do an assessment of the city's traffic signals for $28,000. Among the assessment tasks are collecting data for a future signal-timing project, and providing cost estimates for the replacement of the signals at each city-owned signalized intersection.
- Spending up to $10,000 so the city can purchase five vacant properties in Tazewell County sealed bid auctions. Had the city lost the auctions, its $93,000 in liens on the properties would have been washed away. The owners of the properties at 907 Catherine, 105 Edds, 205 Herget, 1600 Matilda and 510 S. 3rd streets failed to pay taxes for three years, triggering the county auctions.
- Awarding the 2026 chip seal road contract to R.A. Cullinan and Son of Tremont for $1.35 million, less than 1% above the engineer's estimate of $1.32 million. Work will begin later this summer.
- Granting a special use and variance regarding off-street parking spaces to Michelle Bohm on behalf of Inspired Style Company to open a beauty shop at 1112 Court Street, in the former Mardell Manor senior living facility. The Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously recommended approval of the special use and variance.
- Purchasing a 2027 Western Star dual axel dump truck/snow plow with a wing plow for slightly more than $288,800 from Truck Centers of Morton. The new vehicle will replace a 2004 International dual axel dump truck with a wing plow, the oldest vehicle in the city's aging fleet of salt trucks.
- Purchasing a utility compactor that supports road repair operations from Peoria-based Central Illinois Equipment Sales for $22,300. The compactor will replace an older unit the city bought in the late 1990s.
- Spending up to $12,500 to determine if a city-owned right-of-way in the vicinity of Davis and Melvina streets should be vacated.
'Fried' lights on Court
The traffic signal at Court Street and Allentown Road has been an issue for drivers since it was hit by lightning several weeks ago.
Council member John Abel reported that the part needed to correct the signal timing is on its way.
"The problem at that intersection is the lights aren't synched up," said City Manager John Dossey. "The lightning strike fried everything. We have to replace all the guts in the box."
Council members Dave Nutter and Karen Hohimer had comments about agenda items.
"It's about time," Nutter said about the traffic signal study. "We have issues with signals all over town. We've been hearing about them the last few weeks."
Hohimer said the route management software for the Solid Waste Department is "20 years overdue."
