A man known for bringing stability to the Galesburg Police Department for nearly 40 years hopes to do the same in his role as the city’s top administrator.
John Schlaf is expected to be approved as Galesburg’s interim city manager when the City Council votes on his appointment at a City Council meeting Tuesday.
Schlaf — employed with the Galesburg Police Department for 39 years, 17 of those years as chief of police — would replace Wayne Carl as interim city manager effective Sept. 6. Galesburg Mayor Peter Schwartzman announced Aug. 23 that he had selected Schlaf to serve as interim city manager.
Schlaf said he approached the city about returning to city government.
Schlaf tells WGIL, “I actually made an inquiry once Mr. Carl made his announcement that he was leaving. I’m a lifelong resident of Galesburg — this is my hometown and it’s where my heart is. So I felt it was really a possibility to do something good for the community.”
Schlaf is accepting the reins as the City of Galesburg’s top administrator after a series of changes in leadership since Todd Thompson departed in May of 2022 to accept the position of Rock Island city manager. At that time, Wayne Carl served as the interim city manager until the hiring of Gerald Smith as city manager in November 2022. In June 2023, the Galesburg City Council approved a separation agreement with Smith, and Steve Gugliotta served as acting city manager until Wayne Carl was again hired in July 2023 to serve as interim city manager.
Carl notified city officials Aug. 9 that he was resigning the position effective Sept. 8 for “personal reasons.” Carl returned from retirement to assume the role of interim city manager on July 5. The former longtime director of Public Works had just retired from the city March 24 after 22 years in various roles.
Asked if he could bring stability to the City Hall, Schlaf said, “That would certainly be my hope, and I think that’s probably been on the minds of the Council and the mayor, and the community in general.
“So hopefully some stability would be a significant part of what I’m able to contribute.”
Maintaining the ‘operational integrity of the city’
Schlaf said he will know more about the position once he receives Council approval, but believes he understands the task in front of him.
“The city manager’s role is to maintain the operational integrity of the city, while the Council and the mayor continues to do kind of the legislative side — the policies and so on,” Schlaf said. “I don’t think there’s a great deal of difference between an interim or a permanent city manager.
“Wayne and the Council have done an excellent job of positioning the city for some of the things are ahead. Things like the strategic plan and the budget. I’ll just try to carry some of those things through to fruition.”
Although he left city of Galesburg government in 2006, Schlaf said he’s paid close attention to what happens in City Hall and believes he undestands some of the key issues facing the city.
“I’ve continued to monitor city government rather closely ever since the time I retired as police chief,” said Schlaf, who served as director of campus safety at Knox College for 10 years after leaving the city.
“Even though the community center remains high on everybody’s level of interest, the day-to-day things remain of critical importance, too. Things like streets and public safety always remain high in the needs of any community, and certainly this one is no exception.”
Schlaf would be interested in permanent position
The Galesburg City Council continues to work with GovHR for the recruitment and selection of a permanent city manager, a position Schlaf said he would be interested in.
“Providing that I do a good job, and to the satisfaction of the community, I’m willing to give the amount of time to the job that is needed and wanted,” Schlaf said. “So yes, I can say that would be of interest to me.”
If approved Tuesday, Schlaf’s compensation as interim city manager will include a biweekly salary of $6,150.
