To: Galesburg City Manager Todd Thompson

Re: Promoting General Welfare

Mr. Thompson, and To Whom It May Concern:

 If I may, Webster’s Dictionary defines extortion as: to get (money, etc.) from someone by violence, threats, misuse of authority, etc; exact or wrest (from).

 As the official letterhead of the City of Galesburg heralds, “Operating Under Council-Manager Government since 1957.” Referencing correspondence directed to the citizens of Galesburg, pursuant to Galesburg City ordinance Article II, Sec. 30-30(b):

A water user may be required to provide an additional deposit if the water user’s bill is late more than two (2) times in a twelve month period or if the water user discharges a water debt pursuant to bankruptcy. The amount of the deposit shall be three (3) times the water user’s last water bill.

 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “In April, employers took 1,564 mass layoff actions involving 143,927 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month.”

(http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2011/ted_20110524.htm)

 As the Preamble of the Constitution reads, America’s union was formed, in part, to insure domestic tranquility and to promote the general welfare of the American public.

 So I ask Mr. Thompson, and To Whom It May Concern, given the state of the American economy and the demographic of the city of Galesburg, “How does such an ordinance insure domestic tranquility and promote the general welfare of the citizens of Galesburg?

 Constitutionally Yours, Entologist George Johnson