Macon Reporter

After Decatur businesses encountered some signs of vandalism, many owners decided to prepare as if rumors of more violence to come were true.

The Herald Review reported businesses in the area boarded up windows and have been closing early as precautionary measures. Brent Sloan, who chose not to board the windows of his business, Sloan's Calzones, due to cost reasons, but checked in with his insurance in case of vandalism. 

“Tonight will tell a lot,” he told the Herald Review. 

Tensions in the city are rising as businesses are expecting more looting and vandalism as a result of the death of George Floyd. Looting has been reported in cities across Central Illinois, and many stores are reporting broken windows, such as Best Buy in Forsyth. 

Macon County Sheriff Tony Brown told the Herald Review that the broken widows may or may not be related to the death of Floyd. 

On Monday, the Decatur community held a Justice Walk, which was a peaceful rally calling for action against police brutality, the Herald Review reported. Before the peaceful rally took place, rumors spread that out-of-town protesters were coming to incite violence. That led many Decatur business owners to take precautionary measures to protect their stores. 

Cindy Deadrick-Wolfer, owner of a downtown Decatur boutique, boarded up her windows. After having a weekend of good business in the wake of the COVID-19 shutdown, with things looking up, another challenge presented to her business. 

“If I came in tomorrow to broken windows and missing merchandise I don’t know if I could take it,”  Deadrick–Wolfer told the Herald News.

Maggie Howley, owner of Del's Popcorn Shop, also hoped business would start looking up and was hoping for rumors to be false. 

“We hope nothing happens, but we wanted to be prepared for it,” she told the Herald News.