Content: About Illinois & Central Illinois About Macon County About Decatur Historical highlights Properties in Decatur Decatur today Decatur 's government and organizations About Illinois & Central Illinois Illinois, ‘Land of Lincoln’ ‘Prairie State’ is a Midwestern state with 57,900 sq mi (25th largest state) a population of 12,419,293 (5th most populated) and admitted to the Union in 1818 (21st); the fertile topsoil made Illinois an important agricultural state with high pork, corn and soybean production and it is rich in minerals with mainly coal production. Chicago has the country's leading rail center and is a commercial, financial and industrial world center. The greater Chicago area has a population of 7 million and is the US 3rd biggest city. Most of Illinois is flat with many rivers and (mostly artificial) lakes. The Mississippi forms the Western border of the state. With the exception of the Greater Chicago area and Rockford, all the bigger cities are located in Central Illinois, the beating heart of the state. Peoria (population 113,000), Springfield (113,000), Bloomington/Normal (110,000), Champaign/Urbana (100,000) and Decatur (75,000) are all in about an hour range and close to St. Louis, Indianapolis and Chicago. Properties in the Midwest haven’t gone up like they did in the rest of the US. A growing number of people choose to move to the Midwest for Real Estate bargains. When looking for a real bargain, Decatur is the place to be. Decatur has not seen a real estate bubble and average home price in 2005 was $82,100!! Sell your Coast property, buy a similar (or bigger) property in Decatur and have enough money left to get an early retirement or pay for your children’s college! Move to Decatur today before everybody will!!! www.illinois.gov www.enjoyillinois.com www.agr.state.il.us Macon County is one of the 102 counties in Illinois with estimated population (2005 American Community Service) of 109,855. Decatur is the county seat with a population of 74,578 (2005 ACS), excluding the villages of Forsyth (North) and Mt.Zion (Southeast) that are geographically merged with Decatur. The sphere of influence of Decatur reaches outside MaconCounty, mainly to the East/Southeast/South. Cities & villages in MaconCounty or in Decatur’s sphere of influence: Decatur/Forsyth/Mt. Zion North: Emery, Maroa Northeast: Oreana, Argenta, Newburg, Cisco (PiattCounty) East: Oakley in Macon county and Cerro Gordo, La Place, Hammond in Piatt county Southeast: DaltonCity, Lovington, Bethany, Dunn, Sullivan (all in Moultrie county) South: Macon, Walker in Macon county and Moweaqua in Shelby county Southwest: (shake your) Boody, Blue Mound West: Harristown, Niantic in Macon county and Illiopolis in Sangamon county Northwest: Warrensburg, Heman in Macon county, Latham and Mt.Pulaski in Logan county Useful links: www.city-data.com www.hometownlocator.com www.census.gov/index.html www.epodunk.com www.mtzion.com : Mt Zion website www.vil.forsyth.il.us : Forsyth’s website www.maconcountyconservation.org Historical highlights Decatur is named after naval commissioner, Commodore Stephen Decatur. 1820: first house is built on the future site of Decatur 1829: creation of MaconCounty with Decatur as the seat of justice. 1830: Abraham Lincoln arrives in Decatur and practices law. He held his first court hearing and gave his first political speech in Decatur. 1836-1842: Rapid population growth to 500 people in 1842 1842-1854: hopes of getting a railroad died out - stand still 1854: turning point in Decatur’s history: the Great Western Railroad was built through the city and a few months later crossed by the Illinois Central. The junction of these two rail lines created a natural focal point for commerce and industry, and within a few years Decatur transformed from a village to a thriving manufacturing city. 1860: Decatur hosts the Illinois Republican Convention where Lincoln receives the Presidential nomination. Population of 4000. 1874: Coal veins are unearthed resulting in mining. Decatur keeps growing as a major rail transportation hub and population increased to more than 20,000 by 1900 1875: Millikin homestead was built, the first Decatur residence to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places 1889: first electric streetcar in Illinois begins operation 1900: the fly swatter is invented by R.R. Montgomery 1900: Pioneer banker James Millikin founds the university that bears his name. President Theodore Roosevelt delivers the dedicatory address. 1908: A E Staley Manufacturing Company opens the first soybean processing plant in the US! 1911: the Edward P. Irving House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright was built 1919: lakeDecatur is created to fulfill the water needs for AE Staley Company, propelling Decatur’s industrial growth. 1920: The Chicago Bears American football team began life as the Decatur Staleys. 1939: ADM establishes a milling operation. The city continues to flourish as other industries find their way to the area. Caterpillar established a full production line in 1956. 1962: the Transfer House located at the junction of Main and Main (Lincoln Square) is moved to the city’s Central Park. The transfer house is considered a Decatur landmark. ’80’s and ’90’s: Various manufacturing plants close. Decatur Celebration established in 1986. Decatur's economy becomes more diversified. The historical district was the city’s first neighborhood and is roughly located between Downtown and MillikinUniversity. The area contains a mix of architectural styles: Italianate, Second Empire, Stick Style, Queen Anne, Victorian, Greek Revival, Shingle Style, Romanesque Revival, Georgian Revival, Colonial Revival, Neo Classical, American Foursquare, Bungalow, Frank Lloyd Wrights inspired Prairie Style and Art Deco. The homes were built for the industrious business and professional families who settled this area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Downtown Decatur was the retail, administration and entertainment center of the city. Many buildings still remind of this. Since Decatur became an important growing industrial town, the city expanded to the West and North with bigger homes built West of the historical district (today known as the West End) and more modest ‘labor houses’ built North and East (roughly bounded by Pershing Road North and Lake Decatur East), close to the industrial activity. An architectural Art Deco highlight is the StaleyTower, until today the administrative building of TALFIIA. After WWII, the city further expanded. Most homes built North of Pershing, East and South of the lake were built between 1950 and 1980. New residential construction and subdivisions are mainly located on the outskirts of Decatur, lakeDecatur and the adjacent villagesMt.Zion and Forsyth. Non residential construction continues with some big projects – Wabash Crossing, area around Millikin, commercial development north & downtown…. Decatur today General Decatur is centrally located and close to Springfield, Champaign, Bloomington and Peoria. The city has a very interesting logistic location with convenient access to main interstates I-55 and I-57. Decatur is the focal point for MaconCounty for business, administration, shopping and entertainment. The city is the corporate headquarters for ADM and has several other industrial businesses along with many white collar and service based industries. MillikinUniversity is offering one of the nations best art programs and Decatur has a significant art scene. LakeDecatur offers great recreational purposes and serves as the water supply for the community. Lincoln sites, various museums, the historical district and downtown activities are attracting a growing number of tourists. The cost of living is low and Real Estate prices are a bargain. Welcome to the Soybean Capital of the World. Economy/business Decatur ’s rich soils made agriculture and farming an important economic sector and established agriculture related business. The ‘Soybean Capital of the World’ has two big agri-processing companies: ADM (headquarters & plant) and TALFIIA (previously Staley – headquarters & plant). Other industrial plants include Caterpillar, Mueller and Pittsburgh Plate Glass (PPG). Employment: ADM (3400); Caterpillar (2000), Mueller (737), T&L (700), PPG (400). Manufacturing accounts for 36% of the jobs and Decatur offers many white collar and service based businesses. Main non manufacturing employers are DMH (2266), Decatur schools (1500), Ameren (1250) St Mary (1100), Millikin (600), Norfolk (600) MaconCounty (550) and City of Decatur (530). Investments continue to increase in the expanded Enterprise Zone. 2006 unemployment rate dropped to 4.4% (2005: 5.9%), the lowest since 1998. The growth in the manufacturing sector, mainly Caterpillar and its supplier units led the way in employment gains. Other sectors seeing growth are leisure & hospitality, professional and business services and retail trade. Shopping Decatur has many shopping places, from big shopping malls to downtown specialty shops. Shopping centers are spread throughout the city. The Hickory point mall in Forsyth is the biggest shopping center. www.hickorypoint.com Media The Herald & Review is Decatur’s local newspaper since 1873. It has an extensive library collection of historical photos and stories; www.herald-review.com. The business journal is a monthly edition with Decatur business news & calendar of events. Other written press; www.decaturmagazine.com; www.decaturtribune.com; local radio stations: www.y103.com/home.php ; www.wejt.com; www.wsoyam.com Central Illinois TV station: www.wandtv.com Sport & recreation Decatur offers more sport facilities than one would expect in a small town. The many parks and the lake offer a great place for recreation. Decatur is rated nr 18 in the US for accessibility and affordability by Golf Digest Magazine with 4 public and 2 private golf courses. Decatur has three indoor Sport Centers with wall climbing, basketball, volleyball, soccer, fitness, tennis, swimming etc. and various sport facilities for basketball, volleyball, football, athletics, wrestling, ice skating, ice hockey and softball. Bowling and billiard are available at different locations. Lake Decatur is a 5 basin lake in the middle of the area with 36 miles of shoreline. It’s providing all types of water sports and hobbies and the lake shore is perfect for walking, cycling, jogging, bicycling, boating, camping, fishing, horse back riding, sailing, shooting. The Decatur Park District is among the best park systems in the USA and offers 39 parks, 15 nature area's, gardens, baseball diamonds, basketball & volleyball courts, soccer fields, golf courses, swimming pools, tennis courts, bike trails, camp grounds, sailing facilities, horseback riding, a zoo and the airport; www.decatur-parks.org www.decaturbicycleclub.org/ bicycle club www.decaturrunningclub.com/ running club Entertainment, dining, nightlife The 10 acres Scovill zoo overlooks LakeDecatur and has a wide variety of animals, a carousel, train, children zoo. http://www.decatur-parks.org/zoo/index.htm Mari-Mann Herb Farm is one of the largest herb farms in the Midwest. The gift shop offers a wide variety of herb products. Classes are offered on homeopathy, gardening, crafting, basket weaving, healthy and gourmet cooking. http://www.marimann.com Rock Springs Center for Environmental Studies features a homestead Prairie Farm and presents historical programs for groups and special holiday events www.illinoistrails.com/index.htm Decatur has plenty of bars, restaurants and hotels/motels. From fast food to fine dining, from US to Chinese kitchen, from little old style bars to big trendy bars, from cozy personal Bed & Breakfast to large hotels, Decatur has it. Downtown Decatur is the newest hotspot with bars, restaurants and the Avon movie theatre. Theatre 7 is a non-profit community theater and puts on four productions each year at the Decatur Civic Center www.decaturnet.org/theatre7 ; the Lincoln Square Theatre offers theater productions, choirs, ballet troupes, high school groups and professional solo performers www.lincolnsquaretheater.com; movie theatres are found in Forsyth, Mt Zion and downtown Decatur (the Avon theatre) www.theavon.com; www.gkctheaters.com Culture & art Formed in 1968, the Decatur Area Arts Council (DAAC) is a facilitator for the arts. It moved into the MaddenArtsCenter in 2004, a massively renovated historic building in downtown Decatur with art displayed in the AnneLloydGallery. www.decaturarts.org; the adjacent Blue Connection exhibits work for sale by Millikin students. Downtown has a few Art Galleries, one is Gallery 510 www.gallery510.org The Birks museum is a decorative arts museum with a strong emphasis on porcelain and glass; the collection dates from the 14th through the 20th century. Kirkland Galleries & Kirkland Fine Arts Center located in MillikinUniversity features three galleries and an auditorium with comedy, dance, music and performances. Many antique shops are scattered through town completing the cultural & art scene. The old Wabash Depot train station has been reconverted to an antique centre. The Children Museum of Decatur (opened in 1995) is one of the best in the country. Approximately 50,000 people visit the 20,000 sq. foot museum every year. www.cmofil.com The MuellerMuseum is dedicated to Hieronymus Mueller, showing his inventions, a history of the Mueller company and its products. The Macon County Historical Society and Museum complex offers indoor and outdoor exhibits highlighting the history of Macon County and Central Illinois, including a Victorian Home, the Lincoln County Courthouse, a one room school house, an 1860's home, an 1880 railroad depot and a smithy and a print shop. www.mchsdecatur.org Transportation Decatur is very centrally located and connected by I-72, and US 51; I-57, and I-55 are both within an hour driving. The city is within an hour of its ‘competing’ cities Peoria, Springfield, Bloomington and Champaign, two hours of St Louis and Indianapolis and 3 hours of Chicago. Decatur has an important business rail system and public transportation with a downtown trolley! www.dpts.com The DecaturMunicipalAirport is served by American Airlines from St. Louis and has private aircraft service. UPS choose Decatur airport for downstate jet air express delivery. www.decatur-airport.org Health Care Decatur has 2 outstanding hospitals, St. Mary’s www.stmarys-hospital.com and Decatur Memorial Hospital (DMH) . www.dmhcares.com Education/schools Decatur public school district (www.dps61.org) has about 12,500 students. About 2,000 students are in private schools (Decatur Christian schools www.decaturchristian.net; Lutheran Schools Association www.lsadecatur.net; St. Teresa High School www.st-teresahs.org; Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic school www.ololschool.com; Holy Family Catholic School www.hfcschool.org; St. James School www.stjamesonline.net) Richland Community College serves more than 4000 students and provides 29 associate degree programs for transfer to four-year colleges and universities. www.richland.edu (Private) MillikinUniversity offers five undergraduate degrees as well as an MBA program. Millikin has an outstanding reputation for theater and performing arts. www.millikin.edu Other educational resources: Macon-Piatt Regional Office of Education www.maconpiattroe.org
General links to schools: iirc.niu.edu www.bestplaces.net/school/ nces.ed.gov/globallocator/ Special Events: Since 1986, The Decatur Celebration is the highlight of the summer. This largest 3 day free family street festival in Illinois is held the first weekend of August in downtown Decatur featuring concerts, food, arts & crafts and a giant carnival with over 300,000 people attending. www.decaturcelebration.com Decatur's ProgressCity, adjacent to RichlandCommunity College, is the semi-permanent site for the Farm Progress Show, the leading outdoor farm show and showcase for the newest developments in agricultural technology. Every odd year for the next twenty years Decatur will be host to over 300,000 national and international visitors over the three-day event. Mardi Gras is celebrated in Downtown Decatur Arts In Central Park(September), a one day art fair with beautiful displays of art work and food vendors. The Decatur Civic Center offers the perfect environment for meetings, parties, concerts, expos and more! Some of the many events: home, lawn & garden expo, women’s day, Decatur business hockey, Decatur business expo, half year ice skating, etc. www.decaturciviccenter.org Tourism Tourism in Illinois is mainly day or weekend tourism with Chicago and Galena as the most popular destinations. Other tourist attractions in Illinois are the Lincoln Heritage, Route 66 and Amish villages. These are all present in or very close to Decatur. With a gorgeous historical district and being one of the most haunted places in the US, Decatur has more tourist potential than any other competing city. A recently state wide distributed brochure guiding visitors to 10 Lincoln sites in Decatur, the place where it all started, has already drawn more tourists to Decatur. This trend should continue as other initiatives emerge. Decatur Area Convention & Visitors Bureau www.decaturcvb.com
Decatur's government and organizations The City of Decatur and other government entities work on a general framework and have a global ‘top down’ approach for city development. Various organizations and businesses have a specific functional or geographical ‘bottom up’ approach. Both work together to govern, steer, develop the city and improve the quality of life. The City of Decatur developed a 5 year plan identifying and prioritizing community needs. The plan can be downloaded on the city’s official website: www.ci.decatur.il.us; Infrastructure work is a high priority and the city will continue property code enforcement and targeted demolition. Economic development actions are taken with tax and financial incentives. Some other high priority needs include youth services and employment training. Geographical organizations: The Coalition of Neighborhood Organizations (CONO) supports the formation, development and empowerment of neighborhood organizations. There are about 20 neighborhood organizations associated with CONO, mainly covering the inner city. CONO meets every 4th Tuesday at 7 PM in the Decatur Public Library. The Near Westside Restoration And Preservation Society (NWRAPS) focuses on the historical district and has an annual historical home tour www.nwraps.org Downtown Decatur is revitalizing; bars, restaurants, shopping, movies, and theatres; place for many businesses. www.downtowndecatur.com Functional organizations: The Chamber of Commerce: a pro-business network providing service, political advocacy and leadership to strengthen education, community image and local business; www.decaturchamber.com The Economic Development Corporation of Decatur and Macon County (EDC) is responsible for non-retail business attraction, expansion and retention efforts www.decaturedc.com The SCORE association (Service Corps of Retired Executives) is dedicated to aiding in the formation, growth and success of small Business providing free counseling www.decaturscore.org 501 Club connects young professionals with each other and the community through events, entertainment, networking and community information,www.decatur501club.org Human Service Agency Consortium (HSAC) promotes and facilitates collaboration and information sharing among social service providers and community agencies to improve human services and community life. www.decaturnet.org/hsac/# The community foundation of Decatur and MaconCounty helps local people develop a permanent charitable fund to support local causes. www.endowdecatur.org United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) Land of Lincoln: serving individuals and families with disabilitieswww.ucpll.org Dove: seeks to coordinate efforts to address unmet human needs and social injustices. Dove works for justice, equality and understanding among all people www.doveinc.org Big Brothers Big Sisters mentors children & youth to help them reach their potential through one to one relationships with mentors www.bbbs.org Easter Seals provides services to children and adults with disabilities and other special needs, and support to their families. www.ci.easterseals.com The HeritageBehavioralHealthCenter provides treatment for emotional disorders, mental illnesses and addictive disorders to promote behavioral health www.heritagenet.org/index.htm Macon Resources, Inc. promotes growth, independence and self-worth for children and adults with disabilities
Project Success of Decatur and MaconCounty is an innovative school based program that works to help children succeed in school. www.projsuccess.org/ United Way focuses on youth development, acces to healthcare and community basics www.uwdecatur.org Webster-Cantrell Hall serves children, youth and families in troubled circumstances providing for their physical, social, educational and psychological needs www.webstercantrell.org/ The Decatur Family YMCA provides various programs such as health and fitness, sports, day camp, community services, child care and more to serve the needs of the community www.decaturymca.org/
General links www.forbes.com lifestyle, real estate www.bestplaces.net www.whitepages.com; www.yellowpages.com: find people & businesses Decatur links www.ci.decatur.il.us Official website of Decatur www.decaturnet.org Calendar of events; www.decatur.lib.il.us: Decatur public library www.maconhistory.org MaconCountyhistorical society |