By: Diane Benjamin
h/t a reader
Raise your hand if you’ve always wanted to be just like Decatur!
According to this article, Decatur lost 1000 jobs in two years: 2016 and 2017.
This recent article says Decatur is annexing property to increase the population – whether people want annexed or not: https://herald-review.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/after-years-of-population-decline-decatur-is-annexing-hundreds-of/article_4064481d-2f15-532a-acea-6f9191ea1b39.html
Tons of articles are available. The population is now less than Bloomington, medium HOUSEHOLD income is $43,225, and Medium home value is $80,100. (Source: Decatur Magazine)
Bloomington’s City Manager Tim Gleason came from the City of Decatur.
Deputy City Manager Billy Tyus came from the City of Decatur.
The new head of the Economic Development Council, Patrick Hoban, worked for the Economic Development Corporation of Decatur and Macon County and later served in the economic development office for the City of Decatur.
If you’ve been counting – that’s three!
Well kids, you just got another one, read the last paragraph:
The Regional Planning Commission gets paid to dream up ways local government can spend money. They assist in getting grants to cover part of the cost. Think that seldom used trail from Chenoa to Shirley was an accident? (At least that’s where I remember it goes) They have mentioned one is needed to Champaign too!
Remember the East Side bypass that is hopefully permanently dead? They also “plan” for Bloomington and Normal and probably the County too.
In case you forgot, the previous Executive Director was also from Decatur: Vasudha Gadhiraju. She now works for the Town of Normal.
Diana Hauman, a former Alderman, is a recently appointed member of the MCRPC as is former Alderman, Jim Fruin. Others present, Normal City planner–Mercy Davis and two members of the Hile group–Julie Hile (Connect Transit Board) and Jonathan Siden.
What a tangled web. What a group…
Working in and being part of destroying the economy of Decatur is an apprenticeship of sorts before working in the Bloomington/Normal area.
So we have left wing socialist leadership in both towns and they can’t seem to understand the Capitalism thing and how it works. So they hire people who have already failed at their jobs expecting that (for some reason) they will suddenly succeed here? Which is why you don’t want leftist socialists anywhere near businesses or economic policy.
Add to the list Kristen Kendrick – Weikle, the new Unit 5 superintendent. She’s currently serving as the superintendent at Warrensburg -Latham, a school district just outside of Decatur.
This is the problem. They have “experience” to list on their resume but does anyone evaluate that experience. A person with new ideas and who can thing out of the box is needed, not recycled failures. My niece and all temporary employees were just let go at Caterpillar Decatur. I guess you jump ship when you helped sink the boat.
Your comment is so true….I believe this is how the Pantagraph, WEEK, WGLT, WJBC, WMBD and WHOI get their reporters. They list experience and that is all the further the reviewer looks. No checking to see if any talent really exists that would equate to doing a good job.
Good grades in college are unimportant. Frivolous majors in college don’t matter. If they’ve worked for other like minded people in government jobs, they just keeping getting passed along. That’s the whole idea. That’s why they are admitting anyone to college even if they’re grades in high school were awful. I believe ISU is now serving that purpose. Just get that diploma to somehow lend illegitimacy to their “credentials” which nobody checks on.
Nice to know that BN is the lifeboat for Decatur government hacks. What have any of these people achieved while in office? Years of experience and past work under the same title means nothing. What did Hoben and Gleason and these other characters accomplish while in Decatur? Koos, Renner, and the local clique want someone who will do what they’re told and think inside the box. These guys are just puppets, paid handsomely to do as they’re told and not question things.
One would THINK, with ALL the studies, consultants, and plans that these folks all seem to embrace, they would be able to hire SUCCESSFUL people, just like the private sector! Not seconds, hand-me-downs and cronies, like is shown. Most ANY successful LARGE business, IF they see BETTER things being done elsewhere, by OTHER people, go and hire them AWAY from such entities!! NOT embracing unproven “talent”.. Do you think that State Farm got where it is by hiring lawyers that it beat in litigation?? No, they hire the ones who BEAT them..
Maybe nobody outside of Illinois wants to move here!