City Beat

         The most frequent topic of conversation in the community today, at least among the people I talk with, is about the number of restaurants that are being closed down following inspections by the Macon County Health Department. It’s also been one of the subjects Brian Byers and I have discussed the last two…

         Work on the parking lot of the Decatur Public Library started this week after the City Council recently approved spending nearly one million dollars for resurfacing and landscaping of the community eyesore. Fortunately, the parking lot is mostly shielded from view for drivers on North Franklin Street, one of the major arteries through…

         The 34th Annual Decatur Celebration is coming up Aug. 1-4 and our community has a lot to celebrate! As I travel around the community, I see so much going on in our city that speaks to an extremely bright future…thanks to the efforts of so many people who love this city and work…

         • I RECEIVED information from the Illinois Department of Transportation that indicated, with the extreme heat expected towards the end of last week, motorists should be ready to deal with “pavement blowouts” (pavement buckling). “The hottest week of the year means the potential for pavement failures will increase,” said Acting Illinois Transportation Secretary…

       I don’t think there is any question that the City of Decatur leaders will have to take a closer look at zoning rules that keep food trucks from parking in downtown Decatur. Over the lunch hour last Thursday, Romano Co., which owns the Millikin Court Building at 132 South Water Street (where our newspaper…

       I RARELY run one of our editorial cartoons within my column, but the one used in the print edition this week really caught my eye — especially the figure’s shirt with the lettering “Society Of The Perpetually Offended”.      The cartoon is about the outrage against former vice president and demo-crat candidate for president Joe Biden’s…

       I received a news release last week from the Illinois Department of Transportation concerning road construction lanes that were being re-opened, where possible, for the Independence Day holiday, to minimize travel disruption. Construction on the non-emergency roadwork resumed this past Monday.      I also received a list from IDOT regarding the road construction lane closures…

        I had an interesting one-on-one discussion with City Manager Scot Wrighton in my office one afternoon last week. We meet once a month to discuss and expand on what’s going on in the city and some of the ideas he and his staff are presenting to the mayor and city council for their input…

            It seems that people in Decatur and across the nation are, in increasing numbers, becoming the victims of scams. Some scams come over the phone, some in the mail and a growing number from the internet. Warnings of scams being worked in Macon County are often issued by the state’s attory and sheriff’s offices.…

         This year’s Macon County Fair was a huge success and I am so pleased for all who worked so hard to make it happen. It wasn’t that long ago that fair was almost dead, but new life has been pumped into the annual event held this year the first week in June. Fair…