City Beat

         “Marijuana has gone mainstream, casino gambling is everywhere and sports wagering is spreading. Could prostitution be next?”      I didn’t ask the above question, but a writer for the New York Times, Jesse McKinley, did — just last week. McKinley wrote that lawmakers across the country are beginning to reconsider how to handle prostitution,…

       AMONG A disturbing number of actions coming out of the Illinois General Assembly last week, which included the legalization of marijuana, expansion of gambling and more taxes, the most grievous was the passage of the “Reproductive Health Care Act” which legalizes the killing of an unborn child at any stage of a pregnancy —…

       A search firm for the City of Decatur is looking for a deputy city manager. GovHR USA out of Northbrook, Illinois, has been running classified display ads in the Decatur Herald & Review indicating “The City of Decatur is seeking an experienced, innovative and committed professional to serve as Deputy City Manager, act as…

       • I WAS talking on the phone to a community leader Friday morning and, as we were discussing the terrible financial condition of the State of Illinois, guess what happened? I glanced up and passing by one of my fourth floor office windows the State of Illinois was heading down, down, down!      Actually, part…

       KUDOS to the Macon County Fair Association, and anyone else responsible, for the huge schedule of events at this year’s county fair June 4-9. Although its been 163 years since the first Macon County Fair was held, there were a few of those years when it wasn’t held, and, it appeared not that long…

  Hoisting the City of Decatur replacement flag on Monday are, left to right: City Councilman Patrick McDaniel, Civic Center Manager Chris Brodnicki and Civic Center Maintenance Manager Zack Burris.      As I wrote in this column a few weeks ago, McDaniel had purchased with his own money, and with the approval of the city council,…

         The Decatur City Council Study Session got a lot more attention Monday night — both from the citizens and probably from the council members. Instead of being on the tail-end of the agenda at the regular council meetings, it was the featured agenda item — and I think it is a good move.…

Yes, we do have an official “Decatur flag”!      Last week, I wrote in this column that a reader asked me if Decatur has a flag. “If so, what does it look like?” he asked. As I mentioned in the column I really hadn’t thought about it. Thanks to Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe, who contacted me…

       Newly re-elected City Councilman Bill Faber came to my office for a chat a few days ago and we discussed something that he feels very strongly about — planting more trees in the city. Faber indicated that cities need to think several generations ahead and he is concerned that the City of Decatur is…

       Candidates didn’t raise or spend nearly as much money in the Decatur mayoral and city council races this year as in some previous years — and a lot of the money raised came from outside of Decatur.      Friends of Julie Moore Wolfe received two $1,000 donations from the Greater Decatur Chamber of Commerce’s political…