City Beat

       Sometimes, after reading, listening to, or watching a day of news coverage about crime and disasters, it seems like only bad things are happening in our community and the world.      Well, Ryan Baker of Decatur says that’s not true. The headline on this column was expressed to me by Ryan in a recent email:…

       The photo on the front page of today Decatur Tribune, as the caption indicates, was shot by Herald & Review Photographer Bob Strongman 75 years ago and sent to me recently by Tom Hanks.      It shows a stretch of North Water Street in downtown Decatur that was a busy place in those days and…

     For those of you who might think that the sun is going to cook all of us one of these days, because it is getting hotter and hotter every summer, take a look at Tom Emery’s article on the front page of this week’s Decatur Tribune which states the hottest day on record in Illinois…

     Eighty years ago, during World War II, workers at the Decatur plant of the Houdaille-Hershey Corporation played an important role in the building of the atomic bomb.      The plant, on East Garfield Avenue, had long been connected to the automobile industry, first making automobiles and then auto parts and chrome-plated bumpers.      This week, in our…

          MY ‘VIEWPOINT’ column on page 3 of this week’s print and online editions is about the induction of Mayor Michael T. McElroy (Tuna) into the Decatur Hall of Fame.      As I wrote in this week’s column, it doesn’t seem possible that it will be 10 years next month since Tuna passed away shocking…

    “Chap’s Amusement Park”, the subject of this week’s “Scrapbook” on pages 4 and 5 of the print and online editions,, was located at 2901 North Main Street, and although it was very small, compared to the gigantic theme parks of today, it was an entertainment paradise for post-World War II Decatur area residents.      I know…

     Property taxes are become a real burden for many residents of Macon County and other parts of Illinois. Illinois property taxes are climbing faster than most homeowners can keep up—and there’s no sign of relief. That’s because, according to ATTOM Data Solutions, Illinois has “the highest effective property tax rates in the nation.”      Other sources…

     I realize that “March Madness” has been over for a few months and baseball is now dominating most of the conversation these days. However, this year marks the 80th anniversary of when the Decatur High School basketball team, coached by the legendary Gay Kintner won its third state tournament. (There would be a fourth state…

     So often these days, when I think of a place or event in our community that no longer exists, or exists in a different form, I find myself thinking “that can’t be that long ago” since it disappeared from public view. That’s the reaction I had when I drove by the former Roosevelt Junior High…

     Many years ago, when I published an article on Bradley’s Auto Court, one of Decatur’s early motels, my former classmate at Roosevelt Junior High School, Joe Keller, contacted me with a lot more personal information about Bradley’s.      Joe passed away in 2020 and looking through his comments about the auto court, that are printed in…