Decatur Illinois (Chicago, Peoria, Springfield: houses, job outlook, neighborhood)

[llama214]

I will have to agree strongly with many of the other posters here. Out of the five, big central Illinois towns, Decatur is by far the worst in every category. Peoria has recovered very well from the fall of the industrial base, but Decatur has sort of taken on the Danville approach to survival, and it isn't working. Peoria realized that it needed to shift its approach to welcoming new buisnesses to the area. Now they are one of the premier places for healthcare in the state, and are nationally recognized on several levels for it. While you will see places that will remind you of the old steel and mill days, for the most part, the city has taken on a whole new outlook and view. Decatur is just stuck in this 'temporal vortex' and can't seem to get out. If your looking for cheap areas, BELIEVE ME!, there are way better options than Decatur! Forsyth is a consideration, but is only a suburb and many are only the small white collar population that feeds out of Decatur.

[javamdnss]

I grew up part of the time in Decatur, and even in the 70's it was full of crime, smelly air and racist people. (my relatives included)
We went back to visit in '95 and I was seriously scared. I used to be so mad at my parents for moving us away; now I thank them. I think it would be a very depressing place to live!

[scars5]

I took a job in Decatur about a year and a half ago. I relocated my family from Wisconsin. The weather is much better, but I must agree with most of the other posters...it smells terrible. I thankfully bought a house where my kids don't have to go to the city schools. They attend Mt. Zion schools. Mt. Zion is a very nice community. But there really isn't much to do here.

[scrapymom1]

I grew up in Decatur and soon after graduation joined military due to my parents influence have been disowned by family back in Decatur, would like to hear about Decatur . I have not been there for over 15 years

[Drover]

I've been sporadically visiting family in Decatur since I was born... best I can tell, not much has changed in 15 years...

[doll lady]

I agree with Drover EXCEPT for the crime. It is growing and growing and has even moved to Forsythe. Two days ago, at the mall, a group of teens opened fire with BB guns on a group of girls walking over to McDonalds. Each day on the news there is something brewing. I am now afraid to go there to shop.

ADM still smells icky. The street festival is great with good entertainment....I hope this crime thingy doesn't affect it this year.

[pajisca]

Originally Posted by NoLove4MO

Oh My God! I absolutely hate Decatur, IL!!! I lived there for a little over a year (Railroad relocated me here), and it was simply the most miserable time I ever had. The quality of life is horrible. There is absolutely nothing to do in Decatur, and even worst there's plenty of crime. The major employer is ADM, and they pretty much own the entire city. Its unimaginable that a company could get away with totally polluting a city's air and water supply without any penalty. Nevertheless, everyone is Decatur recognizes that without ADM the city would be nothing, so the citizens go about their lives with the smell of soybeans and a heavy steam (they call it steam, I call it smoke) in the air. Its gross. The only positives are Springfield (40 miles west), Bloomington (40 miles north), and Champaign (40 miles east). Many people who work in decatur live in one of these cities and just commute everyday, its not a bad drive considering you're driving through corn fields only.

Actually, ADM does get fined for any pollution is causes to the water supply in Decatur. And yes, they are hefty. Whatever it costs to clean it up and then some. Also, the STEAM that the corn process causes is NOT a pollutant to the air. The STEAM is literally that....just steam that smells really bad from the essentially cooking soybeans and corn. Yeah, it smells, but those companies provide us with things like corn starch, soy sauce, and a number of other products that help make dog food, beer, etc. I don't live in Decatur, but I'm there usually three days out of the week....and I'm willing to live with a little smelliness if it means I can have beer to drink and soy sauce on my Chinese food!!

[brightmidnight]

I'm from about 45 minutes away from Decatur. I've only been there a few times, for a spelling bee or that sort of thing. I would look into some other areas if you're looking for someplace similar to Decatur:

Champaign -- 40 minutes away or so
Springfield-- not too far away, houses the state government and the Lincoln tourism stuff so there will always be jobs
Greenville/Highland/Vandalia-- about 30-45 minutes away from Decatur, towards St. Louis
This is where I grew up. They're small towns, with some things to do, and that nice small-town atmosphere, but they are 30-45 minutes away from St. Louis, truly an awesome city with a ton of stuff going on. It's an easy drive and goes faster than that. You never have to worry about parking if you're going to downtown StL, because you just park on the Illinois side and take the MetroLink (light rail) over. These are great towns and closer to the action than nearby cities which are not near any big cities.

[uwishtoo]

Originally Posted by NoLove4MO

Oh My God! I absolutely hate Decatur, IL!!! I lived there for a little over a year (Railroad relocated me here), and it was simply the most miserable time I ever had. The quality of life is horrible. There is absolutely nothing to do in Decatur, and even worst there's plenty of crime. The major employer is ADM, and they pretty much own the entire city. Its unimaginable that a company could get away with totally polluting a city's air and water supply without any penalty. Nevertheless, everyone is Decatur recognizes that without ADM the city would be nothing, so the citizens go about their lives with the smell of soybeans and a heavy steam (they call it steam, I call it smoke) in the air. Its gross. The only positives are Springfield (40 miles west), Bloomington (40 miles north), and Champaign (40 miles east). Many people who work in decatur live in one of these cities and just commute everyday, its not a bad drive considering you're driving through corn fields only.

ADM and Caterpillar are the two major places left - I worked at both of them - I wont put any personal comments about ADM here - god forbid, Mark Chevron, the self appointed GOD and LORD over security might read them and tell me to "cease and desist" - HI MARK ! Yeah you will see this eventually you a** - and yes, Mark, if you think you know who this is - then you are probably right! So I am not hiding. But I am also not in Decatur anymore either. MUCH better life out west thank you very much - great job, great benefits and best of all NO MARK CHEVRON to bug me and harrass me. I LOVE it out here - away from Decatur and all the crack houses and thugs and break ins and midwestern REDNECK attitudes. I dont know how I stood it for 48 years - I will be back to visit often since my job gives me free airfare as part of my benefits but one place I wont be is anywhere NEAR ADM ! I will be seeing alot of ADM employees and friends though - sorry Mark, but you have no control over that, try as you did your best !

[uwishtoo]

Yeah ADM does own the town - they also think they own the employees - heck they even thing they still have some kind of power over FORMER employees - but my lawyers in Arizona say differently - lol push comes to shove and I am pushing back - even from out here