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First remove the plank from your own eye
Wednesday, Apr 17, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller * A member of the Eastern Bloc…
The link is to an Illinois News Network article about an AARP poll taken months ago about seniors who want to move out of Chicago. The freshman GOP Rep. Caulkins lives in Decatur, which lost the Archer Daniels Midland world headquarters to Chicago. The top execs just didn’t want to live in Decatur any more. They preferred to live and work in the big city. * And those execs aren’t the only ones leaving town…
* Decatur has had this problem for a long time…  Legislators in this state should be working together to solve a problem that is hurting everyone rather than constantly trying to score cheap political points against other regions. Putting down Chicago won’t help Decatur one bit, Representative. And it might actually make your own town’s problems worse.
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- Unpopular - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 12:04 pm:
Perhaps if Decataur was able to separate itself from the failure factory of Chicago/the current state of Illinois, it could have hope of being able to help itself stem it’s own population loss.
Mock, laugh, attack however you want. This movement is going to continue to gain traction as this state is sent over the political cliff by far left partisan orthodoxy.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 12:06 pm:
===Perhaps if Decataur was able to separate itself from the failure factory of Chicago===
ADM execs separated themselves from Decatur and fled to that failure factory of Chicago.
You’re being fed a bill of goods and you’re either not smart enough to see it or there’s something else going on.
- Blue Dog Dem - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 12:09 pm:
.maybe if Decatur Declared itself a sanctuary citizen it could pick up a population gain.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 12:10 pm:
–The freshman GOP Rep. Caulkins lives in Decatur, which lost the Archer Daniels Midland world headquarters to Chicago.–
That 800-pound Matzoh ball in the soup means nothing to cheap charlatans like the Eastern Bloc.
Those dudes mounted a stage in front of a statue of Lincoln to do their UHF-televangelist secessionist bit in front of bunch and Stars and Bars wavers.
If you can revel in that scatter-brained contradiction, you can choke down anything. They’re not interested in governing or bettering their communities, they just want personal notoriety, in the worst way.
- Moe Berg - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 12:11 pm:
OK, Unpopular. I won’t mock or laugh. Could you please share a few things Decatur would be able to do if Chicago was no longer a part of Illinois that would attract jobs and people? If the answer is, essentially, “cut taxes and regulations” could you explain why that didn’t work in Kansas?
Also, if Chicago is a “failure factory”, why have there been so many corporate HQ relocations to it, like ADM?
- City Zen - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 12:12 pm:
==The top execs just didn’t want to live in Decatur any more==
Nor teachers.
- Union thug - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 12:13 pm:
The ironic thing is most want out due to ADM. That small is a real killer
- Blue Dog Dem - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 12:13 pm:
…sanctuary city…
- Give Me A Break - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 12:15 pm:
Maybe Decatur should ask Peoria about keeping their Fortune 500 executives in a non-Chicago city. OH wait, never mind.
- vole - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 12:22 pm:
Less traffic for farmers to drive their tractor convoys thru Decatur on the way from one ten thousand acre tract to the next ten thousand acre tract. Selections of industrialization of the heartland.
- Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 12:29 pm:
Republicans nurtured these prejudices with years of dog whistles, so with Trump fomenting hatred and division, this is what we get.
Where are Republican leaders to stand against this hatred? Are they stuck with these types of voters and afraid to alienate them? This should bode poorly for their future election prospects.
- A Jack - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 12:29 pm:
Politics might smell in Chicago, but Decatur just smells as anyone who has ever lived within 20 miles of Decatur will attest.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 12:30 pm:
–Mock, laugh, attack however you want.–
Will do. And you keep getting played by those who obviously have no respect for your intelligence.
- Leslie K - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 12:38 pm:
==Soy City Motel==
I was so certain that was a typo, I googled. Nope–dive hotel, with icky name that turns out to be Decatur’s nickname. I get the soybean thing, but maybe they could work on a more appealing nickname as a first step in stemming the outflow of people.
- JS Mill - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 12:42 pm:
=Nor teachers.=
nor Families
=Mock, laugh, attack however you want. This movement is going to continue to gain traction as this state is sent over the political cliff by far left partisan orthodoxy.=
So what? Is that supposed to put us on notice? Get already.
- don the legend - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 12:42 pm:
===This movement is going to continue to gain traction as this state is sent over the political cliff by far left partisan orthodoxy.===
Unpopular, “movement” is an interesting choice of word. More appropriate than you may have intended.
- Norseman - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 12:44 pm:
What you’re seeing is a typical ploy by lazy politicians who want to blame others for their failure to work with others on solutions to problems which plague our communities. We need leaders, but were getting plugged in pols accountable to their donors rather than the people they serve.
- West Sider - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 12:46 pm:
Hey Representative- How ’bout dem Staleys?
- someonehastosayit - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 12:46 pm:
Am I the only one who senses that “Unpopular” seems excited by the prospect of a failing Illinois?
- Retired SURS Employee - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 12:46 pm:
==Soy City Motel==
I was so certain that was a typo, I googled. Nope–dive hotel, with icky name that turns out to be Decatur’s nickname. I get the soybean thing, but maybe they could work on a more appealing nickname as a first step in stemming the outflow of people.
Edamame City Motel?
- Iggy - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 12:47 pm:
what’s a Decatur?
- sewer thoughts - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 12:49 pm:
thank you don the legend, I always cringe when I hear about “movements” as they tend to bring me to …sewer thoughts
- Leslie K - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 12:56 pm:
==Edamame City Motel?==
I like it, Retired SURS Employee.
- OurMagician - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 12:59 pm:
The one thing Dan does like from Chicago though was Liberty Principles PAC money in the primary.
- Louis G. Atsaves - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 1:00 pm:
Making fun will solve all the problems Decatur and other parts of this state are facing. The secessionists hold positions I simply refuse to support, but making fun only makes the situation worse.
Since my first visits to Decatur in 1980 defending Workers’ Compensation cases, it has lost 24% of its population through 2017. It also lost more than just the executives at ADM, they lost most of the factories in and around the area that were shuttered and abandoned since 1980. Back in 1980, the IWCC heard Workers’ Compensation cases an average of 8 days each month. At present, the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission doesn’t even hear cases in Decatur, a reality now going on something like 6-7 years. Any injured worker in Decatur now has to drive to another venue within its “zone” to have his/her case heard.
A few more facts to giggle over, I guess.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 1:02 pm:
Doesn’t Decatur have significant crime and poverty issues? Perhaps the freshman’s attention should be directed there.
- Northsider - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 1:07 pm:
Iggy @ 12:47: It’s French for “The Catur.”
- Lucky Pierre - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 1:15 pm:
Maybe if the legislature would acknowledge downstate cities are competing with our rural neighbors who do not have Chicago laws and regulations
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 1:17 pm:
–the secessionists hold positions I simply refuse to support, but making fun only makes the situation worse.–
How so?
And how would abandoning all reason and taking their cynical snake-oil nonsense seriously make things better?
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 1:19 pm:
–What you’re seeing is a typical ploy by lazy politicians who want to blame others for their failure to work with others on solutions to problems which plague our communities.–
Caulkins just got to the House in January. This is the first-and-only card he’s played.
He’s in it for the notoriety, nothing else.
- 47th Ward - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 1:24 pm:
===Making fun will solve all the problems===
We’re mocking, not making fun. We are mocking a guy who proposes a radical non-solution as a way to pander to the gullible people in the area who are seeking someone, anyone to blame for their problems. We are mocking the guy who was elected to address and try to solve some of those problems, but who instead chooses to inflame the debate and further divide our state.
I’ll continue to mock that behavior, while working hard to make sure idiots who espouse this separatist rhetoric are exposed and defeated at the ballot box or in the legislature.
- Skeptic - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 1:27 pm:
If only we had term limits…
- lakeside - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 1:27 pm:
==making fun only makes the situation worse.==
What, then, is the correct response to, “But what if all the things I see were not as they definitely are, but, instead, conformed to my wishes?”
The Sovereign State of Decatur’s a new one, though. I look forward to reviewing the plans to excise the town from the absolute middle of the state and the grand new offerings of the Lesotho of the Midwest.
- Paying Attention - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 1:30 pm:
I’ll trade the state of South Illinois (New Illinois? West Indiana?) for the states of DC and Puerto Rico. Can we make this happen?
- A Jack - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 1:32 pm:
@Iggy… Decatur was named for a Revolutionary War naval hero, Stephen Decatur.
- kitty - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 1:35 pm:
Rep. Caulkins uses manipulative, divisive and provocative rhetoric to incite constituents while supporting an economic agenda primarily benefiting the wealthy to the detriment of the middle-class. His campaign accepted significant financial assistance from Dan Proft’s Liberty Principles, a PAC dedicated to the destruction of organized labor, prevailing wage laws and environmental regulations. Decatur has serious problems which aren’t being addressed by Mr. Caulkins’ rhetoric.
- A Jack - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 2:02 pm:
Decatur does have a serious drug problem. They blocked some streets in an attempt to cut down on drug deliveries. I recall seeing kids hawking drugs on street corners in the middle of the night. Chicago may actually help Decatur by pushing the legalization of marijuana and putting drug gangs out of business.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 2:24 pm:
==Edamame City Motel?==
Edamame Inn, Miso Manor, Tofu Villa Resort.
- anon2 - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 2:24 pm:
Under the fair tax probably 95 percent of Decatur residents would get a tax cut and another four percent would see no increase. Yet the Representative from Decatur will vote against allowing his constituents to vote on it.
- Last Bull Moose - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 2:26 pm:
Decatur is named after the war of 1812 naval hero. His dad fought in the revolution.
Decatur proper has hollowed out with many moving to better schools and safer places in Forsyth, Maroa, Warrensburg, and Mt Zion. It lost political power for a while when it was split among three districts. Penny Severns was an effective Senator but died of breast cancer while running for Governor.
- Shemp - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 2:34 pm:
So Decatur’s problems grow (as does most of the downstate), and nothing seems to have been done in 30 years from the General Assembly and the collective “we” doesn’t expect backlash at the policy making dominated by the NE corner of the State? If the likes of WS and such are so enlightened, what is the path forward for a place like Decatur or Danville or Freeport? Is it so hard to understand why downstate might be slightly resentful to the State’s policies which clearly aren’t working for them? Totally agree that mocking isn’t helping, but if it makes your superiority complex feel better, by all means, continue.
- Ole' Nelson - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 2:42 pm:
Miso Manor
Now that is Grade A, right there.
- Ole' Nelson - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 2:45 pm:
Shemp
Do you really think these guys have policy ideas that are going to help downstate economically? What are they? I see it more as an us vs. them split along racial, reproductive rights, and gun-ownership.
- Ole' Nelson - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 2:46 pm:
lines.
- 100 miles west - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 2:54 pm:
Macon County’s population peaked in 1980, and is now less than it was at the 1960 census. This has to do with a lot of things unrelated to anything the state can solve. Many Downstate counties are smaller than they were before the second world war. This is not a new trend, and not an easily solvable problem without a lot of money for infrastructure. As a lifer Downstate, my question is what state polices would you change to make things better? My kids want to move to the suburbs because there are Stabucks and Target stores and lots of people and things to do. They don’t like Walmart and Dollar General. This is common, and has nothing to do with state policy. State Policy didn’t make farming more efficient or pass NAFTA. BTW the Indiana Miracle appears to have bypassed Gary.
- cover - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 3:11 pm:
= Edamame City Motel? =
Good luck getting Decaturites to say that correctly. The Soy City Motel is located very close to the Staley plant on Eldorado Street, pronounced with a long “a” like the town in Southern Illinois. I can already hear it in my head, “edda - maim”…
- Flat Bed Ford - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 3:19 pm:
Eastern Bloc = Three newbie’s being led by a has-been down the path of irrelevant.
- Mama - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 3:31 pm:
When jobs dry up in one city, people have no choice, they have to move to where the jobs are.
Illinoisans need more jobs below I-80.
- nadia - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 3:58 pm:
By the time the coal fired power plants are done closing there will over 500 more good jobs gone in downstate. Those so-called replacement green jobs pay a lot less than the jobs lost and they likely won’t have anywhere near the benefits.
- Citizen of Decatur - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 4:05 pm:
As a citizen born and raised in Decatur, just scrolling through these comments builds more disdain for Chicago and the elitist attitude towards the rest of us. The disconnect and disrespect for those of us outside of Chicagoland is a major part of the problem.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 4:09 pm:
===The disconnect and disrespect for those of us outside of Chicagoland===
You have a reading comprehension problem.
Nobody in Chicagoland thinks much about Decatur. But when y’all go out of your way to insult them, they clap back. And then you go crying to mommy that they hit you back.
Mess with the bull, get the horn.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 4:18 pm:
==The disconnect and disrespect for those of us outside of Chicagoland is a major part of the problem.==
Which comment is disrespectful of non politicians outside Chicagoland? I see none.
If you happen to be a politician, Citizen of Decatur, well politics ain’t beanbag.
- DuPage Bard - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 4:18 pm:
The key is downstate will look to start competing with the Alabama’s, Kentucky’s and Tennessee’s for non union manufacturing.
They’ll repeal ACA and cut services to poor people. They’ll get rid of all gun restrictions and push for new voting rights laws so people don’t vote wrong at the polls. They’ll lose their prisons and health facilities and more. Carbondale and Eastern will be done within two years.. They’ll do a Scott Walker on state employees etc etc.
There’s no hiding what they’re going for. It’s this and more. And truthfully the voters down there don’t care. if they did you wouldn’t have one GOP member representing Eastern Illinois University after the budget impasse.
- Citizen of Decatur - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 4:19 pm:
@Rich Miller
That is entirely my point. First you say I have a reading comprehension problem which seems to belittle my viewpoint.
===Nobody in Chicagoland thinks much about Decatur===
That’s the attitude I’m talking about. Look I personally know some great people in Chicago and rather enjoy visiting from time to time but it’s that kind of attitude that people down here get tired of.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 4:21 pm:
===That’s the attitude I’m talking about===
Oh, for Pete’s sake.
Henceforth, I decree that Decatur shall be at the forefront of everyone’s minds in the City of Chicago.
- RNUG - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 4:21 pm:
== They’ll do a Scott Walker on state employees etc etc. ==
Rauner already tried that approach …
- Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 4:31 pm:
“The disconnect and disrespect for those of us outside of Chicagoland is a major part of the problem.”
This is projection. The problem is downstate hatred of Chicago. Downstate is who wants to separate Chicago from the rest of the state, not vice-versa. Now is that the way so-called religious people are supposed to act, hating their neighbors?
- DuPage Bard - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 4:54 pm:
RNUG- thats why they want the separate state. They know it can’t be accomplished via the legislature but they’ll accomplish if they can have their own state.
As long as they don’t touch guns and are pro-life they’ll be allowed to vote on anything else they want.
- Decatur_movedback - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 5:03 pm:
Caulking does not represent most of Decatur. Most of it is in Sue Scherer’s district. A small part of northern Decatur between Ash Ave and Forsyth and the far south part of Decatur are in Caulkin’s district, not the majority if it. He mostly has the small towns around it and notice he plays to those areas more.
He would likely would have lost if he had the city itself. Biggest problem for Decatur is just like smaller cities in most states. They are seeing jobs move to the larger cities, especially white collar like Caterpillar’s Tuscon move. If you are not a state capitol or a major University town, there is population decline and job loss. Losing those white collar jobs make it hard to recruit for the ones left like teachers and doctors. The same population shifts are still happening in the states Caulkin’s and others say are more business and tax friendly so they offer Jo aoltions there. For those talking “better” schools in surrounding towns…you misspelled segregated which is a huge problem as central Illinois has become one of the most segregated regions in the country.
- Cheryl44 - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 5:04 pm:
You can’t be a citizen of anything but a country. You’re a resident of anything else.
/word nerd
- Decatur_movedback - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 5:08 pm:
That should read Caulkins offers no solutions there. Next time I will not type on this mobile phone. Autocorrect and my thumps not typing well make a mess of a lot of things.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 5:40 pm:
==Those so-called replacement green jobs pay a lot less than the jobs lost and they likely won’t have anywhere near the benefits.==
Where did you get your information to use such a broad brush? Coal power plants provide good jobs, sure, but I remember during the 2009 recession there were $50 an hour jobs installing solar panels for a solar farm in California. I.B.E.W. currently is training apprentices to work on solar systems (which involve converting battery stored power to household AC power) and electric car outlets. Heating and Air conditioning workers are learning how to install geothermal pumps in homes. There is a lot of good paying jobs out there and they pay good wages and benefits.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 5:55 pm:
–As a citizen born and raised in Decatur, just scrolling through these comments builds more disdain for Chicago and the elitist attitude towards the rest of us.–
Scrolling through the comments, I see responses to Caulkin’s unprompted diss of the city and his secessionist grift.
If you feel that makes you a victim, then make the most of it and enjoy.
- theCardinal - Wednesday, Apr 17, 19 @ 10:58 pm:
My pop was from D town he fled in the late fifties for the big berg of Springpatch after college. He was not a factory type and my whole life growing up in said patch we always equated Stephen Ds place as a factory town and not much more.
- Grandson of Man - Thursday, Apr 18, 19 @ 7:32 am:
“Even the people living there don’t like the results of Chicago politics.”
They have a funny way of showing it. Chicago recently helped cream Rauner and just overwhelmingly elected a gay, black, same-sex married woman with a child.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Thursday, Apr 18, 19 @ 7:33 am:
So if employers aren’t attracted to small towns like Decatur there are solutions.
A capital bill will increase state spending and people of Decatur and other locations can work on our infrastructure. There is also federal money earmarked for military projects in several locations downstate that will put people to work. That money is on the tree and is ripe and needs to be shaken loose. None of the federal projects are less than an hour away from Decatur, but are close enough to help Decatur with the multiplier effect. Caulkins can help his constituents by making sure these things happen. He needs to get busy and stop this other nonsense.