One Of The Nations Fastest Shrinking Cities: Decatur, Illinois 4K. 

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Fun fact Decatur was the original home of the Chicago Bears who originally were the Decatur Staleys

I grew up in Decatur. I've got to say, life was grand in the 70's. Graduated HS in 1976 at Lakeview. Moved to SW Florida in 79. Smartest thing I ever did. All of my family eventually followed. Great memories though!

Born and raised in Decatur IL. That place will always have a special place in my heart. I no longer live there but I will love that city forever

Born and raised in Decatur. Now I live in South Korea. My parents still live there, and I try to visit every year-and-a-half or so. (It has been hard with covid.) Every time I go back, it looks more and more rundown and the effect of the decreasing population is apparent. If manufacturing had stayed, it wouldn't be so bad.

As a life long member of this all inclusive nightmare 😅 I must add, public schools are nothing to brag about and the city government is to blame for the cities failure. No reason it shouldn't be booming like the surrounding major cities.

I left in 2005, came back in 2007 for family reasons, finally in Summer of 2013 after losing my job a failed relationship, I finally had enough and left. Leaving Decatur for good was the best decision I ever made for myself.

I actually live currently in Decatur. This place went from a blue-collar working town to a crime riddled city.

My grandfather worked at Staley’s for 50 years starting at a nickel an hour. He eventually ended up with an honorary doctorate in electrical engineering from U of I. My mother & father both graduated from Millikin. I know it’s tough to scratch out a living down there now but I wish them well and hope that they hold their head high.

You drove by my house in this video, pretty cool!

My husband and I moved here in 1998 due to a promotion while working for the State of Illinois. We should have known better when he was asked “do you know where Decatur is?” We left in 2014-moved back to Rockford-Decatur is nothing but a smaller version of Rockford in every way-taxes and crime are very high-both are old industrial towns. Living on the west side near Millikan was ok except in the summer time when the smell of ADM would wake you up- We loved going to Lock Stock and Barrel, the Winery and downtown- glad to be out of there despite the few good friends we made!

You forgot to mention how terrible the roads are

I graduated HS in 1979, left and came back in 2017. Left in 2018 and I won’t got back again

My hometown. When I left in 1980 the population was 95,000. I went to Stephen Decatur HS downtown. Then went to SIU-C, came back to Decatur and worked for a couple years and then left. Been living in So California ever since.

I grew up in Decatur. It was a great city at one time!

My Mom and Dad grew up there and used to have a lot of family there. My parents left Illinois for S. Indiana in the early fifties. We went to Decatur for family reunions every year and sadly also for numerous funerals in the sixties. Also in the mid sixties my uncle Ellis Arnold was the mayor. I think I might have a cousin or two left living there. Coming from a town of less than 10,000 population and getting to go to Decatur was always a thrill for a kid back then. I always liked it there and it is sad to see it declining. BTW the mills owned by ADM were originally founded by the Staley family. The Chicago Bears started in Decatur as a company team, the Decatur Staleys. Now for that piece of trivia you owe me a like. lol

I am and alum of Millikin and lived in Decatur for four years. I loved Millikin and my time in Decatur. I think Decatur gets a bad rap. All cities in the U.S. struggle with the relocation of manufacturing to foreign countries. Also, Millikin has a great Business school and is noted for its music department. Next time you drive to Decatur take the time to drive around the campus instead of just speeding by. You'll find it to be a friendly welcoming place.

Damn This Video Brings Back So Many Memories. Grew Up On The South Side, Graduated From Eisenhower High School In ‘05, Joined The Army In ‘07 && Haven’t Looked Back.

I love your sound track music. It makes the video even better!

I am a new immigrant to Decatur. I sold my overpriced crappy 1930 1100+ sq ft house in Pomeroy, WA, and bought an unbelievable $178K 3200+ sq ft modernly renovated 1961 house with 2 attached car-garage. Go Decatur.

Born here and probably will die here. Although decatur isn't the most thrilling place to live, when I leave for vacations and come back, I'm always happy to see it ❤

One of America's most haunted cities. Built all on old Indian burial mounds. The city is cursed.

I live here n I hate it. I have moved in and out of Decatur all my days. I'm only here for my mom

I work but do not live in Decatur. ADM, Tate & Lyle, and caterpillar are keeping Decatur afloat due to the trucking industry

Decatur used to be a railroad hub (Wabash-N&W-Norfolk Southern) and employed hundreds due to Decatur's manufacturing... Firestone, ADM, Tate&Lyle, Caterpillar... just to name a few... Decatur is the halfway point between Detroit and Kansas City.

That smell you referred to was Staley's and were soybeans. I grew up in Clinton 25 miles to the north and I could smell it when the wind was blowing that way. My dad worked for railroad "Norfolk Southern" Wabash Railyard in Decatur right at Staley's and I can still remember the smell and the sight of the smoke stacks there when I would go there. Too bad you didn't get that on video b/c you could have referenced them and relationship to Chicago Bears as George "Papa Bear" Halas got their start right there as they were known as the Decatur Staley's and played on a company baseball field right by the factor in 1920 until they moved to Chicago as the Staleys in 1921 and then changing name to the Bears in 1922.

Lol. It's always someone not from your city that wants to try to give you a google education on it. 😂

That neighborhood south of ADM was there long before ADM was that big. And its beans cooking, not pollution.

I'm one of the rare recent transplants TO Decatur. I moved here from Colorado. Everyone here asks me why I moved here from Colorado. The answer is as simple as asking them why they don't move to Colorado from Decatur. The answer is simple- they can't afford to live in Colorado. Well, neither could I. I make a living as an artist. In Colorado, I could barely afford to keep up with the taxes on a small 2 bedroom ranch style house. So I sold that house, moved to Decatur, and bought a, literal mansion for less than half of what I got for my house in Colorado. My house was appraised at $1.5 Million by my insurance company. Mind you, I am an artist and I make an artist's wages... yet I'm living in a beautiful mansion that was built by a prominent physician back in the city's hay day. It's in great shape, and it's located in a beautiful little pocket neighborhood in the "Old Mansion District" which is not far from the university. It's quiet, the neighbors are amazing and friendly, labor is cheap (I don't bother to do my own yard work anymore, because I can easily afford to have others do it for me) and there is a ton of fascinating history here. The air in parts of the city does smell bad, due to the soy industry. But the air almost never smells bad on this end of town. I regularly have deer, wild turkeys, bald eagles, owls, and other wildlife right in my back yard. Yes, I miss the mountains of Colorado, but I am spending far less money day to day here, so I can afford to travel more. That, and the fact that my house here is more than 3 times the size of my old house, helps take away the pangs. Sitting and watching the fireflies from my 3rd story screened pergola while listening to a barred owl hoot in the woods next to my house, I can't imagine living a life so luxurious anywhere else. Of course this is all moot if you are dependent on local employment, as there aren't many opportunities here. If you telecommute or can work from anywhere, that makes all the difference. Decatur isn't a glamorous city, but it is certainly easier to afford a luxurious life here. I wouldn't recommend it to young people; there isn't much excitement here, at least not that's legal and safe. But for old folks like me who like it quiet, it's really not too bad. There's the lake for fishing and boating, and there are lots of organizations to get involved with. There is an historic mansion here (Powers Mansion, look it up, it's really gorgeous) that just recently was up for auction; the final bid was around $150k. However, the winning bidder failed to come up with the funds, so it's going back to the auction block with a minimum starting bid of $49k. Mind you this mansion would be easily worth $7 Million anywhere else in the country. Why is it so cheap? There are some issues with it, but mostly it's just because it's in Decatur. The winning bidder would probably not be able to repair it and sell it again for enough to make repairs worth it. Only someone who really loved it and wanted to live there would pay more than $100k for it, because it's going to need some repairs, and even in perfect condition, in Decatur, you would be lucky to get $300k for it. Property is just so severely undervalued here it's not even funny.

My dad was a police officer there in 70s and 80s I miss my home town sad what’s happened to it!

As soon as you get close to this town, the smell hits you hard. I made many visits to friends back in the early 2000s at Milikin University. But I got shot while off campus in 2004 and never went back.

I worked at Specter freight in the 70s bought my first house in Decatur.

This city does not look too bad. Chris didn’t play “Mean Streetz.” This looks like paradise comparing to East St. Louis.

I always remember that Poland's Glass building on Franklin driving back home from Pana as a kid, for some reason.

Thanks for the nostalgic tour of Decatur. I lived there for a year an eventually moved away

Thank you for coming I live in Decatur

Left Decatur when I was 21 in 2005 and moved to Orlando Florida.... My family still lives there but no way I'd ever move back. It's so depressing what it's become. Only things I miss is Krekels, Monicals and Lagondola

My Grandparents lived in Decatur and worked at CAT was a foreman there until they both retired. I have a cousin that works for ADM an lives there. I also have an aunt & uncle living there he retired from Post office.

I was born and raised in Decatur and moved to Springfield then moved to Arizona. I’ve only been back 3-4 times and it’s only to visit Krekels. How I miss Krekels 😩😩😩😩

Horrible area. Born and raised there till I was a teen. Will never go back!

Cameron’s mom went to Decatur, so it can’t be THAT bad!

Every time I watch one of these rust belt videos, it reminds me of Brave New World, in that the 'elites' had retired to their chosen cities and left the rest of the land (and people) to waste away...

If I remember correctly, they love their traffic lights. 4 on each side for a total of either 12 on a T intersection to 16 on a crossroad. All that money IDOT put into this.

I used to work and hangout around Decatur and Bloomington years ago!! After most of the manufacturing places left Decatur started going downhill really fast then gangs started taking over Decatur!! After I left IL in 2018 everything started going downhill fast!! After moving back to Bloomington three years ago I was really disappointed and heartbroken to find that everywhere I used to go to no longer exists anymore including friends and family members!! Now sadly I just want to retire and move back home to spend the rest of my life with my family,!!

Lived in Decatur for 45 years and on one of the streets you drove down for 42 of those years. Really enjoyed the video. Only comment I have is when you showed the downtown area, you only skirted the south edge of downtown which is not really representative of the downtown area.

I've got family in Decatur. Mostly cousins now. I used to go there pretty often as a kid to see relatives. My uncle used to be the caretaker of Garman park in town.

My daughter graduated from Millikin University in the 2012. Great school in an armpit of a city. I was always concerned for her safety there!

Love the videos. You should do a video of the small towns in central illinois. Hammond, Atwood, Arthur (Amish Town), Lovington, Arcola, Tuscola, Garrett. You could get all these towns in one video.

What music do you use in your videos? Also I’m glad there is still some work in Decatur unlike East St. Louis which is full on vacant ghetto

I was born at Decatur Memorial Hospital. My mom was a nurse there. We left in the 80s right after I completed 3rd grade and moved to Atlanta where I was raised. It was the best move my parents could have made. I don’t think I would have anywhere near the life I have now had we stayed in Decatur. I eventually moved back to Illinois and have been in Chicago since 95. I went to a family reunion in Decatur this past summer and it still looked the same.

As a born and raised Decaturite and still attached I found it amusing that he didn’t show 85 percent of town. He pointed out a handful of empty lots in otherwise decent neighborhoods. Unlike so many of his other videos I wonder why he didn’t peruse true Decatur blight. Such as anything north of Eldorado between Woodford and Monroe and south of Garfield for the most part. The number of empty lots, abandoned houses and burned out shells of such would’ve been an entirely separate video. Plus I truly agree with others in that there are plenty of nice neighborhoods within the community. Yet as anyone from the area knows being Decatur will never thrive and grow like it’s neighboring cities. Our city council having always been chaired by farmers will never allow it .

I was born in St. Mary's hospital in Decatur in June 1968. long before they added the top several floors. Grew up in Mt. Zion and we left in October of 1983. Was 33 years later I went back for Christmas. ive never driven in Mt. Zion or Decatur so I don't know the lay of the land. My preschool was across the street from the Airport off 121 I remember. lots changed on my tour of Mt. Zion, but lots changed. our old neighbor is still there and his pile of lawn mowers in his back yard has gotten severely bigger. Don't miss it and never expect to return. I remember going with our parents to get our new Plymouth Sports Suburban Wagon in 1973 at Hazelriggs Chrysler/Plymouth!

I grew up in Decatur, Illinois and graduated from Eisenhower High School. I attended the original Eisenhower High School before it was rebuilt. I wound up joining the Navy in the early 90's right after I graduated from high school. Decatur at one time had tons of jobs that you could easily get a factory job and work there until you retire. When I was deciding to get out of the Navy some of my Navy buddies told me not to do it and I some what wished that I had stayed in and gotten my retirement from the Navy. I was young and did not know any better and decided to come back to where I grew up at which was Decatur. When I came back I was definitely trying to get on at any of the factories in town, but had no luck in getting on and if I did they were dead end jobs. This included ADM. I worked when I first came home at the old Hydroponics plant that grew tomatoes, cucumbers, roses, and fish. That plant is no longer there at ADM now. I even tried a temp service when I first came home because my sister her boyfriend that she was dating from high school for 7 years got on with the old ZEXEL factory that did not last very long in Decatur. ZEXEL basically made auto parts for Saturn and foreign cars. My grandmother worked at the old Crane Potato Chip factory until she retired. My grandfather worked for Norfolk and Western Railroad which is now known as something else. He was a foreman at the railroad until he retired from the old shop. Yes Decatur does not have much of an airport at all. When Decatur designed it they were not thinking about international flights at all. I have flown out of Decatur like you mentioned to fly into a much larger airport like St. Louis. I did that for the Navy for a few flights. Eisenhower High School was built in the 50's I believe it was and the Decatur Super Intendent who was running the Decatur Public Schools decided to tear down Eisenhower and MacArthur High School because the old schools did not have the metal detectors at the main entrance of the schools, and they did not have CCTV cameras all over the building for security to monitor what was going on in the hallways of the school. At one time Decatur had a Lakeview High School which you would have passed by on Brushcollege Rd. Lakeview High School was bought out by ADM. Several times something would happen at ADM and destroy Lakeview and ADM had to spend the money to repair the school. Then twice Decatur had at two different locations Stephen Decatur High School. If you had driven down on Eldorado St. you would have driven past the Civic Center. That very location there was where the original Stephen Decatur High School stood at. It was a old gothic three storied building I believe. Then the city of Decatur decided to tear down that high school to build a Civic Center which is a joke I hate to say it. I have heard that some time in the late 80's or early 90's that a group came to perform at the Civic Center there in Decatur and the acoustics was awful! I went to a wrestling even there back in 1989 when the WWF which is now known as the WWE had a wrestling event there and it was one of the small card events that might air on a weekend program. If I wanted to go to a concert I always had to head out of town like Champaign at the Assembly Hall which is now called State Farm Center I believe due to the University Of Illinois selling the name to State Farm Insurance. I always had to head out of town like to Champaign, Springfield, Bloomington, Peoria, Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis, or some other places. I used to in my 20's head out of town to go party in Charleston, Champaign at Campus Town, Bloomington, Springfield, and even SIU when some friends of mine attended college to go party. That is how bad Decatur was. I joined the Naval Reserves in the late 90's and right after 9/11 I was recalled and stationed up at Great Lakes for Operation Noble Eagle for 2 years. When I finished up my time I did not want to move back to Decatur because it was dying and moved right over the border to Kenosha, Wisconsin and lived there for 5 years. I was away from Decatur for 7 1/2 years, but came down for the holidays to see my parents, and grandparents. Plus, Tate and Lyle moved corporate headquarters to Hoffman Estates because executives from Tate and Lyle were embarrassed about executives driving through Decatur. If the executives wanted to clean up Decatur they should have spent money to make Decatur look better. My father retired from ADM. I moved to Champaign it will be 5 years ago coming this July due to my federal job. I wanted out of Decatur and I am possibly contemplating in moving to another state as long as I can transfer to another federal position because I want to get my 20 years in of being a federal employee. I have already it will be this August 10 years of federal service. Decatur is nice to visit, but a lot of people that I knew from grade school on up until high school and graduated with them from high school have moved away and I always joke with them about Decatur wants them to move back with their kids because it is hurting due to losing population. LOL They always tell me, "Hell no they do not want to move back!" LOL

18:28 That dog sure wanted his 2 minutes of you tube fame.😂 Great video!👍🏻

These videos explain you was actually culture of Midwest and especially in Illinois great work by the whole team amazing videos👍👍👍👍👍

Lived here till I was 8 then escaped that dump to south Florida and have never went back. Enjoyed playing Ice hockey and playing in the local creeks as a kid but left at a good time.

I’m sitting at my desk at adm right now watching you drive by it 😂

Decatur has some great suburbs. Mt Zion, Maroa and Forsyth are three outstanding communities among others

I love you Mom and Dad Bertie Higgins is my uncle he came home when he would travel from California to Florida he would stop in and all the kids would run around in the backyard

Notwithstanding the poverty and crime rate in Decatur, Good Samaritan Inn takes care of feeding those who are in need. From your video this really does not look like a bad place to live, so it's a shame that a once thriving city has become what it has become - abandoned and poverty-striken.

You know a downtown is dead when there are no parking meters

Graduated EHS 1965 76 yrs old I bet I’m the oldest one watching. Worked at ADM

Born and raised here and I’m so ready to pack my bags and leave !

Decatur definitely has problems but is not a terrible city. Plus equal distance from Chicago, St Louis & Indy.

My Grandpa’s & his whole family is from Decatur. My Grandpa eventually moved to Charleston but the rest of his siblings stayed (I think) I grew up in the Florida Keys so I didn’t spend or actually met that side of the family. I remember 1 time I went with my dad when I was up visiting to Decatur & he showed me the Kater St or Kater Ave cause he knew I’d get a kick out of seeing my last name on a street sign lol

I was also born in Decatur a long time ago. I went back in the mid 1980‘s and our old neighborhood had degenerated into a slum, with many undesirable people hanging around. Too bad that Decatur and many midwestern cities are now in the „rust belt“. Next time you be look at a product that says „Made in China“, you will know where the jobs went.

You forgot to stop by my house.

worst thing about this place, is it is in one of the top corrupt states in the US

The music to this video is great.

What a chaotic town. The urban planning is insane. Also sad to see crime has gotten so bad there cause there is some serious potential in the city still. I see that a lot now. Clinton not too far from Decatur was a beautiful little town.

Even when it came to major big box stores and malls Decatur turned down an opportunity to have the hickory point mall in the city limits. It would have been in the west side of town. But the city council voted it down by one vote and they have regretted it since. This was back in mid-late 70s. Instead of Maroa-Forsyth reaping the benefits the Niantic-Harristown area would have seen growth. I'm sure it's not the only opportunity they shit their nest on. They don't even have a major grocery store chain other than Kroger. Other neighboring cities like Champaign, Bloomington and Springfield have schnucks, hy-vee, meijer, etc. Although Decatur did have schnucks at one time but lost it.

Decatur is quite AF I love it here I'm from Compton CALIFORNIA

Thanks for sharing Moving to this city soon

Well my Grandparents lived there. My mom was born there and I used to visit Decatur every summer. I understand some of what is being said but ... it's always easy to tear down. It has some simple beauty to it. I love coming back to Decatur and am saddened when I see the closed business's. But next time I am "home' O will shoot a video with a positive twist. Every town has its problems and its positives, all in how you look at it.

I’m from Decatur and still have family there. Not the most hopeful place for sure.

One of the things that makes Decatur business unfriendly is the stubborn unions. Zexel left because they didn't want a union shop. Crane/Burks pumps closed and moved to Ohio after a long union contract renegotiation. The remaining businesses don't like how aggressive and stubborn the unions are. Other home grown businesses left like Decatur Electronics. I think new businesses are skeptical about locating here because of the unions. Illinois is not a right to work state on top of that.

Glad I escaped!!!!

For a couple smaller cities, try Robinson, IL and Olney, IL. :)

Just returned to Urbana, Illinois from my first (and last) visit to Decatur (less than an hour away from Urbana). Your videos describe accurately and honestly our "little town Illinois" landscape. For example, Decatur: that town’s air smells so bad from factories polluting the air that I almost threw up! I feel sorry for the people who must live or work there or who are forced to breathe it to survive! I watched another video about Decatur on youtube and not a word was said about that terrible smell in the air. You on the other hand did notice it. People who do “promotional” videos can hide the truth for a about a city until people actually visit that city such as Decatur and realize they have been conned. You are probably right about the effect of high property taxes on the Illinois economy. I also lived in Homewood, Illinois where the town cleverly offered financial incentives to businesses to come to Homewood which is how Homewood is still thriving. Unfortunately we live in a world where business magnates will take their businesses where taxes are low. Back to Decatur. OMG this town's air is what hell must smell like! I went over a bridge in main part of Decatur which was engulfed in a cloud of air that smelled as if a bad school laboratory experiment went terribly wrong! That's what happens to a town when big industry arrogantly pollutes our air presumably to "save" jobs! To hell with such jobs if it means destroying our health or the environment we all live in. No wonder people have been getting out of Decatur in droves. I did too as soon as I could. I went there to explore house prices which seemed ridiculously affordable only to head back to the highway to Urbana/Champaign as soon as I could because of such foul smell. What a sad depressing town. The houses that were for sale look good on Trulia but when you visit them in person you see boarded up homes all around, you hear the echo of loud yelling and smell the chemicals in the air. Is this hell on earth or what? I decided never again to venture away from Urbana Champaign area for a house.

Thank you for this video...very helpful 🙏 👏

Decatur is a great city!! I’m from Florida and I’m in love with Decatur. It’s not what you see on this video. There is more to do. The Devon area is amazing! Maybe you just need more time on the place

I love my home town

I recently moved to here and oh boy what a ride has been :( hopefully it gets better

I interviewed for a job there after graduating college (this would have been in the early 1990s). It was for a company that made radar detectors. They did not offer me the job, though.

My dad grew up on east leafland Ave I live there for a short time for about 4 years then I came back to California I kinda miss it had fun there lol but I'm sure it's not the same as it was back then

I live here moved up here from Texas 3 years ago and then met my Husband. It's not that bad, it's just how you make the best of things.

i lived in Decatur for one year (not long ago) near Memorial Hospital. I heard gunshots and sirens most nights.

Firestone was about the first to bail.

I am born and raised here in Decatur Illinois I love it I could never leave it I am sry 😂

I went to high school a eisenhower dated some great guys rusty griffin Ron Taylor Paul reed. We graduated in 1965

12:18 Take US-36 west; and you would see Denver, Boulder, & Rocky Mountain National Park.

Do Shelbyville Illinois

Cool video!!! I grew up in Decatur and have moved away & back again. It was thriving when I was a kid in the 70s/ 80s now not soo much. I havent been on some of those streets on the east side in years because its not safe or the same anymore.... Sad this city is dying....

I really love Peoria Illinois that's my favorite city😊😊❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

9:27 - i fly in/out of that airport all the time. you get a ticket and your flight will go to O’hare and then you will connect and fly on as smaller plane to Decatur- in air time is about 40 minutes and it costs like $100-$150. It’s not crazy expensive and they usually have 1-2 flights back and forth from Chicago per day. It will probably be the smallest airport you have ever been in… the waiting area to board your flight is about the size of a waiting room for a dentist. I fly in and out of Decatur about 25 times a year and the average flight size is like 9-15 people

Only 2 things keeping Decatur going is caterpillar and adm without those 2 that town is a dust bowl.

I work at the Adm plant you passed in the video

4:16 back side of the old Firestone plant on the right

The old Staley plant is now owned by Tate and Lyle. The putrid smell comes from the processing of corn to make ethanol. It's a smell that is hard to descibe and hard to inhale!

My daughter and her mother live in Decatur, I grew up in Springfield. It’s been a dump as long as I can remember.