The Right ARMPIT of Illinois | Danville

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Danville most certainly is the right armpit of Illinois. The city might be the most economically depressed city in the state. It's continued to be one of the fastest shrinking cities in not only Illinois, but in the entire country. In this video I tell you about how Danville was able to grow to be the size that it was, along with all of the factory closures over the years that has helped make the city what it is today: An urban blight mecca.
0;00 - 17:25 A Mostly Dead Downtown / Current Issues
17:25 - 19:35 Last days of the Village Mall
19:35 - 33:36 More of today's issues in Danville / Ugly east side
33:36 - 40:57 The worst part of town
40:57 - 50:53 Vermilion Street & The towns history
50:53 - 55:09 Chris's Livability Score
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Опубликовано:

20 июн 2024

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Комментарии : 367

@ChrisHarden Месяц назад

See more of what Danville looks like here: - There's A LOT of abandoned stuff to see in this one. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-feoBFbWcTFk.html Armpit Cities Playlist: ru-vid.com/group/PLkAKbwTlGHeKiBMIC2RcftN5mUGrzp4VO Illinois Playlist: ru-vid.com/group/PLkAKbwTlGHeKoOBxconpFSyUSO32NKREy USA Small Cities Playlist: ru-vid.com/group/PLkAKbwTlGHeKtFmPCMocWgfnB7jOr5M1Q Help me grow my other channels! Chris Harden's Travel Archives: www.youtube.com/@chrishardenarchives Nostalgia Tours Radio: www.youtube.com/@Nostalgiatoursradio ==================================================================== EVERYTHING THAT I USE IN THE FIELD: Main Camera: amzn.to/3iS4vvF Side Cameras: amzn.to/2WuCYIs Media Mod for Camera: amzn.to/3j7CMGF Lav Mic: amzn.to/3lsMkz9 Drone: amzn.to/3ITcKBV SD Cards: amzn.to/3C2co9O Camera Mounts: amzn.to/2UXVR6p Cables Required for Longer Recordings: amzn.to/3BYnr3Q Computer: amzn.to/3787b2j External Hard Drive: amzn.to/3lb23Tf WHAT I USE AT HOME: Computer: amzn.to/3rKIdiN Sound Mixer: amzn.to/3C15Ubx Microphone: amzn.to/2VaCjvo Microphone Accessories: amzn.to/3v7A35Z INTERACTIVE MAP that shows you all of the places that I've made videos on: (Doesn't always work on mobile devices. Will always work on PC.) www.google.com/maps/d/u/2/edit?hl=en&mid=1Lhzf04ocimPu-ROkg4cfXEYEvKMNnlI5&ll=34.29834970801405%2C-91.53765609999999&z=5 SOCIAL MEDIA & CONTACT INFO: Email: ChrisHardenYT@Gmail.com On Twitter: twitter.com/Chris_Harden55 On Instagram: instagram.com/c_harden7 On Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisHardenYT DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you. As an Amazon Associate I do earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. As always, thank you for supporting my channel!

@pizzaearthpancakesandother2549 Месяц назад

Dan Ville is really more of an Arsewhole City or more accurately Village to be Frank Chris

@cynthiacossu5234 3 дня назад

We moved here to purchase an established, successful small business in Danville. Located just a mile or so from downtown on a residential street. Most of our customers are not from Danville. Our quilt shop and 36 bed retreat center is one of the largest in the mid-west. People come from all over to sew, quilt, eat, sleep and repeat! Our customer base brings in quite a bit of revenue for the city. They visit and spend money with us as well as eating and shopping in local Danville restaurants and stores. Our shop was created by repurposing an old nursing home in 2007. We take pride in our business and always have a well manicured lawn. When there is an adjacent piece of land that becomes available, we purchase it so that we can keep our area clean. Unfortunately we have some abandoned houses and houses in disrepair along our street. Would be nice to see it cleaned up. I guess you could say we have a bright, happy space in Danville. We offer beautiful, quality fabrics, sewing and embroidery machines, machine service, classes and events, as well as a retreat center. Visit us sometime at Threads of Time on Buchanan Street! 😊

@michellelewis6247 Месяц назад

I grew up in Danville. It was starting to go downhill when I was a teen in the 1980s. It's only gotten worse; sad to see my hometown take such a nosedive...

@MikeB3542 Месяц назад

Danville really took a hit when Wyman Gordon and GM closed their plants...they were bleeding off workers all through the 1980s and shut down for good in the 1990s. Nothing left but the prison and VA hospital.

@buckjones4901 Месяц назад

Do most people vote Democrat there?

@ericswires8534 Месяц назад

I had a bus driver for oakwood school school named Mr Wise. Back in the 80s. He was a mean old bastard. 😂

@bonniebaert3592 28 дней назад

@@buckjones4901oh no, they definitely do NOT. At least in the rural county area it is in.

@7thsonofa7thson80 17 дней назад

@@buckjones4901right because all republican run communities do so well.

@netbucks Месяц назад

Another good video Chris! I grew up in West Lafayette, Indiana--back in the 60's Danville and Lafayette were virtual mirror images. Now Danville is a ghost town and Lafayette is a bustling, growing city with gleaming new factories and high tech research and development labs spun off from Purdue University. Keep up the good work--I never miss your videos!

@Bonzi_Buddy Месяц назад

A mexican bakery too.

@MikeB3542 Месяц назад

The key to West Lafayette's success is having Purdue in town. It's why Champaign-Urbana is relatively prosperous compared to neighbors Decatur and Danville...the University is both a large industry unto itself, and access to research and educated workers pulls in industry. Danville really depended on GM and, to a lesser degree, Wyman-Gordon Forge. (Arguably, the closing of Wyman-Gordon was what tanked Harvey, Illinois).

@mclovin2155 2 дня назад

Acting like West Lafayette isn't another bleq shithole.

@somerandomvertebrate9262 Месяц назад

A city like this doesn't need a boardwalk. It needs manufacturing and industry.

@cocoaorange1 28 дней назад

Preach it!

@spaceghost8995 25 дней назад

That will not happen.

@jordanhurst6555 22 дня назад

& the best factory in the area (quaker) just closed down a couple months ago. I worked there & theres not a factory close to what they gave us.

@7thsonofa7thson80 17 дней назад

It needs jobs and industry.

@livejay9062 6 дней назад

If you live in a place like that, and enjoy the outdoors, why not? Poor people should probably just suck it up until they deserve infrastructure

@rahuliyer7456 Месяц назад

From 1979 to 1987, Mom, Dad, my sister and I lived in Danville... Shorewood Point on the North Side. Mom and Dad were MDs in this town. In 1987 we moved away to Virginia, then New York, then to Dixon IL. As I write this, I am a resident of metro Phoenix AZ...for the last 14 years. Danville has seen better days. Perhaps the best way forward in this post industrial landscape it to start figuring out how to attract a technology mindset....like a data center. I have always said that Illinois is a high tax and business unfriendly state. This is part of why I left. The people that run all levels of government need to start thinking "about the economy stupid!"

@ronaldhall2489 Месяц назад

Arkansas looks a lot better to me

@KyRipsnorter 25 дней назад

The corrupt, liberal, Democrat politicians do not want a good economy anywhere, and that is true in Illinois. They like poverty, because they can more easily control those who are dependent upon them for life's necessities. There is no saving Illinois as long as the corrupt, liberal Democrats continue to control the politics of this state. It is very sad. I am from Hoopeston, IL, just 25 miles North of Danville.

@rickmoore4776 15 дней назад

why did you move back to this shit hole of a state ?

@kendalson7100 Месяц назад

Downtown doesn't look too bad. At least it looks neat and clean. I've been much worse places than Danville. Don't know how well a casino in an area with high unemployment will do.

@GG-vx7gi 28 дней назад

The lack of available labor is a greater issue than unemployment. Many of the unemployed are also unemployable due to substance abuse etc

@kennybubash3278 Месяц назад

Another fantastic video. The historic facts are mind boggling. I’m looking forward to the next video

@shelbyz1974 Месяц назад

Thank you for the video Chris! It's good to see some previous residents of Danville helping with rehab costs of the theatre. Not sure whether the town will ever revitalize to what it once was, especially with the high taxes and everyone leaving the state. Can't wait to see your other videos you have coming from IL!❤

@sunsetcaptiva8573 Месяц назад

Really like the evolution of your videos, all of the newer tweaks have been excellent choices / additions.

@ChrisHarden Месяц назад

Thanks, if I’m not getting better after every video then I’m not doing it right

@paulp9050 Месяц назад

Baseball Hall of Fame member Robin Yount is from Danville and should of ben mention. He is the only player ever to win the MVP award twice playing two different positions of SS and OF.

@dianayount2122 Месяц назад

amen

@stevecarr32 Месяц назад

46:03 Point of clarification: The GM plant was not actually in Danville. It's site was located in the neighboring town of Tilton. Municipal property taxes would have been paid to Tilton rather than Danville.

@siphomogale779 Месяц назад

Chris you explain clearly hence I enjoy your show

@ChrisHarden Месяц назад

Thanks!

@TomMcBoston Месяц назад

Amazing the number of celebrities who were born and raised in Danville.

@ChrisHarden Месяц назад

I know right?

@dreed7312 Месяц назад

Was Bobby Short on that mural? I'd have to replay it to see.

@derrekgrapp7421 Месяц назад

The legendary dirt latemodel driver Bob Pierce lived in Danville at one time. Now they live in Oakwood.

@petebondurant58 6 дней назад

@@dreed7312 That is Bobby Short.

@kire115 Месяц назад

Thanks for sharing Danville. I’ll now be buying a lake house on Lake Vermillion. Good livin!

@laurafoote214 Месяц назад

thank you for the video, i've never made it down to Danville.

@ericswires8534 Месяц назад

Danville was great as a kid growing up on the 80s. Spent hours at the mall playing video games at the Jolly Jester.

@sunsetcaptiva8573 Месяц назад

Thanks! A donation to the Hill-Jack Mountain Dew fund! You deserve so many more subscribers and views

@Minelaughter Месяц назад

Rich 🤑

@ChrisHarden Месяц назад

Very generous, thank you!

@seichewarning3864 12 дней назад

your research is amazing. great channel, first visit.

@stopspyingonme9210 14 дней назад

Thanks for going for me. I live near the highway near Chicago and take the signs towards Danville and didn't where it was

@Phil00484 Месяц назад

Kickapoo State Park has a great MTB trail system thanks to local volunteers. Worth a visit.

@avgjoeavglife Месяц назад

Kickapoo is a funny word.

@69eddieD Месяц назад

@@avgjoeavglife Better than Stepapoo.

@avgjoeavglife Месяц назад

@@69eddieD LOL

@paulj6756 Месяц назад

A few years ago, Danville had a fairly successful hockey team in the Federal Prospects Hockey League: the Danville Dashers. For some reason they were replaced by a team in the Southern Professional Hockey Leagues -- the Vermilion County Bobcats. Just a couple of months into the season they were scheduled to play the team from the Quad Cities. There was a post game skate scheduled too. Well the fans showed up, the stadium staff showed up, the Quad Cities team showed up, the line-ups announced, and Quad Cities lined up for the National Anthem. Quess who didn't show up? The Bobcats! They went out of business without telling anyone. So the Quad Cities team treated the fans to their post-game skate!

@ChrisHarden Месяц назад

Ha wow. Had to look them up. That was 2021?!? Hard to imagine Danville being able to support any kind of minor league team.

@paulj6756 Месяц назад

@@ChrisHarden Both the FPHL and SPHL are very low level hockey leagues. They pay their players next to nothing. Neither league has player development contracts with the NHL.

@RivermanTV- Месяц назад

I grew up in Danville and still visit the area to spend time with family and work as fishing guide on the Middle Form Vermilion River which is Illinois' only National Scenic River. It's located in Kickapoo State Park which is a gem just outside of town and isn't far from Kennekuk County Park, another great place. Those are definitely bright spots in the area. At about the the 48 minute mark you state that business continue to close along the business corridor which is technically true. However, by and large, much more business has been added to that part of town over the last 5 years than lost. Some of it not being due to lack of business, rather corporate decisions influenced by venture capital or private equity which continues to kill aspects of our economy all over the country. Anyways, I know your theme is doom and gloom, but there are some really nice and normal middle class areas in Danville not shown in the video and the city really isn't as bad as it's chalked up to be and has some unique characteristics to it. There are definitely more blighted areas in the state with nothing to offer their residents.

@ChrisHarden Месяц назад

Hmm. I showed some really nice homes along Vermilion St heading up to the area that you’re speaking of. Maybe you didn’t catch that part of the video. I’ll be showing more of the area that you’re speaking of in the 2nd video. I agree that Kickapoo State Park is a bright spot of the area. I also find it extremely hard to believe that there’s been more business growth than decline in that corridor over the last 5 years. I saw 2 store closing signs when I was there. One was a music store. The places that have closed absolutely have done so due to a lack of business. Otherwise they wouldn’t have closed their Danville location. If their Danville location was profitable, then they would’ve continued to operate in Danville. I know of many cities of Danville’s size that share similar problems (a declining 30k population or so) that have a much, MUCH larger selection of stores and restaurants in town. - My theme isn’t doom and gloom. My theme is truth telling. Some people don’t like it. Thats ok with me.

@RivermanTV- Месяц назад

@@ChrisHarden you drove by no less than 5 businesses that have been built in the last two years and some that are currently being built. The entire development around Meijer has sprung up in the last couple years with some stores being added in the last year alone. I'm not sure that suggests declining business on the whole. The music store that's closing is a family business that's been around for a long time. The available press states that the owner is 80 and she thinks "it's time." While I'm sure business has slowed, I wouldn't find it hard to believe that they're retiring and selling the property. Red Lobster, as another example of a closing business, was one of 120 other stores that were closed. The current owner, Golden Gate Capital, sold the land from beneath the stores and began renting it back to the restaurant at a rate of 12,000 USD per month. So according to private equity, the store was all of a sudden not making enough for corporate to keep it open. Don't you have to ask whether or not that's an absolute decline in business or a decision to benefit private equity that comes at the cost of stores that were profitable for the previous 20 years, even during the midst of a financial crisis? I did catch that portion of the video with the nicer homes. I just wanted to add there's good amount of that that I am sure is hard to include in a video. And respectfully, I've driven up and down Vermilion probably hundreds more times than you in the last 5 years. I can attest that, even if hard to believe, more has been gained recently than lost. I wouldn't call them hugely beneficial businesses to the local economy, but it's better than nothing.

@jadewatson2440 27 дней назад

But how many do the new businesses employ compared to the ones that left.

@ted356 25 дней назад

I have family in and around Danville. The old city has definitley gone downhill, but I think the bad reputation is somewhat amplified by RU-vidrs. Illinois, overall hasnt done all that well. Anyway, Kickapoo Park is still a wonderful place to visit!!

@joannunemaker6332 Месяц назад

I enjoyed this video. 😊❤

@rachellynn1507 Месяц назад

17:26 When it comes to malls, It's NEVER a good sign to see a Cititrends store at a "thriving" mall‼️

@ibezzant Месяц назад

It's so incredibly depressing what has happened to our country. Here's a perfect example of how much manufacturing leaving the country has killed the US and in particular the rust belt. In the late 70s Dayton, Ohio had the same median household income as Seattle. That blew my mind. Almost every blue collar entry level job that used to provide a living wage has left the country and its killed so many cities like this.

@gels1922 Месяц назад

WOW - $90,000.00 for being mayor of Danville. Outrageous for sure

@jetsons101 Месяц назад

Chris, when you were driving around Main Street and even some of the other streets there seems to be a lack of graffiti -- that's a good thing....

@craignovy2090 Месяц назад

Another gem of a production with peerless expert fact filled narration, surface video that feels like being in the vehicle, spectacular drone work, an extremely creative way to show old coal mines (check it out) with spot on when needed background music. Whether the town/city be rich or poor, big or small, cross country and or scenic tours the viewer will be informed and entertained.

@michaelmathes1991 Месяц назад

A big part of the problem is when they tore down the housing projects in Chicago they moved to Danville.

@berniemarkley Месяц назад

True! Section 8 housing in Danvile has helped in its demise

@slrobinson Месяц назад

what?

@shelbyz1974 Месяц назад

That's all the suburbs. It started happening in the 90's.

@michaelmathes1991 Месяц назад

@@shelbyz1974 Your right but Danville got hit hard. The northern suburbs by the lake got little to none at all.

@bonzocleach2496 Месяц назад

@@michaelmathes1991 The wealthy north shore burbs didn't get any; but North Chicago, Waukegan, and Zion got plenty.

@graysonbuttercheeks3136 23 дня назад

I worked at the Devro Teepak casing factory in Danville back in 2002. Some of the nicest people I’ve ever worked with there.

@berniemarkley Месяц назад

If Scott Isenhauer still lives in Danville, he must be crazy! I knew him when he worked for WGFA radio in Watseka. I don't know how he remained mayor for so long. Having lived between Danville and Kankakee for 60 years and to see the continued deterioration of these two cities and the state, as a whole, is alarming. I moved out of IL in 2016 due to the reasons you state in this video. Extremely sad!!

@allamar9083 Месяц назад

Scott ,was the ONLY mayor that ever called us back. Ever ,,in 38 years. Everyone else is too busy after they are elected. So there’s that. He got screwed by the Clowns who actually run the Mayor.

@dreed7312 Месяц назад

Heartbreaking.I left in 1969. Went back once to bury my grandmother. You drove right past Abe Lincolns law office several times without mentioning it lol. Not that it matters. Many buildings are so old that I remember them. I wish you'd called out the streets as you drove down them though. I think I knew where you were but wadn't certain. My mom knew all of those celebrities, dated one of them, our home was right down the street. This is a bittersweet memory lane for some of us.

@SlumericanDream 27 дней назад

It's on a upswing right now, though it was hard to get much lower. They've invested a lot in razing buildings that needed it, improving and adding parks, many new small businesses popping up.

@6300As Месяц назад

I used to go to Danville alot in the 90s early 00s it was already heading down to a bad time I recall the closest store would be the county market but was peaceful but now it's downhill sad I spent alot a time there

@erictorow250 Месяц назад

Other than that your videos are amazing as always 😊

@user-vg6vx9ve7j 20 дней назад

Nashville, Illinois I remember the flood of 1993 in St Louis. Last night in this town at 3:00 AM we got a severe thunderstorm this morning when the light of day there were so many trees down. Dexter Lombardo 🧔 🤠

@andygetz7343 23 дня назад

I used to flight instruct at Danville Airport. There is an abandoned control tower there from a bygone era. Someone had been living in it. There was an aquarium and clothes up in the top area where the controllers hang out. This was in 2003 I wonder if it's still there.

@audrisampson 27 дней назад

Interesting view from the outside looking in. I lived in Danville from 2003 to 2016. I worked at the Fair Oaks complex for a part of my time there. Fair Oaks rent is based on income. Some rents were as high as like 150 and as low as free. Sadly the crime there generally wasn't the residents fault. It was people coming down from Chicago to visit. I once heard the manager of the location tell residents not to have baby daddies come visit to beat on them. I live in Vermillion County Indiana now so I still use Danville for things.

@BarbaraThorndyke 21 день назад

Boyfriends, baby daddies, and brothers. Leave them behind.

@samuelhowie4543 8 дней назад

I knew a number of people who worked for the cities housing authority and him claiming that they tore down some of the buildings in Fair Oaks because they hadn't been renovated in 70 years is false. They have had problems with thieves breaking into empty ones and stripping them of any copper there was.

@careywilliamson4709 Месяц назад

We used to drive through Danville on our trips from Hammond IN to Central Illinois on Route 1. Our excitement of Danville was the Big Indian and Tin man outside of a heat and air company

@ericswires8534 Месяц назад

They moved the Indian to Champaign I believe it’s at Curtis Orchard. I remember both of those. I think there was a miniature golf joint near there as well.

@jordanhurst6555 22 дня назад

Wrights heating & air is the place lol

@samuelhowie4543 8 дней назад

Wrights Heating and Air still has the Tin Man in storage.

@Automedon2 29 дней назад

Casinos and 'riverfront projects' seem to be the hallmark for dying towns. Oh, and wall murals too.

@ChrisHarden 29 дней назад

Spot on

@kybble Месяц назад

I also grew up in Danville back in 70's then move to Bloomington and then Springfield. Still have about 90% of my extended family there I still couldn't be in town for more than 10 mins without passing a relative. I hate seeing mansion sized houses in a town just falling apart. There is great architecture all though out the residential areas of Danville. Unique well build Homes just rotting away or being destroyed by vagrants. whats weird is when my grandma and grandpa were moving from TN they were supposed to be going to Danville In but ended up in Danville IL. They are only about 30 miles apart. that Kirby risk building used to be Coco Cola. I lived real close to there. You hit it head of nail with comment on why some blight in Danville when they closed the big projects in Chicago the people come down to Danville, Decatur Bloomington Champaign and Springfield.

@billj1836 Месяц назад

I live in Chicago and spent a lot of time in Danville in 60s+70s. Was real nice and laid back compared to Chicago. Then the demographics changed and that started the end. Last there in 2012. Looked bad and dangerous then. Now I feel safer in Chicago and that's unbelievable. Sad the way a small percent of people can ruin an town, large or small just with drugs and crime. All unpunished.

@bettykelly7565 Месяц назад

The fact that all the jobs left has nothing to do with it ,right?

@bonniebaert3592 28 дней назад

Yep, used to date a sheriff’s deputy who worked there and he told me some stories. 😬

@jKLa 28 дней назад

"All unpunished" certainly isn't true of criminals in Danville Illinois. An absurd statement in fact. The city has had a severe industrial decline.

@masonmullikin355 9 дней назад

I work there all the time that buildings gone now

@user-ys6nw5ju9j Месяц назад

80 percent occupancy rate must be related to Dalton Mayor

@larrys4618 17 дней назад

Dolton.

@Drewzer154 Месяц назад

My dad used to travel there during the mid 80s when he worked for EDS.

@SuperMickey57 Месяц назад

It's a shame to see Danville has declined so much. I went to Navy weather school at Chanute Air Force Base in 1985. We used to go to Danville on weekends when we didn't want to deal with the frat boys in Champaigne. It was still a nice town back then. They had some pretty girls too!

@BarbaraThorndyke 21 день назад

Honestly, your camera angles makes it look far better than it really is lol.

@reply_guy Месяц назад

Now THIS is actual reporting. Fake News could use a lesson.

@supercinos8924 Месяц назад

True, this is actual reporting, but please tell me what is and isn't fake news, I'm sure the answer will be solid

@rhcp4life697 2 дня назад

I live east of Danville 20 minutes over in Indiana. When we were kids even 15 years ago danville wasn’t as bad as it is now. The only times I go to Danville anymore is for gross burgers restaurant or as I’m passing through on my motorcycle

@joasiadornick242 16 дней назад

Looks like my town in ole calumet region. Hammond Indiana. Do one on us for sure. I’ve always wanted to and our mayor has actually done a lot. Bringing the downtown back is hard. Tried many things. I also work for school city of Hammond which is in dire straights to the point of closing three elementary schools and mine being one of them.

@Dee-7414 Месяц назад

Please, if you could do one on Waukegan.if you're ever in that Township.

@ChrisHarden Месяц назад

One day

@vince8436 Месяц назад

The 70s early 80s were great here. Then everything changed. Haven't lived there since early 80s.

@ChrisHarden Месяц назад

That’s too bad

@vince8436 Месяц назад

@@ChrisHarden Yes it is. I would like to retire to a town about that size that is still nice enough it not over priced for retirement.

@ChrisHarden Месяц назад

@@vince8436Columbus, Indiana. Bigger than Danville now by nearly twice the size. Plenty of affordable living options and as nice of a “small city” in the Midwest that you’ll find.

@vince8436 Месяц назад

@@ChrisHarden Thank You. I have driven past there many times in the past when I traveled from my Florida home to Danville to visit friends who still lived there. Last visit 2010. I will check out co!umbus maybe visit next summer. Keep up y The great work, I am subscribed and believe I have watched most of not all of your videos. Thank You.

@FelixzWrath82 Месяц назад

If you want a good town to do, I suggest Hopkins park illinois and surrounding pembroke township in illinois. It's worse then ford heights.

@ChrisHarden Месяц назад

Did a while back. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Okb0zaEgzq4.html

@MTXSHO9732vV8SHO Месяц назад

38:45 My mortgage/HOA in California to live in a gated community is $1050. I grew up in Iowa City/Cedar Rapids/Peoria you can HAVE those 😬winters😬

@jKLa 27 дней назад

Gotta say I'm m really not surprised about either Danville OR Washington DC being ranked the two "Loneliest" US metro areas! A lot of smaller isolated cities that have lost much of their sociel infrastructure a middle class local leadership class along with their economic base (while simultaneously sprawling outwards) have big problems with loneliness. They have had major social breakdown. But so do large, complexly fragmented and often unfriendly urban regions full of transient residents based on national and global financial, tech and government operations. I't's very easy for many to fail to keep up and end up getting lost in the rat race and often cutthroat status competitions of big, cosmopolitan urban regions!

@jimeddinger5407 Месяц назад

Please come to Lake County, Michigan, and do an episode.

@dylanmckinley2068 25 дней назад

Danville is my home town I hate the condition that it is in it has much potential and was once a great city. My parents and grandparents rave about how nice it was in the 60-70s

@ChadQuick270W Месяц назад

Danville, IL is a great place to watch trains (if one is so inclined). Outside of that I can’t think of much else there.

@cynthiacossu5234 3 дня назад

@TheShafe13 Месяц назад

U should def go back and redo all the cities u did in the beginning years and u should do my home town Joliet and make sure to compare the Eastside to the Westside if u ever do come here!

@ChrisHarden Месяц назад

Not redoing all of them. Only will redo a few here and there. The goal is still to go everywhere. Don’t want to be on an endless loop of re-filming the same cities over and over. That wouldn’t be fun. A video of Joliet is on the radar.

@jasonhsu4711 Месяц назад

A casino for Danville? The proliferation of gambling casinos since the 1990s reminds me of the alternate 1985 in _Back To The Future 2_ . Exactly how is it a good idea to make it more convenient for poor people to gamble away all their money? Or is there a secret plan to convince hordes of wealthy gamblers to visit the Danville casino instead of the casinos in Las Vegas?

@The1stClassVillain Месяц назад

Are you revisiting small towns you did videos on before? You have a older Danville video

@ChrisHarden Месяц назад

I’ll remake videos on a few here and there but I’m not going to redo a lot of them.

@clashwithneo Месяц назад

Can you do one on Watseka IL?

@richardbrown-cook9978 Месяц назад

7:09 was a very good and clever😂

@yourroyalhighness7662 Месяц назад

For the record, Dick Van Dyke was not born in Danville, Illinois but he did go to High School there. Dick was born in West Plains, Missouri. I make this distinction because many people refer to one’s hometown as the one that person was born in.

@loopyloo788 Месяц назад

I think the same applies to Gene Hackman. I believe he was born in California.

@chrisbartolini1508 Месяц назад

Which is weird since we have “birthplace” as a word to describe what you’re talking about

@ChrisHarden Месяц назад

Same with Eminem and Detroit. Nobody associates Eminem with where he was born… St. Joseph, Missouri.

@yourroyalhighness7662 Месяц назад

@@ChrisHarden I hear what you are saying but lots of people refer to their hometown as the place they were born. Of course, many may NOT do this if they spent their formative years somewhere else. I guess it depends on the individual.

@UserName-ts3sp Месяц назад

i think hometown is where you grew up mainly… by that logic id call danville his hometown

@MoctezumaStudios 23 дня назад

The thing about college towns... I live in Chicago and the UIC neighborhood is practically its own... city, in a weird way. Its 'empty' during times when school isn't happening. The area has seen a huge shift in business that close and never reopen, some have a short life span. UIC is surrounded by government and private support. There are town houses that help a few select wealthy people raise their families but, the commercial strip fluctuates so much .The only business I can think of that has survived, from its inception, weathering the pandemic, till now is 7-11. Jamba juice had their own problems, but several other name brands only make money when there are those enthusiastic college kids running around. When it gets too cold or school is not in session, those crazy birds fly back home and there is no money in the area. So it makes sense why Urbana would be a lonely town. I only choose to take a stroll or walk my bike when school is not in session or else you have buncha smelly kids bumping into things, ugh.

@thehappyhermit01 Месяц назад

Pat, I'd like to solve the puzzle.

@kinggamerz2838 Месяц назад

I lived here as a kid and man it was depressing we lived right by a cornfield

@JonathanButler-zd8qt Месяц назад

Any plans to go to parts of Philadelphia or NYC?

@zachfolts 27 дней назад

Please do Racine/ Kenosha, WI both of these city's are hurting

@thehappyhermit01 Месяц назад

Back in the late 60's, I had a cousin who was driving thru Danville one night. All of a sudden, a brick comes thru his windshield, but like the dummy he was, he stopped the car and "they" proceeded to drag him out and beat the tar out of him.

@ChrisHarden Месяц назад

These days in Danville you might have a brick come through your windshield if you’re driving WB on East Main past Vermilion. For a different reason though.

@swannoir7949 Месяц назад

"They" weren't in Danville in the 60s.

@thehappyhermit01 Месяц назад

@@swannoir7949 These were. As a kid growing up, we lived about 50 miles away. I think the year that happened was 1967.

@jetsons101 Месяц назад

Funny: The image of the sky at 2:26 looks like the wallpaper in Andy's bedroom in the first Toy Story......

@MacAttackCobra77 Месяц назад

Nw side of Danville is nice… I was told not to go into town after dark by my gfs family around 2010

@daveh893 6 дней назад

It's so sad that Danville and other Midwestern small cities have declines by so much.

@davidnemsick2200 Месяц назад

The buildings look like there in good shape.

@livejay9062 6 дней назад

Lifelong Hoosier- Marion, IN is way better off than Anderson, IN. My knowledge of downstate Illinois is fairly limited, but my experience with Danville vs. other not Chicago towns confirms your statement

@usernotfound40495 Месяц назад

Well they have a good Mexican restaurant and a decent Chinese buffet! The mall is hanging on by threads. I’m from Ambia Indiana and Danville was just as popular to go to for groceries and out to eat as Lafayette Indiana. It’s like the hood in the middle of a corn field 😂 not to mention they got two dispensaries, as long as lower middle class exists and it will for a while the working lower class have a home in Danville.

@robo60616 9 дней назад

Of all the rust belt /manufacturing small cities .this one looks the best one to fix up

@raydemos1181 Месяц назад

They should have a Buy a House for one Dollar program like Ft Myers did 35 years ago, then it gets renovated, and taxes are kept up on the property

@steveburlo8010 Месяц назад

Blame the taxes, but on a good note. You passed my old employer in video Courtesy Ford.. yes they have a dealership in Crystal lake, IL..

@supercinos8924 Месяц назад

Taxes are not entirely to blame, especially as these manufacturing centers outside of the Metropolitan cities do not stand as much of a chance as .Metropolitan areas since places like Danville have less Capital overall

@mykofreder1682 Месяц назад

Started as farming and transportation town, WW2 changed it and I suspect a lot of those businesses were run by local people. Those people ran their business to some extent and kept things going till the 70s, but these owners eventually retired or died. I rode my bike there from Champaign in 1980 and it was a decent town then, probably on the fumes of its WW2 self. Its main problem is Champaign is 20 some miles and Lafayette is 30 some miles away, much better cities with major Universities, it still is farm country, and someone's got to lose. If it were the size of Covington down the road, it would probably be OK, the highway exit might be its biggest business but gas taxes and closeness from the border hurts that.

@GG-bl9xt Месяц назад

can you do Charelston/Mantoon Illinois soon please?

@ChrisHarden Месяц назад

Did a video on both a while back.

@GG-bl9xt Месяц назад

@@ChrisHarden ok. I will try to find it. Thanks

@ChrisHarden Месяц назад

Charleston: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vscXFNOlzjk.htmlsi=pUZJbrFKnyr9XtrE Mattoon: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TQ2Ms1FOhV0.htmlsi=L0tG3oHsOZ0q-Cig

@rcusa4863 Месяц назад

With the exception the projects, I was surprised to see that the Danville streets appear to be very clean. Almost, as if Danville is saying "we are cleaning the slate to attract re-development". I think that is always the first requirement for any struggling town; that is, demolish and remove any abandoned buildings. Hope it works; I really do. However, high Illinois taxes will not allow that happen. Illinois needs both pension reform and property tax reform that will give its struggling towns, like Danville, a fighting chance to survive and to attract new businesses and new residents.

@jKLa 27 дней назад

Truly blighted or unsound buildings not feasible to restore (and those with no real esthetic or historic value) should be demolished only when helpful for developement (sometimes repear and reuse is cheaper), while single family homes may not be financially feasible to restore depending on conditions. But demolishing empty commercial or larger residential buildings that are still in good condition or that can feasibly be repaired (which partly depends on if there are people potentially interested in and capable of doing so!) is a bad idea as smaller cities especially need to distinguish themselves by their history. Historic preservation where feasible tends to greatly help a town attract those with money, especially in smaller cities away from large urban regions!

@ronaldhall2489 Месяц назад

I will say it does look nice and clean

@Juju_The_Dude 15 часов назад

The fact that he filmed on a sunny day and brightness/quality of the video is deceptive. I live near Danville and have been there many times. It is FAR from nice and clean, trust me. It's rundown and dirty as hell.

@robinrussell7965 Месяц назад

I was shocked to find out that Danville, CA is an upscale suburb.

@ChrisHarden Месяц назад

Danville, Indiana is only a little bit over an hour east of Danville, Illinois. For a long time Indiana's Danville was just a small rural town. Now it resembles some of the more upscale Indianapolis suburbs.

@IAMHERE486 Месяц назад

Danville, CA is very nice and wealthy.

@jKLa 28 дней назад

Sad and bleak, -clean looking streets though and nice history. Too bad it's being lost to decay. Btw official commercial occupancy rates ( just like with residential vacancy rates) only include usable buildings and not abandoned or uninhabitable structures. So the downtown Danville vacancy rate is the actual vacancy rate of spaces downtown, -which doesn't mean the mayor is necessarily correct about the vacancy rate!

@randyravis8413 Месяц назад

Decatur, at least we aren’t Danville

@EricArmstrong-vo6dp 5 дней назад

What the left armpit? Decatur or Rockford?

@air4334 Месяц назад

What are u driving ? Vehicle ...

@jordanhurst6555 22 дня назад

I worked at Quaker % made good money. Now i make almost as what i made at quaker. It was by far the best factory in the area

@ronl7131 15 дней назад

Great mountain bike trail at Kickapoo……

@ChipWoods-bp3ex Месяц назад

I used to visit Quaker and Bunge before I retired.

@jetsons101 Месяц назад

You have a depressed area, loss of jobs, a poor infrastructure and you put in a Casino ??? Who's bright idea was that ??? Try some job training and work on bringing jobs back.....

@UserName-ts3sp Месяц назад

a casino will at least bring in some tourist revenue and create a few jobs. if you’re a border town like danville is… use it to your advantage

@jetsons101 Месяц назад

@@UserName-ts3sp Misery always seem to follow gambling.

@shnibby69 16 дней назад

I’m a Hoosier that lives 35 miles from Danville, IL. In the 70’s, we would drive to Danville to buy liquor on Sundays. Now we drive there to buy weed. There’s 2 dispensaries there, now.

@bobvinson3601 Месяц назад

You review all of these cities and their employment percentages... all of the businesses that have left and how run down these cities are, but you never mention the state facilities which are probably the main reasons these cities are still functioning. There is a state prison in Danville..

@Squatch_Rider66 Месяц назад

Same story as a hundred other Illinois towns. Destroyed by state government policies that drive business to more accommodative locations.

@302Mustang13 Месяц назад

Hey now, we're progressive and darn proud of it. So proud the population is declining every year and more and more businesses pack up and leave.

@jays1079 Месяц назад

Let's get real here. Businesses and corporations have screwed over the entire country, not just blue states. And when they move out of blue states to move to red states, it's again the business or corporation screwing over the workers with lower pay and screwing over cities by getting tax breaks.

@69eddieD Месяц назад

Taxes destroyed communities close to the state borders. There's no reason to shop in Illinois when you can drive right down the block and pay way less tax. For that matter, there's no reason to live in Illinois when you can move right down the block and pay a third of the property tax you were paying in Illinois. But Illinois got revenge! Everybody from Indiana and Wisconsin comes here to visit our dispensaries. When I saw Danville (1980) it was about as redneck as a town could be. A townie told me I better have my hippy ass out of town by sundown. Now you can buy pot there legally. Mind blowing!

@supercinos8924 Месяц назад

"The grass is always greener in the other pastures, America will be great again once I am in the next State over despite the declines of all of the states regardless of progressive or conservative policies"

@michaelm3345 Месяц назад

Illinois also has East St. Louis and Cairo which are pretty bleak

@playboyx8856 Месяц назад

Danville where ppl in Chicago go when they become homeless or on the run for a crime back in the day😂

@pizzaearthpancakesandother2549 Месяц назад

It's important to note the French origin of Dan Ville. In FACT the word Ville is a French term for Village which means if Dan Ville was NOT French it would be called Dan Village or just Dan, like how Gary City is named Gary. AMA I mean even France Fries are really America's Fries

@KaraMiaSantaLucia Месяц назад

French were in Indiana and Illinois before the English. Many were voyagers and fur traders with the Indians. Came down into Indiana/Vincennes into Vinceness County IL, along the Red River (Vermillion River)…then moved their way down to St. Louis to St. Genevive. Illinois is for the Illini Tribe, the -Ois part is French.

@owenriggs8518 Месяц назад

This video is 100% right on! Probably even too kind. Recently spent a weekend here and it was like driving through the hoods of Detroit. 1 in 4 houses have failing roofs. Every strip mall has at least two businesses: gambling/slots and pot/vape shops. It’s - c r a z y!!! My family and I stayed at a Baymont Hotel and at check-in if you live 30 miles or further away you must put down and extra $100 deposit and if you live 30 miles or closer you must place a $200 deposit….. I was like WTF but after we entered the room it was like holy crap this place smelled like a Pot plantation. We literally moved rooms 3 times to find one that wasn’t repugnant. Sunday morning we go across the street to for breakfast to this place called Sunnyside. Nothing telling us anything different we walk in (father-mother-16 y/o daughter and 13 y/o son) to death stares and a stern declaration that children are not allowed. The it hit us, we were in a Cannabis Dispensary! I kid you not the place either had been a restaurant or sure the hell looked like one. Even sadder was the completely full parking lot on a Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m.