“At two points in my life I was required to pay union dues to stay employed. “It’s been almost 25 years since I’ve been [retired from the police force]. My sense is the union is more political now. “My police union first started in the early ‘70s, late ‘60s. They came in with their organizing…
“We are losing people at a ridiculous rate. That hurts us because then you may have some people who are here who have the skill set to fill jobs, but if half of those people have left the area then you have trouble maintaining that business here because then you don’t have enough people to…
“We searched for a house for about a year. We looked at horrible houses, but we were willing to do the work to build the house into something. This house was a disaster. We did a lot of renovations. We did the whole house. “We invested a lot into the house, and we enjoyed it…
Central Illinois, historically, has been known for its strong agricultural and manufacturing roots. And that reputation isn’t just local, it’s global. “The first time I had heard of Decatur I was looking at a sewer cap manufactured here – in Paris, France,” said Christine Gregory, the CEO of Dove Inc., a Decatur-based nonprofit providing programs and…
“We’re a Navy family. One of the things Navy families do is move frequently. When we bought this place, we intended on staying in it at least until we retired and moved back down south to Mississippi, which was always in the cards. “We worry about the value of course four, five years down the…
“I’ve had about 17 years of buying and selling homes. “There’s some good deals here. I’ve looked at some pretty big properties here. But the bigger commercial pieces are cheap because the taxes are high. “We’re actively trying to buy more commercial property, and the realtors say ‘go ahead and pass [the property taxes] on…
“I think there is quite a bit of opportunity still in downstate Illinois. Building relationships has been the No. 1 thing about being here. “When I was in school I interviewed at Northwestern Mutual [in] downtown [Chicago] and that was kind of appealing, but at that point in time I was already forming a business…
“My grandfather moved up here for employment. Wagner Castings, back in the ‘60s, was hiring African-Americans in record numbers. “My dad started his business in 1981. I took over 18 years ago now. “He was a very successful African-American business owner. All my life. “That was a time when money was plentiful. Everybody was working….
“I can’t get out. I keep paying the property taxes and the workman’s compensation. They’re out of control. I’m stuck. I can’t get out. “I have commercial real estate people calling me all the time and they’re like, ‘We’ve got this building in Illinois.’ And I say, ‘No, I’m trying to get to Indiana.’ And…