City Council Election | Decatur, IL
The City Council governs the City of Decatur.
Vote for UP TO 3 candidates.
See the City Council Forum for details about all four candidates.
Candidates for Apr 04, 2023
Pat McDaniel
Karl Coleman
Dennis Ralph Cooper
Lisa Gregory
Current City Council
Get involved in local politics by attending public meetings and sharing your concerns! Or email elected officials if public speaking isn't your thing!
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Candidate QA
collapse allWhat are your top three priorities?full answers
Pat McDaniel
Summary: His top three priorities are financing, maintenance & improvement of infrastructure; "fully fund public safety", including police and fire department; and neighborhood revitalization.
Karl Coleman
Summary: Coleman didn't clearly list 3 priorities, but focused on: Quell gun violence & increase public safety; Attack the root causes of crime and poverty by investing in basics: the promotion of fair and equitable public schools, well paying jobs, housing & mental health services; Expand youth engagement programs; Raise Community Based Violence prevention funds; Embrace large scale manufactures and incentivize small business development
Dennis Ralph Cooper
Summary: Cooper's top three priorities are Safety, Jobs, and Accountability.
Lisa Gregory
Summary: Lisa Gregory's top three priorities are Neighborhood Revitalization, Workforce Development, and Improving Downtown Decatur.
How do we attract and retain residents?full answers
Karl Coleman
Summary: Karl Coleman spoke about engaging citizens in revitalization processes, getting more police officers that look like the community they serve, and long term "hollistic" approaches. He says we need to invest in struggling neighborhoods & spend more time in them, including representatives for the police department, the city, and the neighborhood.
Dennis Ralph Cooper
Summary: Dennis Cooper focused on the need for collaboration between different agencies to address Decatur's issues, and says we need to "try to get the tax base down". He said we need to improve our School Districts, improve our streets, and ensure that we have good paying jobs for people who come here.
Lisa Gregory
Summary: Lisa Gregory focuses on work that has already been completed & is in-progress, including houses that have been torn down, acquiring contiguous vacant lots to spur development, a makerspace being developed at the library, and making Richland's worforce training more accessible by bringing it to the library.
Pat McDaniel
Summary: Pat McDaniels talks about the struggles with keeping young professionals who often want to live in big cities, young families who don't want to put their kids in Decatur Public Schools, and property tax increases that he says are driving a lot of people out of Illinois. He says we need to develop apartments as well, for young people who don't want to own a home.
How will you address Gun Violence?full answers
Pat McDaniel
Summary: Pat McDnaiels said this is a problem all over the country and that Decatur Police are doing a good job dealing with the two gangs in Decatur. He wishes he had the answer & says education is important.
Lisa Gregory
Summary: Lisa Gregory says Decatur Police are doing an excellent job and we have a "much lower" crime rate than Springfield or Champaign. She talks about the need to teach conflict resolution to kids & parenting skills to parents who are sometimes "worse than the children".
Dennis Ralph Cooper
Summary: Dennis Cooper seems to call out the others, saying we need to "be transparent and admit we have a problem," and saying "Every city has it, but we got it in Decatur and we need to talk about our problems, in Decatur, and how to solve it.". He advocates for the community to "see something, say something", for the State's Attorney to give no plea deals and hand out "hard sentence[s]" for gun crimes, and that we need to open up and talk about changing the gun laws even though it is a divisive politi
Karl Coleman
Summary: Karl Coleman takes a different approach, saying we can't expect different results if we continue with the same approach & same mindset. He focuses on addressing the root causes of crime like abject poverty, hopelessness, and a lack of access to resources due to a "large disconnect" in our community. He says "a kid having a gun is a problem, but we need to look at *why* he has a gun at 14 years old in the first place," and that we should not keep looking at "band-aid solutions". He quotes Reveren
Will you approve Cannabis Dispensaries?full answers
Karl Coleman
Summary: Yes
Dennis Ralph Cooper
Summary: Yes to Medical Dispensaries, Maybe to Recreational Dispensaries
Lisa Gregory
Summary: No
Pat McDaniel
Summary: No
How would you improve public transit in Decatur?full answers
Pat McDaniel
Summary: Pat McDaniel says we have a great bus service, especially with adding Sunday routes, and that he has advocated for late-night bus service for third shift workers. He says federal funds can help expand the city's transportation services.
Lisa Gregory
Summary: Lisa Gregory says we have a good transportation service, but "we are not done yet and we still have work to do." She noted accomplishments with extending bus hours, adding Sunday service, and extending bus service to Richland. She talked about the new transit director who is looking at our routes & doing her very best to improve services.
Dennis Ralph Cooper
Summary: Dennis Cooper would like to expand services to support seniors, disabled people, and low income people for medical appointments. He'd also like to extend transit services to the airport, so anybody flying in is able to get to their destination.
Karl Coleman
Summary: Karl Coleman says our buses are phenomenal, but many residents think there's room for improvement. He's concerned about public transit funding being cut if city population or revenue declines. He'd like to support "active transportation," making it easier and safer to bike and walk around the city. Karl expressed interest in and apprehension about bike lanes, which he says can come with challenges. He wants to make sidewalks larger and safer, and is concerned about busy roads making...
Opening Statementsfull answers
Karl Coleman
Summary: Karl is a lifelong Decatur resident and a product of Decatur Public Schools. He is an active and engaged member of the community and wants to be a part of positive changes in Decatur, where he sees many challenges and opportunities. He wants to use what he's learned from travelling to small and large Illinois Communities to bring a "change of pa...
Dennis Ralph Cooper
Summary: He says our municipal elections have more impact on our daily lives than national elections. Cooper was born & raised in Decatur, went to college in Mattoon, served in the Department of Corrections for 32 years, starting as a guard and working up to administration. He retired the first time in 2003, then came back as Chief of Staff for forme...
Lisa Gregory
Summary: She's a Decatur native. Her grandparents worked in Decatur, her paternal grandfather worked as a minister at a local church, her other grandfather worked for Wabash Railroad, and her grandmother was a supervisor at GE. She's the mom of three kids & grandmother of two kids. She went to Richland Community College when her kids were 2, 4, and 6 bef...
Pat McDaniel
Summary: He was born in & grew up in Decatur, living in rental housing & apartments in 9 different inner city neighborhoods, by the time he was in junior high. He served in the U.S. Army for 3 years & served in Vietnam, then returned to Decatur. He started his career as a grocery bagger in high schools, and later became a manager over many of the company...