Decatur Vote Illinois
Feb 15, 2024: Decatur Vote is Temporarily Closed. See the announcement.

Articles

Typical reporting, capturing a story at a particular point in time.

Decatur Vote is temporarily closed, and will not be covering the March 19th, 2024 Primaries. The website lists all of the local candidates, but does not list state or federal candidates, and it is not going to before March 19th. I hope to re-open Decatur Vote in a timely manner and cover the Nove...   See Article

Blog, 02-15-2024

I tried my first weekly news recap on January 20th, 2023, publishing 7 in total through March 3rd, 2023. These early recaps included some original reporting. I stopped publishing them because it was too much work & I had other priorities. Then in October or November 2023, I began reading most...   See Article

Blog, 01-16-2024

I sent a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request to Macon County Clerk Josh Tanner for the lists of candidates who will be on ballots in Macon County Illinois for the March 19th, 2024 Primaries. I will use this information to make elections and candidate pages, like I did for the 2023 Municipal...   See Article

Original Report, 01-16-2024

Decatur Illinois Police have increased distracted driving enforcement, and plan to continue. Domestic Violence may increase during the holidays. DPS61 will levy $36 million in property taxes, and other stories from the week of December 15, 2023. Domestic Violence (WAND) - Domestic violence may in...   See Article

Meta Report, 12-15-2023

City Manager Scot Wrighton is retiring. Garbage rates will increase slightly. Property taxes up 3%. Macon County Elections (H&R) - There is little competition for Macon County elections this year. Three Republican Coroner candidates face-off in the March 19 Primaries, then the winner faces De...   See Article

Meta Report, 12-08-2023

See who's running for office in Macon County Illinois, for the 2024 March 19th Primary Election. These are only the candidates who file with the Macon County Clerk. Candidates' addresses have been redacted. Download: Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet Comma Separated Spreadsheet JSON - For softwar...   See Article

Original Report, 12-07-2023

On November 19th, 2023, Decatur Vote received a Facebook message asking us to update the site with 2024 election seat info. I responded two days later that I've been behind on election stuff, but would send a FOIA to the County Clerk for this list. The day after receipt, I sent them the list belo...   See Article

Original Report, 12-05-2023

Today, I made some updates to Decatur Vote. They're not exciting, but I'd like to share for transparency's sake. Updates: Made all but two Patreon Posts public (previously, many were behind a paywall) Removed promises of Sponsor Benefits (I wasn't delivering them anyway) Added a reference page f...   See Article

Blog, 12-01-2023

Annual Elections are held for local seats. Even-numbered years hold partisan elections for local, state, and federal offices. Odd-numbered years hold non-partisan elections for local offices like City Council and School Board. The Macon County Clerk manages elections in Macon County. Some candida...   See Article

Summary, 12-01-2023

Decatur, IL - Local election races are underway. St. Teresa strongly opposes Heritage moving nearby their school. State Police have an online form to report corruption. Read on for other Decatur political news from the last week. Local Elections (H&R) - Light detail on some local candidate fi...   See Article

Meta Report, 12-01-2023

After an August 23rd, 2023 Bus Incident, I submitted a FOIA request for video footage, communications, reports on the incident, and bus driver information. My request for camera footage was denied, and other records showed that video existed, so I submitted a Request For Review to the Illinois Pu...   See Article

Original Report, 11-30-2023

I received a tip regarding some union negotiation issues with Decatur Public Schools District 61. I submitted a FOIA Request for communications and documents that might substantiate said tip. The FOIA Request was mostly denied, and no meaningful information was uncovered. My request for proposed ...   See Article

Original Report, 11-16-2023

I sent a Freedom of Information Act Request for detailed payment records relating to Decatur Public Schools District 61 2023 Summer Programs. The response letter directed me to Board of Education Meeting Packets from September and October of 2023, where monthly bills are listed. This was a follow...   See Article

Original Report, 11-10-2023

Decatur Public Schools District 61 Board Member Dr. Kevin Collins-Brown emailed Board President Bill Clevenger and Superintendent Dr. Rochelle Clark, accusing Clevenger of bullying and intimidation, on October 24th, 2023. Clevenger has not responded to my November 3rd request for comment. Accordi...   See Article

Original Report, 11-09-2023

I sent a FOIA Request for all emails sent by Decatur Public Schools District 61 Board Members from October 24th, 2023 through October 25th, 2023. Read my coverage on Board Member Dr. Kevin Collins-Brown's email to Board President Bill Clevenger. There were also emails expressing concern that a ne...   See Article

Original Report, 11-09-2023

Public Notice Illinois's purpose is to provide "to the public every notice that appears in an Illinois newspaper." It is free for the public to search individually, but automated scraping of the website is disallowed per their Terms of Use, which state you can "download or print in...   See Article

Opinion, 11-02-2023

Decatur Public School District 61's Policy 4:150 states the Board's goal to "Develop and implement a communication plan ..." when "making decisions pertaining to design and construction of school facilities." I requested this communication plan for Lincoln Park, Dennis Lab, th...   See Article

Original Report, 11-02-2023

Long story short, I am putting down the Dennis investigation and School District coverage to focus on website updates, 2024 election-related work, and cataloguing of local government and political groups. In June, after the Dennis Lab Schools were closed, I began covering the Decatur Public Schoo...   See Article

Blog, 10-24-2023

The August 2022 project list details HVAC issues at Eisenhower, "compromised masonry" and "leaks" being repaired at Kaleidoscope (former French Academy), "B&G removed dilapidated playground equipment" at Garfield, and various other building-related projects throu...   See Article

Original Report, 10-03-2023

Dennis Lab Schools were closed on May 31st, 2023 due to structural concerns, which were analyzed the previous day by Bacon Farmer Workman Engineering & Testing, Inc. On June 1st, I submitted a FOIA request for documents, emails, and other communications that might reveal more information than...   See Article

Original Report, 09-28-2023

Garfield Learning Academy 2022-2023 Budget | Decatur IL Schools The Garfield Learning Academy budget for July 1, 2022 - May 23, 2023 shows $5,736.70 in transactions, with an ending budget balance of -1,311.51. This budget was obtained through a FOIA Request. (Note: We previously published this as...   See Article

Original Report, 09-28-2023

Dennis Repair Estimates - FOIA Request Denied, Upcoming Board Meeting During the September 12th Board of Education Meeting, Board Member Mark Reynolds said "we have had two quotes for repairing the buildings," and that the staircase repair was "like $1.1 million". I sent a FOI...   See Article

Original Report, 09-28-2023

There was an August 23rd, 2023 bus incident. There were allegations that the bus hit a parked car. Herald & Review reported this was a "false alarm", and that a car was not hit. I submitted a FOIA request to Decatur Public Schools District 61 Board Secretary Melissa Bradford to inve...   See Article

Original Report, 09-15-2023

Decatur Public Schools held a Board of Education Meeting on September 12th, 2023 at the Keil Administration Building. Prior to the meeting, DFTA and SEIU Security rallied in an effort to pass new union contracts. DFTA President Michelle Mitchell also spoke during the meeting. All Board Members we...   See Article

Summary, 09-13-2023

This is a speech for the Decatur Public Schools Board of Education, for September 12th, 2023, to be delivered by Reed Sutman I'm Reed Sutman, speaking on behalf of DecaturVote.com. The 2013 Health/Life Safety Survey for Dennis Lab's Mosaic Campus revealed several cases of water damage and masonry...   See Article

Opinion, 09-12-2023

I reviewed over 800 maintenance requests for Dennis Lab's Mosaic Campus from 2017 through 2023, looking for any signs of negligence. The District has been prompt about addressing most concerns submitted by staff, but several items from the 2013 Health/Life Safety Survey are marked with a 'Request...   See Article

Original Report, 09-07-2023

Decatur Public Schools District 61 held a Finance Committee Meeting on September 5th, 2023, at 4:00pm at the Keil Building. The last finance meeting was August 1st, 2023. The meeting included discussion of repairs for a Muffley parking lot (~$12,500), CPPRT funds declining, tentative budget to be...   See Article

Summary, 09-06-2023

I've been investigating the closure of the two Dennis Lab Schools. You can see a Catalogue of my Sources. I sent 3 FOIA's on Aug 2, 2023, for different categories of records. They were: Communications Personnel Buildings I received an extension for each on August 9th, and responses to eac...   See Article

Summary, 08-24-2023

The Decatur Federation of Teaching Assistants union contract expired about 2 months ago, on June 30th, 2023. They've been negotiating since March and have been given a "hard no" to their requests, according to Michelle Mitchell, President of DFTA, Local #4324, and Executive Vice Preside...   See Article

Original Report, 08-24-2023

The Decatur Federation of Teaching Assistants were bargaining for a new union contract. Their contract had expired on June 30, 2023. A new contract was approved retroactively for July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2025. DFTA ratified it the week of September 26th, 2023. The School Board approved it on Octob...   See Article

Summary, 08-23-2023