Opening Statements

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 pace" to Decatur and build upon many great strides Decatur has made already, in hopes of attracting families, businesses, and folks looking to start carreers.

Karl is the only young candidate, age 24; all other council candidates are age 60+.

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 former sheriff Roger Walker, Director of the Department of Corrections. Cooper helped Walker learn the ropes & served for a couple years before he retired for good in 2007.

He's worked with a diverse variety of people, and says he has a vast background equipping him to help the city face its problems.

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 before transferring to Sangamon State University while working at DMH.

She has worked with state government, in state government, advocated at the federal level, and worked with private organizations.

She's been on City Council for the last 8 years, has supported millions of dollars in infrastructure development and "championed" the fiber optic network "which connects municipal buildings with higher education institutions, saving taxpayer dollars."

She hopes to work on neighborhood revitalization, workforce development, and improving downtown decatur.

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's stores in Central Illinois. He was also a reporter for the Decatur Tribune, covering city council & other community events.

He spent the last 8 years of his professional carreer as Director of a local not-for-profit where he promoted our local Lincoln & Decatur heritage.

He says he will continue to support Neighborhood Revitalization because our neighborhoods are the most important building blocks of our community. He has 10 years of former experience on City Council, from 2011 - 2021.