Horn for Decatur - David Horn - Decatur City Council

THANK YOU DECATUR FIRE FIGHTERS

I want to thank the men and women of the Decatur Fire Department for the work you do every day to protect the lives, safety, and property of our citizens. Decatur residents are very fortunate to have such dedicated and courageous public servants. Thank you for your tremendous service to our city and keep up the great work. I also want to thank the fire fighters from Battalion 1 Station 1 for having me on a ride along on Tuesday. It was wonderful to see firsthand the amazing work that you do.

The Decatur Fire Department is outstanding, and our fire fighters are doing incredible work. As of April 2026, the fire department had responded to 4,722 alarms, a near record pace. In addition, fire fighters responded to 160 fires YTD through April, averaging more than one fire call per day. The number of fires in Decatur is substantially greater than those of other central Illinois cities.

The City of Decatur can do more for our fire fighters by providing additional opportunities for training. For example, at the end of April, there were 24 derelict properties in the city that were under contract for demolition. These properties are coming down soon, and before they come down, they could be used to provide fire fighters with training opportunities in a non-emergency environment so they have the practice necessary when the fire call comes in. For example, venting the roofs of soon-to-be demolished buildings provides valuable, hands-on experience for our fire fighters while simultaneously keeping these properties secure from trespassers immediately prior to the building’s demolition. Other cities such as Danville already have similar programs.

With Decatur averaging a fire a day, more training and preparation can only make an already excellent group of fire fighters that much better. This in turn means a city where the lives, safety, and property of our city residents are better protected.

SHOULD DATA CENTERS BE ALLOWED IN DECATUR?

Municipalities throughout Illinois are debating whether to permit large data centers. On one hand, data centers will bring with them economic benefits such as construction jobs, permanent jobs, property tax revenue, and utility tax revenue. On the other hand, data centers use a significant amount of energy, and there are concerns such as noise pollution and water consumption. The need for data centers is rising as use of artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and data storage increases, and thus, if one municipality bans large data centers, the data center may simply move to an adjacent area. When that happens, the municipality that hosts the data center receives the economic benefits, while the energy demand of the data center continues to be spread across the grid. Putting in place a moratorium on data centers provides municipalities with the necessary time to put in place ordinances that establish standards for data centers including where they can be located, the creation of a decommissioning plan, and establishes protections to the public from some of their negative consequences such as noise.

What do you think? Should the City of Decatur issue a moratorium on data centers?

IS A MORATORIUM ON DATA CENTERS COMING TO MACON COUNTY?

The Macon County Zoning Board of Appeals will be discussing the possibility of a 6-month moratorium on data centers at its meeting on Wednesday, June 3 at 8:30 AM. The meeting is currently scheduled at the Macon County Office Building, 5th floor board room. There will be a public comment period at the meeting.

I thank the Macon County Board for their leadership in discussing this issue, as these topics are generally not discussed publicly by the Decatur City Council. For by a 4 to 3 vote, with Councilmembers Dennis Cooper, Consuelo Cruz, and David Horn opposed, the majority of council members supported continuing a long-standing city council policy that for an item to be placed on a meeting agenda, it requires the consent of the mayor, city manager, or 4 of the 6 remaining council members. In other words, even to formally discuss a moratorium on data centers at a council meeting, you need to have the majority of the council agree to have it on the agenda.

BROADWING ENERGY CENTER PUBLIC HEARING

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency will be hosting a public hearing on the planned issuance of an air pollution control construction permit for the Broadwing Energy Center, a proposed natural gas-fired powerplant. The facility would be on N. Brush College Rd. and would generate both electricity and steam. The hearing will take place on Thursday, May 21 at 7:00 PM at the Macon County Fairgrounds, Pride of the Prairie Center, 3700 N. Westlawn Ave. in Decatur. As per the Notice of Public Comment Period and Public Hearing, “Based on the review of the application the Illinois EPA has made a preliminary determination that this project will comply with the applicable air pollution control regulations and has prepared a draft construction permit/PSD Approval for public review and comment.”