My family has now lived in DeWitt County for over 31 years. Our children view DeWitt County as home, although the older kids still have some fond memories of Sesser and Franklin County. The bottom line is, we have chosen to live and raise a family here.

Is Clinton and DeWitt County the perfect place to raise a family? I don’t think anyone can truly answer that question, but DeWitt County is a pretty darn good place to raise a family when you take our nation’s communities into perspective.

Yes, we debate, even argue, over wind turbines and landfills. We complain about taxes. There are pot holes, and somebody else’s road got repaired before ours. The internet went down, and the roads are shut down at times for construction. We love or hate nuclear power, but we all want the tax dollars the plant pays. The zoning codes are too strict or too loose depending on our wishes of the day. We are a rural community.

The national news, starting in Chicago, simply sickens me. Chicago had 70 shootings this past weekend with 12 killed. The previous weekend, 56 people were shot in Chicago, and 11 died.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot stated that she doesn’t want to defund the police, but there are 400 fewer police officers in Chicago now than in previous years. Mayor Lightfoot is an astute black politician, but sometimes common sense goes out the door.

At this time, she declines one-on-one interviews with journalists who are not of color. She then decries racism in the city. Isn’t her choice of which reporters she will allow to interview her racism 101? Lightfoot’s actions speak volumes about what it is like to live in Chicago.

In California, Barbara Boxer, an 80-year old, retired U.S. Senator and Representative was mugged simply to take her phone. Portland continues to riot, and Minneapolis is festering. California also has a governor recall election coming up in a couple of months. COVID appears to be making a new surge with a new variant, which really affects those who have not been vaccinated.

Then, we have Clinton and DeWitt County. We don’t seem to have riots. Our police officers are respected, and there hasn’t been any efforts made to even consider defunding the police. Minority children are part of the school and church systems here. Those children are actively involved in school and church activities and their parents who I have talked with are pleased with the community.

Our community facilities are very adequate for the needs of the community. We have parks and a YMCA for use by all age groups. There is a senior citizens center and The Vault for after school activities for junior high and high school youth. Summer youth leagues are present and the schools have a plethora of activities for children, if they wish to participate. 4H is available to those youths who want those activities. There are multiple churches in the county, all of which are open to the public.

Local government is very open to the public. Whatever your position is/was, the county afforded all the opportunity to voice in on the landfill and wind turbine issues. The mayor and city commissioners are all available to respond to public inquiries and the public can certainly attend their meetings.

We have two large and fully stocked grocery stores. Both are truly handicap accessible. Both are very safe to enter and leave, which is not the case in many parts of the country. We have very good local doctors and dentists and specialized care is usually less than 45 minutes away.

We may not have a Michelin restaurant, but we have some pretty good mom and pop restaurants that put out a very good fare.

When you put it all in perspective, Clinton and DeWitt County is an excellent place to live and raise a family. Let’s keep it that way.