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Clinton businesses see good things starting to happen
By Scott Miller
scottmiller@pantagraph.com
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CLINTON -- Small-business owner Dave Jackson has survived enough economic cycles in Clinton to see the good and the bad.

The good: construction of the power plant in the early 1980s brought a surge of new jobs and economic impact.

The bad: when construction finished, hundreds of contracted workers left town.

“If we slapped every customer in the face when they walked in the door, we wouldn’t see a drop in business like we saw then,” joked Jackson, who owns Save-A-Lot in Clinton. “We found out we were more dependent on the power plant than we thought.”

That’s been the up-and-down story in Clinton. The Revere Corning plant opens. The Revere Corning plant closes. The Thrall Trinity Freight Car plant opens. The Thrall Trinity Freight Car plant closes.

“We’re due for some positive news, there’s no question,” Jackson said.

That news is here.

-- Unemployment is at a historic low.

-- Once-vacant plants such as Trinity’s are finding new uses.

-- More jobs are on the way.

“It’s just an injection of income in the community,” said Steve Vandiver, executive director of the Clinton Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau and Clinton’s last director of economic development.

New standard

Gone are the days of 6.7 percent unemployment in 2002, 7.1 percent in 1992 and even 13.2 percent in 1986, according to historical records with the Illinois Department of Employment Security.

Clinton has set a new standard, with the jobless rate hitting an all-time low last year at 4.3 percent, down a full percentage point from 2005.

Countywide unemployment hasn’t dipped below 5 percent since 1998 and the closest its ever come to its current mark was 4.6 percent in 1979, according to IDES records.

“A lot more people are finding jobs but not necessarily in DeWitt County,” noted IDES labor economist Ron Payne.

Clinton residents are commuting to Bloomington, Decatur, Springfield and even Peoria to find work, he said.

Likewise, Jackson draws customers from Lincoln, Bloomington, Farmer City, Decatur, Argenta and other Central Illinois towns.

Meanwhile, Steve Wilson, owner of Wilson Chrysler-Jeep, said he’s drawing customers from an even larger area.

“Forsythe and Decatur, it’s really booming and that’s been a benefit to Clinton,” Wilson said, suggesting Clinton has become a bedroom community for people working in Decatur and Bloomington-Normal.

In that sense, Clinton is part of a regional economy, and business owners like Wilson and Jackson are no longer dependent on major employers like the power plant.

New tricks

Still, Jackson and Wilson like what they see right outside their window.

The once-empty Revere plant has a new tenant and a new use. Syngenta is operating a seed warehouse there and already has about 30 employees.

“It’s only going to help. We’re seeing some positive press,” Wilson said.

About 50 people are also working at the old Thrall Trinity Freight Car plant, preparing the facility to build massive wind-farm towers for Trinity Structural Towers Inc. That’s full-time Trinity employees, many who once worked for Thrall, said plant manager Ed Pittman. It doesn’t include the construction crews currently extending the plant by about 56,000 square feet, he said.

“Contractors have a dozen to 30 people here putting up new extensions,” Pittman said.

When it opens this summer, the plant will employ around 140 people full-time.

In addition to Syngenta and Trinity, Aramark Uniforms is renovating and reoccupying its old facility, employing about 60 people, Vandiver said. Terminix also plans to set up shop in Clinton later this year, also with about 60 employees, he said.

Combined, that’s 300 new jobs in a county with 367 people actively looking for work, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security.

“For a little town of 7,500, that’s quite a year,” Vandiver said. “I think that can continue. We’re on a roll. Success breeds success.”

New era

Unlike years past, Clinton now has the infrastructure in place to keep the train rolling, Vandiver said.

The town added Illini Drive, for example, which brought in 30 acres of land for residential and commercial development, he said. Clinton also constructed a new water tower and extended a major road through town, he said.

The investment helped attract employers like Trinity, Aramark, Syngenta and Terminix, Vandiver said.

And others are on the way, including a yet-to-be-built theater, a bank and a Walgreen’s, and maybe more.

The Illinois Department of Employment Security expects DeWitt County employment to rise about 3.5 percent in the next decade. That equates to about 20 new jobs a year, mostly in education and customer service, which feed off employment gains at manufacturers like Trinity.

Take a look
Save-A-Lot owner Dave Jackson spoke about his grocery store at 302 North Center Street, Clinton on Monday March 19, 2007. Pantagraph/STEVE SMEDLEY
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Reader comments on this story - 12 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

Cops Wife wrote on Mar 25, 2007 10:34 PM:

" Clinton is only a "good" place to live if you have the right job or right last name. Granted, it is difficult to see the "dark side" of Clinton when you're busy putting on airs and attending social events at the Country Club, and micro-managing the lives of their little athletes, honor students and cheerleaders (yes, my children were all three of those, too). The drug problem in Clinton is absolutely monumental and the outstanding warrant list is huge. And the power plant? I would often join friends there for a brown bag lunch during the construction phase in the 70s and watch as the construction workers would light up marijuana in their vehicles and have a few beers, then go back to work to play with the plutonium. THAT makes one feel safe, now doesn't it? While I'm glad to hear about the economic news, let's hope that the naive attitude of small-town life does not continue to cloud reality of what truly needs to be focused on in Clinton - drug abuse, less cliques and more of a "it takes a village to raise a child" attitude. "

to Top Ten wrote on Mar 25, 2007 9:36 PM:

" I think you're being just a bit sarcastic. "

My favorite Clinton spot wrote on Mar 25, 2007 8:44 PM:

" is ELRAY's Mexican ! it is so good. The waiters are so nice and friendly. I would drive from almost anywhere to eat there! and I LOVE SAVE A LOT. 10 times better than Aldi's with great prices "

Yes, I can. wrote on Mar 25, 2007 8:11 PM:

" I can name three decent restaurants, and I wouldn't exactly call Wal Mart "good" shopping. There are a lot of things here that need work, but that's one area I'd say has vastly improved since we moved here. "

Are You Kidding??? wrote on Mar 25, 2007 5:30 PM:

" Great Shopping? Clinton has the smallest Wal-mart in the entire nation. They are a town of 8,000 and have no public swimming pool. And can you name more than 3 really good restaraunts? There's one reason Clinton is a one horse town. NO LEADERSHIP! "

& wrote on Mar 25, 2007 4:21 PM:

" plenty of local radiation spewing forth, but good luck anyways. pretty ironic that the power plant builders left town & all that radiation behind. too bad the windmills couldnt have come first & spared all us cancer victims "

Top Ten Reasons to Live In Clinton wrote on Mar 25, 2007 2:24 PM:

" 10)Apple & Pork Festival. 9) Antique shopping. 8) Best fishing in IL. 7)Great access to other central IL ciites. 6)Excellent restaurants 5)Homestead Museum 4)Excellent health care providers 3)May Days 2)Good paying jobs 1)Friendly people "

Good Question wrote on Mar 25, 2007 1:36 PM:

" Why do so many people from downstate IL travel to Chicago for vacations, when everything they could want is right here in Clinton, without Chicago's traffic jams and high prices? "

Clinton Rocks wrote on Mar 25, 2007 8:44 AM:

" Clinton has more to offer than any other city in Illinois: great shopping, incredible recreation, low crime, affordable housing, first class schools, nature areas, and good jobs. That's a fact and none of you in BN, Peoria, Springfield, CU, Chicago, or Rockford can deny it. "

Dman wrote on Mar 25, 2007 7:23 AM:

" YAY!! we got more minimum wage jobs coming to town! thanks Vandiver, you da man! Go right ahead and give your back a pat for me. I can see people lining up as we speak, to get that 6 dollar an hr job emptying the bill changer at the city's 4th car wash! You rock Stevie! I'm gonna be somebody...I'm gonna be a walgreens clerk.... "

Bumper Sticker wrote on Mar 25, 2007 6:31 AM:

" Escape from Normal,IL "

Resident wrote on Mar 25, 2007 12:33 AM:

" Yaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwn! "
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