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Decatur residents turned out this week in large numbers to oppose the Ameren rate hike proposal. It was said to be the largest turnout for one of four Illinois Commerce Commission hearings on the issue.

Ameren executives, some of whom had to stand to take the brunt of the public outcry during the meeting, say they need more money in order to continue providing the level of service it currently offers. The company reduced the amount it is asking for to $162 million, down from the original $226 million amount.

The proposed increase comes as the economy continues to struggle. Consumers who attended the meeting showed little sympathy toward the company. Ameren officials in part blamed not having enough money on customers using less electricity this summer even as it encourages them to do so as a way to save on bills. Some talked about what they see as excessively high pay for Ameren executives and the company wasting money on activities such as advertising. The company said it is trying to trim costs and run the organization more effectively. Unfortunately, some of those cuts are coming in terms of staffing, with plans to eliminate 300 positions by the end of the year.

Others pleaded with the Illinois Commerce Commission to stop the increase but were afraid their opinions would fall on deaf ears. They see the commerce commission as out of touch with their concerns, with commissioners either from the Chicago area or Springfield, where most residents who are Ameren customers only have the utility for natural gas and not electricity. The commerce commission is seen as a body whose members are appointed by the governor and thus should represent residents and not the utility.

The regulatory process is not over. Both sides must still present their case in December and a decision is expected early next year. If approved, the rate increase would go into effect in May. For now, the public has had its chance to speak up. It is up to the commerce commission to decide if the concerns outweigh the utility's desire for more money.

The tourism rise in Macon County is being touted as a significant economic boost to the area. But it's not just out of town visitors that can contribute to the area's tourism numbers. Decatur area residents looking for things to do close to home can have a lot to do with making a positive impact.

City leaders say it can start with finding something to do when guests are in town. The area has its share of activities for children in addition to fine arts and recreation for the older crowd. Lincoln-related tourism has taken on added significance and will continue to be a focus of tourism-driven efforts even after the bicentennial is over, City Manager Ryan McCrady said.

As family vacation budgets tighten, area residents don't need to hop on an airplane for a getaway, Greater Decatur Chamber of Commerce President Randy Prince suggested. Area hotels, including the Decatur Conference Center and Hotel, can offer the needed break without having to drive very far, Prince said.

For those who are looking to get out of town or more importantly for others to visit the area, a new air service connection from Decatur Airport to Chicago's O'Hare could very well provide the needed link, Prince said.

Most of the visitors coming to the Decatur area for a long weekend, however, are from 3 to 4 hours away, said Denene Wilmeth, Decatur Area Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director. They're finding a more affordable alternative to larger cities by visiting smaller towns, Wilmeth said. Realizing that helps tourism officials step up their efforts and continue to find ways to drive visitors to Decatur.

In the long run, having a healthy tourism market seems to be a beneficial move for Decatur. It can help attract people to the city not only to visit but to live as businesses could find the area a worthwhile place to locate. The struggling economy needs every boost it can get and continuing to have quality places to go will help.

By now, it's pretty obvious this year's harvest is well behind schedule and as it continues to rain seemingly every day, it will be hard to make up time. Until it is put in historical perspective, however, it is difficult to appreciate just how far behind the work really is this year.

It's been over 40 years since the corn crop was harvested at a smaller percentage by this week in October. The year was 1967 when 11 percent was recorded during the fourth week of October, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service's Illinois Field Office. This week's corn harvest figure of 14 percent is higher than that.

On the other hand, the soybean harvest has never been this slow. The lowest figure on record for this date is this year's 33 percent.

The late harvest has led the Secretary of State and Illinois Farm Bureau to alert motorists in rural areas to the fact the state's farmers are running way behind with this year's harvest because of continuing wet weather. Farmers are going to be trying to push ahead with the harvest, forced to work later hours. With this weekend's time change, darkness will fall to most of Illinois prior to 5:30 p.m. each evening but tractors, combines, trucks and wagons will continue to be using rural roads.

In a normal year, farmers expect to be more than 80 percent done with harvest by the beginning of November, said Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson.

“A lot of farm work is going to be done in the dark this year,” Nelson said.

Roadway collisions have ranked as the second leading cause of farm deaths, behind tractor rollovers and ahead of grain bin accidents.

I would hope those of us who drive at least occasionally in rural areas take the advice seriously, slow down and remain alert as farmers do have a lot of work they need to get done.

In sorting through my e-mail, I keep finding interesting surveys about the future the economy is going to take, and it's nice to see positive outlooks. One of the latest ones came from Grant Thornton LLP. Illinois CFOs and senior comptrollers were asked about their plans for the future.

Only 23 percent say their company will increase hiring in the next six months and more than half plan to reduce bonuses. Nearly half believe the U.S. economy will improve in the same period. The survey is in line with the national results. Most are expecting good things ahead, so that's a reassuring sign, but it's still anybody's guess.

But at the same time, many of us continue to a feel the effects of higher prices for the things we need. News of the economy coming out of the recession does little to soothe the fears and difficulties those struggling to pay their bills face. We can only hope as the economy improves, companies will start hiring again and benefits that have been lost can be restored.

Two Decatur area companies are experiencing labor issues as they try to weather their way through the end of the recession.

The union representing employees at printing company Huston-Patterson is upset because their wages have been cut by 15 percent. The labor agreement between Local 219-M, Graphic Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the company expired June 30. The union says benefits have been drastically cut, along with deteriorating working conditions.

About 45 union members work at Huston-Patterson. A strike is a possibility. The union is calling on the National Labor Relations Board to rule in its favor.

Another labor dispute we have been following is taking place at the PPG plant near Mount Zion. Union members there have been working under a temporary contract extension that the company has given its 30-day notice to end, said Danny Underwood, United Steelworkers of America Local 193 president. Underwood said the company has seemed unwilling to move toward getting a settlement and has shown no regard for the workers. Union members want decent paying jobs and benefits and have been holding periodic informational pickets since this summer.

Over 75 workers at the plant have already been laid off including 44 union members and 31 contract workers, and additional layoffs continue to be a possibility. A temporary layoff of 16 workers took place over the summer. Union members make up approximately 150 of the 250 workers at the plant.

The debate in Forsyth continues over a planned new residential subdivision now being called Shadow Ridge Estates; however, it is showing no signs of being slowed down. The village board of trustees approved several recommendations from its plan commission, but made a few changes of its own.

Much of the discussion seemed to stem from confusion in the village's procedure to get such a project approved and whether plans would go back to the planning commission for more deliberation. Board members all were in agreement that the development itself should be built.

“Everybody was caught cold with this,” trustee Jeff Allsup said. “I don't think the planning commission was very comfortable with it.”

Trustee Bob Rasho praised developer Steve Horve for wanting to build in rough economic conditions. Horve wants to build the 54-lot development on land around Stevens Creek west of Oakland Ave. and north of Macon County Road 20. Horve said it is designed in response to what he says is demand for houses in the area on larger lots. He said 21 of the lots are one acre or more in size.

“I appreciate that fact we have a developer under these economic conditions taking the risk,” Rasho said. “We should not discourage the planning commission from doing its job.”

Horve said he wanted to address each of the planning commission's points because some of them he considered unreasonable. He did agree to a stipulation calling for an eight-foot wide bike path to be built through the development.

Neighbors concerned about flooding again voiced their opinion that the development would lead to flooding problems, both upstream and downstream. The developers said flooding will actually be reduced because four retention ponds are planned. No houses will be built in the floodplain, Mayor Harold “Hap” Gilbert said. But the developers asked for the ability to “plat” in the floodplain.

“We want to have every development come in and have no effect on the flooding,” Gilbert said.

Trustees still have not decided on placement of a pocket park for the development. It does not appear like it would be within the development given the lot sizes and the developers' desire to have the village pay for the lot. One option might be for the village to receive money for the value of the park and possibly use it to build a park to go along with other subdivisions.

The plan commission is scheduled to take up the issue again at a public hearing scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22 at the village hall.

With the recession appearing to be over, the road to recovery begins. How long the road is remains to be determined. As they look ahead, business owners recently taking part in a PNC Bank survey are showing signs of being more cautiously optimistic.

That's good news as the nation tries to move on from what has been a rather depressing year or two economically. Still, the majority of business owners say the economy has not yet begun to improve. Improvement is on the way, they say, but not yet here. Most feel an economic recovery is more than a year away.

The survey shows the labor market, which has struggled in Decatur, will continue to be affected. Business owners are taking actions to manage labor costs. Layoffs might be temporary, but steps such as reducing employee work hours are prevalent. Only 15 percent of those surveyed expect to hire additional employees over the next six months. Unemployment figures are not getting better quickly, as the Illinois rate hit 10.5 percent in figures released Friday.

The upcoming holiday shopping season could provide a good barometer as to how fast the economy will recover. It will indicate how confident consumers are in spending, a necessary step in the economy recovering. Businesses in other industries will need to start feeling confident enough to start spending. Roughly one half of those in the survey have no plans for capital spending over the next six months, however.

As the survey indicates, it's going to be a long road, but I am among those hoping somehow things will find a way to pick up speed.

I never have been much of a fan of drinking tap water. Information like what was sent to me this week isn't going to change my thinking anytime soon. It at least provides something to think about when going for that next glass of water.

Drinking water supplies for residents in this part of Illinois are believed to be among those at risk of contamination from industrial pollution and federal agencies may not have the authority to stop it. According to the Izaak Walton League of America, two Supreme Court decisions threaten to narrow the scope of the Clean Water Act by excluding non-navigable bodies of water such as small streams. Small streams supply water for public systems across the country.

If the information the advocates provided proves to be correct, 22,191 people in Christian County, 7,575 in Fayette County, 81,860 in Macon County and 34,500 in Coles County would be among those at risk because their water is supplied using small streams. Residents in surrounding counties could also be at risk depending on where their water comes from.

Environmental advocacy groups are urging Congress to make sure the water is safe for drinking, fishing and outdoor recreation. They say only Congress can amend the Clean Water Act to ensure it provides the protections it was originally intended to give.

It might not be the best time to be jumping into business these days, but a few Millikin University students are making the most of an opportunity the school has given them. The students, who have either started their own business or have one in the works, have office space in what is being called “The Hub.”

The cost of starting a business can be a downfall for many would-be entrepreneurs. Either they don't realize how much money they actually need to get started or simply don't have enough of it. By using a rent-free space, the businesses with offices in “The Hub” have one less worry as they get started. It gives them a chance to focus on getting the business off the ground.

Brady Rhoades, who started the marketing graphics consultation firm zeroeightconsulting, said he is working hard to market himself and in the process help market his clients. Many small businesses are hesitant to market themselves, but Rhoades said successful ones need to let potential customers know they're around. He works to help them reach the market in a cost effective way, realizing people don't have a lot of money they want to spend on marketing.

“The Hub” is student run, which school administrators say is the way it is intended to be. Millikin President Doug Zemke said he knows of few other places like it. Officials are looking not only for it to be a place for students to use while in college, but for great things to come out of “The Hub” in the form of the businesses that get their start there.

This week of Sept. 20-26 marks National Farm Safety and Health Week as proclaimed by President Obama. Usually, it's a good time of year to draw attention to farm safety issues. This is when farmers are usually out in the fields in full gear in the midst of harvest. In the past few years, it seems like by the time October starts, in some cases at least, they've almost been close to wrapping it up.

Not this year.

Farmers instead are still holding onto their patience and waiting to start most of their work in the field. Only about 1 percent of harvest is finished as the first reports of completed corn fields came in, according to this week's crop condition report from the USDA. Once they are ready to hit the fields, it will be a race against Mother Nature and the first frost. Nobody knows for certain when the first frost will strike, but farmers are certainly hoping it holds off as long as possible.

It has already been a tough year for some, with most Decatur area counties being declared federal disaster areas because of large amounts of rain earlier this season. With all the uncertainty, predictions of a good crop overall still have time to change.

Just because farmers aren't fully out in the fields yet doesn't mean awareness of farm-related injuries can't be raised. In many places, farmers are on rural roads moving their equipment into place for when they decide it's time to get started. Country Financial and Carle Foundation Hospital, for example, are focusing their themes for the week on roadway safety, urging motorists to be alert for what is going on around them. Farmers I have talked to urge motorists to give them the space they need to safely do what they need to get done.

This harvest could prove to be more of a challenge than normal as farmers try to get it done in less time than usual as the days get shorter and cooler. If all goes as planned, we should start seeing the work begin in early October.