'Better than last year'

On the eve of Gov. James R. Thompson's State of the State address, residents of Carlinville (pop. 5,439), seat of rural Macoupin County, fret over the depressed farm industry and slumping coal industry that together provide most of the county's employment. Local farmers are among those cited by Thompson who "despair at the increasing choice of the world to take less rather than more of our crops."

A longtime Democratic party bastion, Carlinville has an old-fashioned, brick-paved town square, with various small businesses on all four sides — a drug store, a hotel/restaurant, a shoe store and others. The town also has one of the largest county courthouses in the state, an imposing three-story beige marble edifice, with a high, silver-colored dome that can be seen from far away.

But like many rural small towns these days, Carlinville is finding it hard to survive. According to William Denman, president of Blackburn College, a small private institution in Carlinville, the economy has been "very definitely deteriorating" over the last few years due to farm foreclosures and mining layoffs. "The basic problem right now is that people in this area don't have any money to spend," he said. "It's hard on a small town."

Area farmers continue to struggle financially, but they believe the decline in the farm economy has leveled off. Economic conditions are still somewhat depressed, according to Carlinville Farm Bureau Manager Mark Gebhards. "I would say things are somewhat improved" compared to the last few years, according to Gebhards. "It really varies from farmer to farmer."

Gebhards said many farmers have trouble making ends meet because of the surplus of corn and soybeans, which has kept prices down. Livestock farmers have it easier, he said, since feed grain prices have fallen.

One local farmer, Wendell Armour, said, "We're on hold as far as buying anything. We're not buying any capital equipment, just servicing our debt." Armour grows corn and soybeans, and alfalfa for his dairy herd. "Our land value is less than half what it was five years ago," he said, and grain prices fell significantly during that period.

Another local farmer, Kendall Cole, said grain prices and the general farm situation have stabilized. Things are "somewhat depressed, but I feel farmers now have a somewhat clearer feeling of how they should conduct [their] business."

Coal mining also supports Carlinville and Macoupin County. According to Taylor Pensoneau, vice president of the Illinois Coal Association, the county's three coal mines employed 1,173 miners in 1985 (the latest figures available). Like other mines in Illinois, these three have laid off workers recently. The Freeman United company's Crown #2 mine laid off 25 miners last year, according to company spokeswoman Francine Rogers. And the Monterey mine made about 40 permanent plant layoffs six months ago, according to Frank Schwab, head of the Illinois Valley Economic Development Corporation.

The farm problems and mine layoffs have hurt the area's retail sector as well. Macoupin County Board Chairman George Cavney said, "We've got a lot of small businesses [that] are closing down." That includes grocery stores and drug stores.

Deanna Demuzio, president of the Carlinville Chamber of Commerce and wife of state Sen. Vince Demuzio (D-49, Carlinville), said retailers face "a pretty rough season" in the months ahead. But she is generally optimistic. "Overall it's better than last year — we're hoping it will be better this year."

Despite its economic problems, Macoupin County still "has a lot of potential," according to Schwab, since it has a good railroad system and access to Interstate 55. To exploit that potential, according to Denman, Carlinville and the county need to attract other industries and service besides farming and mining.

Demuzio also explained the county's need to diversify. "All the communities [in the county] like Carlinville are looking at some way to attract new businesses," she said. Demuzio added that Carlinville is forming an economic development corporation to draw more businesses to the area. The county's biggest hopes ride on the possible construction of a coal gasification plant, known as COGA I, near Virden. It would convert Macoupin County coal into fertilizer for area farmers and provide up to 200 jobs. The state has committed $26 million for roads, worker training and other costs. But, according to Michael Daly, a staffer for U.S. Rep. Richard Durbin (D-20, Springfield), the project's owner, Coal Gasification, Inc., has set no definite plans and is searching for financing. The company must open the COGA I palnt by 1990 to qualify for needed federal tax breaks.

The COGA I plant "would help Macoupin County considerably if [it] goes in]," said George Cavney, chairman of the county board. Aside from the plant, he said, the county has few prospects. John Seracco, the Macoupin County clerk, agreed that without the COGA I plant, Carlinville faces a difficult future. "A lot of the small towns are hurting because they just can't compete with shopping malls and the economies of scale" of larger towns, according to Seracco, and he believes macoupin County will lose more jobs and businesses in the future.

But area farmers are more optimistic even without COGA I. Gebhards of the farm bureau said the future "holds a lot of opportunity for those who remain in agriculture." He added that "if we can get the trade situation improved, or find a [new] use for corn and soybeans," such as in ethanol, then grain and land prices could increase.

Cole also felt optimistic about both the state's agriculture and coal mining industries. "We've got very large coal reserves," he said. "I think we've got opportunities, if we develop them."

8/March 1987/Illinois Issues