CAIRO, ILL., TAKES STEPS TO SECURE ITS FUTURE

A stroll through Downtown Cairo, Ill., provides glimpses of the bustling city it once was.

The buildings stand tall but vacant and dilapidated. Paper wrappers float down the middle of the street like tumbleweeds in a ghost town.

Cairo sits at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, ideal for water travel and trade. Once upon a time, folks from all over came to the conveniently located city to raise a glass or two, have a good meal and spend their money.

But Cairo peaked early in 1920. The population was 15,203. The next census showed it dropping by almost 2,000 inhabitants. The city gained in the 1940 census, but the next 60 years were a sheer drop.

The latest census figures show a mere 3,632 people in Cairo. And Alexander County, of which Cairo is the seat, gained the unwelcome distinction of being the most departed county in the state, based on percentages.

When the numbers came out, Mayor James Wilson understandably was a little defensive. He pointed out that his job was to worry about the people still in Cairo, not the ones who left.

To his credit, he's also making it his job to bring some back, or at least to attract new residents and retain old ones.

Wilson and City Commissioner Cordell McGoy have come up with a pair of ideas with tremendous potential for success. The city is selling lots for $1 each to people who will built homes on them. The move is helping some get out of government-subsidized housing and start living the American dream.

And Cairo is using a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's rural development division to restore 11 downtown business. Once the plumbing, electrical systems and roofs are repaired, they will be offered to entrepreneurs for $1 a year.

This is innovative thinking on the part of officials who have good reason to be discouraged about the city entrusted to them but refuse to accept the status quo.

Now it's up to others to support Wilson and McGoy and join them in creating new plans to rebuild this once great river city.