Minonk residents supportive of raceway

I can't help but note the contrast to how people felt towards the prospect of a landfill being located north of town 13 years ago. Then the citizens of Minonk united for the first time in anyone's memory to successfully fight off a landfill. Now the opposite reaction has taken place as the community appears to be embracing wholeheartedly the raceway. What is important to note is that our successful defense against the landfill proves how we as a community can unite to react to a cause. That is why I believe that the residents of Minonk will also unite to show their support for the proposed raceway.

The Pantagraph stated in their Sunday editorial that while "Minonk seems more open than Brimfield to a racetrack", it also noted that the developers may face roadblocks because of the noise that would result from the raceway. I do not feel that the Pantagraph is on top of the situation because they are referring to past efforts to install dirt racetracks in Normal and Bloomington. Did the Pantagraph even bother interviewing people from Minonk or did they just read the article in the Peoria Journal Star? Maybe I am being hard on the Pantagraph, but as an ex-Pantagraph paper carrier of 50 years ago I have to say that my former employer does not seem very supportive of Minonk. Minonk's sesquicentennial was completely ignored by the Pantagraph but it gave several editions of coverage for El Paso and other communities celebrating their centennial last year. My feelings about the Pantagraph is shared by many Minonk residents.

It seems that people outside our community are perhaps looking at Minonk as being willing to take anything to get development started. These same people should walk in Minonk's shoes for the past 50 years and then make their judgement. Unlike larger communities, Minonk has not been blessed with growth or cursed with urban sprawl. In fact, the people that I talked to who were against the racetrack wanted Minonk to remain as it is. They don't want growth. They prefer Minonk to remain a sleepy little town. However, this attitude would result in Minonk becoming a ghost town. Every community has to make efforts to grow or it will surely die because every opportunity that we pass up will be taken by the next town down the road since every community is competing with each other for development.

Minonk was a vibrant self-sufficient community 100 years ago with a population of over 3000. Over the past 50 years the community has seen its retail businesses decline due to the advent of shopping malls and improved transportation. Small communities can no longer be supported by a retail base. Today, Minonk must attract developments that can take advantage of the community's advantages - cheaper land, lower taxes, a skilled labor force with a lower wage scale, and geographical location. Already, Minonk is becoming a small parts manufacturing center because of these advantages.

The proposed raceway is an example of what fits in with a community like Minonk. The close proximity to the interstate and Minonk's central location will draw people from Chicago, Rockford, Springfield, Peoria, LaSalle-Peru, Bloomington, and Champaign. A town does not need a large population to support a racetrack. People will drive 150 miles to a race but unfortunately they will also drive 30 miles to Bloomington to buy their groceries. However, we can compete with Bloomington on a race track simply because we will have one and they won't. Also, a large population is a hindrance for a racetrack because it is harder to get to the track. Bloomington will serve the commonplace, Minonk will serve the unique.

As I mentioned in the previous editorial, the biggest benefit of the proposed raceway is the development that can be spawned from the raceway itself. The biggest hurdle to overcome is to get something going. Once development occurs, it feeds on itself. Minonk will definitely have an exciting future. I can see this raceway becoming the racing center of the midwest. Maybe we could even get Bloomington Gold, the annual Corvette show, to come here. I wonder how the Pantagraph would editorialize that?

Minonk has bypassed many opportunities to grow in the past when decisions were made in smoke-filled backrooms by a few local businessmen afraid of competition. This is no longer the case. This website will strive to allow the people of this community to have a say in decisions regarding Minonk's future. From what I can see, this community is rock-solid behind the development of the raceway. I hope everyone attends the presentation of the raceway development at the Fieldcrest High School gymnasium Thursday night, March 17, at 7:00 p.m. to show their support for the project. It will be a memorable event to celebrate the birth of a new and exciting Minonk. Also, we can observe, gladly, a moment of silence for the death of a landfill.