Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcu
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As far as the southern illinois economy, it started going downhill when the EPA started cracking down on sulfur emissions. Illinois coal, which is what the soouthern ill economy was based on, is higher in sulfur than coal from Montana and Wyoming. The crackdown on sulfur emissions effectively shifted most of America's coal mining from southern illinois, kentucky, and west virginia to the west.
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Cairo was going long before the EPA - as a kid ( in the 60s ) I was always told we couldn't stop there because they had race riots - apparently the poster child for ignorance in Illinois, all the more palatable since both sides were seen a culprits.
http://michaelminn.com/?cairo
from
http://users.stlcc.edu/jangert/cairo/cairo.html
"Cairo is even sadder in light of its recent history. The region was experiencing an economic decline before the civil rights movement of the 1960s, and this decline can certainly be blamed for part of the depression Cairo now suffers. But many people will tell you that Cairo above all else is a victim of the racial hatred that its citizens could not overcome."
Don't even think of lumping Metropolis ( home of SuperMan ) in with Cairo. The only reason to mention the 2 in the same breath is to contrast them. Metropolis is a very nice town, with a rebuilt 1800's fort. We went through there for a bike ride once, everyone was very eager to push there town - even looking the other way when one of the SAG drivers crashed a van into a tree - well up on a front yard.