"Without housing, you won't have workforce" says new Decatur Eco. Development Director

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - Lacie Elzy has lived in Decatur her entire life, graduating from MacArthur High School and Richland Community College, before getting her MBA at Millikin University.

She's also worked for the city for a decade, climbing the ranks to the Transportation Services Director before being named the Economic and Community Development Director.

"At transportation services we've been very successful at a lot of the changes we've made and it's been a privilege to be able to kind of have a full circle moment to come back and step into the economic development role," said Elzy. "The city has been very clear about our revitalization effort and continuing our economic and community development journey."

While Elzy is still new to the role and working on the best plan of action, she knows housing will be a primary concern.

New industries look at a city's residential capacity before opening their business and there is work to be done in that category. She says this can be done through a mix of new housing opportunities and revitalizing other areas.

"Community revitalization and addressing our housing needs are kind of a top priority and I think there will be some unique challenges that come with that," said Elzy. "We need to see some growth in housing in Decatur. And the current housing stock that we have, obviously, there could be some, improvements to that as well."

Elzy said Decatur is uniquely posed to welcome both larger, manufacturing-based businesses and smaller, family-owned businesses. She hopes to create a plan with steps to better support both types of companies in Decatur.

In her role as the Transportation Services Director, Elzy led changes in public transpiration to expand services to surrounding communities and ensure people have easy access to other parts of the city every day of the week. She says this has an economic development benefit as well, as people can travel into Decatur for work.

"That's great for businesses in Decatur as well because there may be people from the county who need to come in to shop or go to restaurants or work, and then be able to get home," said Elzy. "So it's important for all of us to work together."

Elzy served as the Acting Director of Economic and Community Development starting in March of 2025.