The Streator Standard

08/15/2025

$36 Million into the Void: What Video Gambling Costs Streator

By The Streator Standard

08/15/2025

Bowling Alone, Together Again

Why the health of Streator’s social fabric matters more than any single project

08/14/2025

Frustration Grows Over Streator’s Conflicting TIF Goals

In the same week Streator’s Plan Commission tabled a $15,000 façade grant request for Ace Hardware — questioning whether raised red metal shingles and new signage aligned with our historic preservation goals — the city i...

08/12/2025

Our seventh and final article (for now) in the "Lessons Ignored: Streator vs The Great City Thinkers" series that examines Streator's proposed Beck's developmental deal using Daniel Burnham and his great Plan of Chicago.

Make No Small Plans: What Daniel Burnham Can Teach Streator

Lessons Ignored: Streator vs. The Great City Thinkers This is the final article — for now — in Lessons Ignored: Streator vs. The Great City Thinkers, a continuing series in The Streator Standard exploring the proposed Be...

08/12/2025

Our sixth piece in a series trying to understand the Beck's/St. Mary's development deal from the eyes of some of the greatest city thinkers: "Lessons Ignored: Streator vs The Great City Thinkers"

Today we look at this development with William H. Whyte in mind:

The Social Life of a Corner

Lessons Ignored: Streator vs. The Great City Thinkers This article is part of Lessons Ignored: Streator vs. The Great City Thinkers, a continuing series in The Streator Standard exploring the proposed Beck’s development ...

08/12/2025

The fifth article in our "Lessons Ignored: Streator vs The Great City Thinkers" series explores the ideas of real estate developer, land use strategist, and author Christopher Leinberger:

Option Value: Why Beck’s is a Bad Bet for a Prime Block

Lessons Ignored: Streator vs. The Great City Thinkers This article is part of Lessons Ignored: Streator vs. The Great City Thinkers, a continuing series in The Streator Standard exploring the proposed Beck’s development ...

08/12/2025

Our fourth article in a series examining how great city thinkers could view Streator's developmental deal with Beck's gas station: "Lessons Ignored: Streator vs The Great City Thinkers"

This one takes a look at the project through the eyes of Jim Heid and draws on his writings in "Building Small: A Toolkit for Real Estate Entrepreneurs, Civic Leaders, and Great Communities."

Building Small vs Betting Big

Lessons Ignored: Streator vs. The Great City Thinkers This article is part of Lessons Ignored: Streator vs. The Great City Thinkers, a continuing series in The Streator Standard exploring the proposed Beck’s development ...

08/12/2025

Our third piece in a series on "Lessons Ignored: Streator vs The Great City Thinkers" imagines how Christopher Alexander might view the Beck's development using his magnum opus "A Pattern Language" as reference:

Patterns Worth Keeping

Lessons Ignored: Streator vs. The Great City Thinkers This article is part of Lessons Ignored: Streator vs. The Great City Thinkers, a continuing series in The Streator Standard exploring the proposed Beck’s development ...

08/12/2025

The second article in our series of "Lessons Ignored: Streator vs The Great City Thinkers" looks at this deal with Charles Marohn and the Strong Towns philosophy in mind.

The Illusion of the Big Check

Lessons Ignored: Streator vs. the Great City Thinkers This article is part of Lessons Ignored: Streator vs. the Great City Thinkers, a continuing series in The Streator Standard exploring the proposed Beck’s development ...

08/12/2025

Our first article in our "Lessons Ignored: Streator vs The Great City Thinkers" series. This one features the development through the lens of Jane Jacobs.

Lessons Ignored: Streator vs. the Great City Thinkers This article is part of Lessons Ignored: Streator vs. the Great City Thinkers, a continuing series in The Streator Standard exploring the proposed Beck’s development ...

08/12/2025

We know—it’s been a minute since you’ve heard from us. Our silence hasn’t been idleness; we’ve been neck-deep in a deep dive on the greatest minds in city development—Jacobs, Marohn, Alexander—studying how their ideas stack up against the current “vision,” if any, from Streator’s leadership.

We’d planned to roll out our *Streator vs. The Great City Thinkers* series slowly, giving each idea its due. But with news that this deal could be pushed through in barely a week, our timeline just got shredded. And it leaves us wondering: while we’ve been combing through decades of proven research on what makes cities thrive, what have our current city council members been studying?

We hope you'll enjoy reading this series of feature articles and we would like to get feedback on the ideas. There has been far too little public discussion of the merits of this project, and whether you agree or disagree we would like to hear well-thought out opinions from all sides.

08/12/2025

We regret to inform you that we are back.

Please see our latest article: The Silent March Toward a Downtown Disaster

Somewhere between City Hall and the wrecking ball, the public got cut out of the conversation.