Aiming to be Edwardsville isn't aiming high.

But I agree....
Granite City shouldn't try to be that either.

I'm impressed with Granite City...the decline has slowed down to a degree. It is still the largest city in Madison County and the second largest south of Springfield.

That is not as good news as seems... it has been bad news for Alton and East St. Louis....whom Granite city has eclipsed. By 2020, I would have expected Edwardsville to have taken that position.

There's still hell of a lot to like about the community and indicators that the sense of community is strong.

Not only is poverty increasing, but Granite City isn't surrounded by wealth either. The closest wealth is blockaded by the bluffs or is now much farther into West County.

Being formerly connected to a vibrant downtown St. Louis and a bustling North County was good for Granite City. People could live close to their mill jobs and not be too far from goods and services that people desired.

Well, Moto Mart and Dirt Cheap are still filled with Illinois plates, but I wouldn't imagine there are any other places over there to bring home a trunkful of shopping bags.

Granite City is a community of industry and neighborhoods.....

Edwardsville.... law offices, banks, and cul-de-sacs.

Develop the neighborhoods.... I think it's a strength for Granite City.... Do for other parts of town what has been attempted in Lincoln place.

Granite City never really was a 'suburb'... in the sense of the word... but Granite City has to do Granite City...there's no other place like it and for that I'm thankful.

I wonder if there are parts of town where it is too late....but maybe that's addressed block by block....

The blight really is a block-to-block issue....at least for now. In West Granite some of those blocks seem to be increasing rapidly.

Granite City needs to keeps its focus on being a tight knit small-city blue collar community.

Edwardsville is not a direction anyone should want to go....even though that's the direction too much Granite money has gone over the years. It's just not possible...

LEt your Granite born relatives enjoy those high taxes as they come back home acting as if they're smelling $#!+ just to spend more than 15 minutes in town.