Decatur Mayor Appoints Adam Brown’s Replacement on City Council

The Mayor of Decatur has appointed James Duies to fill the city council seat left vacant by Adam Brown's election to the Illinois House of Representatives.

Brown narrowly won the November election to the 101st House District against incumbent Bob Flider (D-Mt. Zion), and he resigned from the city council last month

Duies grew up in Decatur graduating from Eisenhower High School and then studying finance at Millikin University. He later served for a short time on the Decatur police force and eventually moved out of state to work for Evergreen Investments in Charlotte, N.C. before returning to the city with his wife in 2006. Duies is now a global pensions manager at Archer Daniels Midland Company. McElroy said one of the things that set Duies apart from the other candidates under consideration was his experience analyzing pension systems at ADM, which he hopes will be a valuable asset to Decatur as the city grapples with supporting employee retirement benefits.

"Pensions are the biggest thing that we're talking about financially in every community in the state - pension for the police, fire, and AFSCME workers," McElroy said. "It's nice to have someone that you know watches pensions everyday and sees what's going on with the pensions and can lend his expertise. I don't think that hurts anything."

Since Brown resigned from the council after the election filing deadline, people have until Dec. 23 to file as write-in candidates. Duies will be sworn in within the next few weeks, and he said he plans to run in a special election next spring to stay in office.

"I just am very gracious that the mayor has recommended me for appointment, and I can't wait to get started," Duies said. "I'll stay on as long as I can."

Other candidates running in the special election include Macon County Historical Society director Patrick McDaniel and resident James Thomas Taylor. If five candidates end up running for the seat, then a Feb. 22 write-in primary will take place to narrow the number of challengers down to four who will appear on the April 5 ballot. Three other city council members will also be up for e-election, in addition to Mayor McElroy who is running unopposed.