Marty Watkins, left, Ed Culp, Chuck Kuhle and David Horn wait Monday morning for the Decatur city clerk's office to open so they can file their petitions to be on the ballot for the Decatur City Council.
DECATUR — There will be a race for Decatur City Council.
Four individuals were on hand at 8 a.m. Monday morning when the Decatur city clerk's office opened and began accepting candidate petitions to be on the April 6 ballot. There are three available seats.
"You know what they say. Third time's a charm," said Marty Watkins, who is making his third run for council.
Also filing Monday morning were Ed Culp and incumbents David Horn and Chuck Kuhle. A lottery will be held to decide the order of appearance on the ballot.
Filing later in the day were Aldophis Cooper, Elijah England and William (Will) Wetzel.
The seat currently held by Pat McDaniel also is up for grabs. McDaniel has announced he will not seek another term.
Petitions are being accepted through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and again from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 23, in the office of the city clerk on the third floor of the Decatur Civic Center, 1 Gary K. Anderson Plaza.
The April 6 ballot also will feature candidates for school, park and community college boards, among others. The filing period for those positions isn't until December.
Gallery: Looking back at the Decatur roots of the Chicago Bears
1920
Members of the 1920 Staley team are shown in 1956. In front are Ross Petty, left, and Jack Mintun; second row, from left, George Halas, George Trafton, Jimmy Conzelman, Lennie High, Roy Adkins, Andy Feichtinger, Walter Pearce; back, from left, Randolph Young, Leo Johnson, Kyle MacWherter, Jake Lanum, Walter Veech, Charles Dressen.
1920
The 1920 Decatur Staleys with legendary player/coach George Halas, front row, center. The team would move to Chicago the next year and become the Bears in 1922.
1956
10-22-1956 H&R file photo Living members of the 1920-21 Decatur Staleys, now known as the Chicago Bears, were honored at ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of the A.E. Staley Mfg. Co. at halftime in Wrigley Field.
1989
1989: Chicago Bears executive Pat McCaskey made a stop at the Herald & Review to research some early history of the Bears' forerunners - the Decatur Staleys. McCaskey received help from Herald & Review head librarian Gerry Hearn, left and a McCaskey friend, Decatur's Dennis Roach.
2017
A mural depicting the Decatur Staleys football team in downtown Decatur is shown. The team later became the Chicago Bears.
2018
A football helmet worn by Decatur Staley team member Walter "Red" May is pictured at the Staley Museum in Decatur.
2018
Laura Jahr, director of the Staley Museum in Decatur, shows a team photo of the Decatur Staleys football team.
George Halas
George Halas is forever "Papa Bear," the man who founded the Chicago Bears as the Decatur Staleys in 1920.
Company teams, particularly baseball, were common in the early 20th century, as wealthy owners sought a certain prestige for their firms. A.E. Staley Sr. was no exception, but he also had his eye on a new sport — football. Halas moved to Decatur and lived at 280 W. William St., according to the city's street directory.
On Sept. 17, 1920, the Staleys, with Halas as their representative, joined the American Professional Football Association, which was renamed the National Football League in 1922. The franchise fee was $100 ($1,225 in today's money). The Bears today are worth $2.7 billion, according to Forbes.
From the start, Halas' team, for which he was also a player, proved formidable. Representing Decatur in such sister Midwestern cities as Akron, Rock Island, Dayton and Canton, the team went 10-1-2. The Staleys' first game Oct. 3, 1920, was a 20-0 win over the Moline Universal Tractors in Decatur.
In 1921, the team moved to Chicago, keeping the Staleys name for one year before becoming the Bears in 1922.
Halas served the Bears as an owner, player, coach, general manager, traveling secretary and in virtually every other capacity imaginable from 1920 until his death in 1983.
When he retired after the 1967 season, he ranked as the all-time leader in coaching victories with 324, a record that stood for 27 years. He won eight NFL championships, and his beloved Bears won Super Bowl XX following the 1985 season.
Halas is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, but it all started for him and the Chicago Bears with the A.E. Staley Mfg. Co. in the Pride of the Prairie, Decatur.
