Department: Mayor & Council

Dana Ray

Dr. Dana Ray is a physician, pastor, and certified executive coach. She is a board-certified physician in both family and addiction medicine. Dr. Ray is the medical director of Crossing Recovery Center, which provides inpatient and outpatient services for substances of abuse. She is also a physician executive coach for the Indiana University Kelley School of Business Physician MBA program. Most recently, she assumed the role of Campus Pastor of Life Changers Church, where Bishop G.E. Livingston is the Senior Pastor.

Dr. Ray’s previous tenure on Decatur City Council began as an appointment in 2009, and was elected for two 4-year terms in 2011 and 2015. She is on the Advisory Board of the local Salvation Army and trustee of the Community Foundation of Macon County. She was honorably discharged from the Army Reserve at the rank of Staff Sergeant. With all Dr. Ray’s professional and community accomplishments, her most valuable achievement is being a wife to Donald Dotson and mother to Danielle and Davis.

Dennis R. Cooper

Dennis Ralph Cooper retired from the Illinois Department of Corrections after 32 years of working his way from entry level positions to Chief of Staff/Chief of Community Outreach and Special Assistant to the Director. He previously worked as Deputy Sheriff (Court Security Officer) Kane County Sheriff Department-Batavia, Illinois and with Surgical Specialists of Central Illinois, S.C and part time at Archer Daniels Midland Company, (ADM), Decatur, IL. as a Sensory Specialist.

Dennis was born and raised in Decatur and attended Oakland Grade School, Woodrow Wilson Junior High School, and Stephen Decatur High School.  He attended Lake Land Community College, earning an Associate’s Degree in General Studies, May 1972; and an Associate’s Degree in Science in 1972.  He also attended Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois 1972-1974; Governor State University, University Park, Illinois in 1990 and Chicago State University, Chicago, Illinois in 1992.

He is very active in the community and has been a lifetime member of the Church of the Living God, Pillar Ground of Truth, Temple #2, Decatur, Illinois. He serves as the Director of Finance, holds a National position as National Treasurer, Summit Team Member, member of the local Deacon’s Board, works with the Youth Training Union Department and Drama Ministry.  He is a member of the Concerned Community Citizen’s Group and a past member of the Caring Black Men Group.  He is a past president of the Greater Illinois Chapter of the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice and a Member of American Correctional Association.

On August 30, 2021 he was appointed to serve on the Decatur City Council and is looking forward to bringing a wealth of experience and ideas to help further grow this community.

Dennis and Virginia have been married 15 years (October) and have a blended family of five children- Michele, Alicia, Cornel, Candace and Shawnn, and nine grandchildren.

Ed Culp

Ed Culp was born and raised in Decatur/Macon County. He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1986-1990 and returned to active duty in 1991 for Operation Desert Storm.

Ed is a 2009 graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, VA.

Ed retired in 2010 from the Macon County Sheriff’s Office as Chief Deputy and retired in 2018 from the Decatur Park District Police Department as Chief of Police.

Ed is currently the Director of Training at the Macon County Law Enforcement Training Center (MCLETC/Police Academy) and a previous board member of the Salvation Army and Emergency Telephone & Safety Board (911 Board).

Ed was elected to the Council in April, 2021 to a four year term.

Ed is married to Tonya Culp and they have five sons and one granddaughter.

David Horn

Dr. David J. Horn was re-elected to the Decatur City Council in April 2021, and his second term runs from May 2021 – April 2025.  In addition to serving on the City Council, David is a Professor of Biology at Millikin University, and previously served on the Board of Trustees of the Macon County Conservation District and as a member of the Macon County Regional Planning Commission.

Chuck Kuhle

Chuck Kuhle is the General Manager/Director of Tennis for the Decatur Athletic Club. In the summer months, he serves as the Director of Tennis for the Decatur Park District as well as tournament director for the annual USTA/Ursula Beck Pro Tennis Classic.

Chuck grew up in Decatur and attended St. Patrick’s Grade School as well as MacArthur High School. He played collegiate tennis at United States International University—San Diego, California where he graduated in 1980 with a B.A. in Law and Human Behavior.

He has been active in the community serving ten years on the Macon County Board from 1990-2000. He is a former member of the Decatur Parks Foundation, Founder and President of the Decatur Community Tennis Foundation, a 501-c-3 organization and a member of Holy Family Catholic Church. In addition he serves regionally and nationally for the United States Tennis Association.

Chuck was re-elected to the Decatur City Council in 2021 for a second four-year term.

He is married to Terri (Kuhle) and has 3 children, Patrick, Amy and Tracy.

 

Lisa Gregory

Lisa Gregory is a proven leader with over twenty-five years of demonstrated professional experience across several industries including: higher education; health care; finance; federal, state, and municipal government.  Her functional areas of experience include public relations, government affairs, strategic planning, project management; and communications.

Lisa’s notable professional achievements include: passage of legislation that created ICash, a program that returns unclaimed assets to the original owner or their heirs; Bright Start, a 529 College Savings Plan; and the Illinois Community Health Center Act.  She has secured over $12 million in federal and state funding for federally qualified health centers (such as Crossing Healthcare) and over $5 million for higher education.

As a councilwoman Lisa has supported completion of well over $300 million in local infrastructure needs.  This includes: sanitary and storm water sewer upgrades; community street improvements; fire station safety upgrades and new construction; and support of the Northeast Connector and the Decatur Beltway Project.  She fought for the City’s fiber optic network that connects government agencies and Millikin University.  She understood the necessity of creating the Central Illinois Regional Dispatch Center and the need to undertake a comprehensive neighborhood revitalization process.

Lisa understands that tough decisions, strategic investments, and hard work to maintain a balanced budget have provided the foundation for tangible improvements and growth in her hometown – Decatur.

Outside of her professional career Lisa enjoys time with her 3 children and their families, particularly her two grandchildren.  When not with them she can be found reading on her back porch or tending to her gardens.

Lisa was first elected to the Decatur City Council in April, 2015 and was re-elected to a second term in 2019.

Julie Moore Wolfe

Julie Moore Wolfe was appointed Mayor of Decatur in August of 2015, following the death of Mayor Mike McElroy. She has served on the Decatur City Council since 2009.  Her emphasis has been on improving public safety and infrastructure.  During her tenure, the city has launched the 90-million dollar dredging project at Lake Decatur, and secured a new facility for the Decatur Police Department – two issues that had plagued our city for decades.  Additionally, she has supported major infrastructure efforts to fix aging sewers and stormwater systems.

Julie has a vast background in economic development, business and media. She served for four years as the Regional Manager of the Governor’s Opportunity Returns program, working on economic development, infrastructure and outreach activities.  Under her leadership, Mattoon was awarded the FutureGen project.  Additionally she was instrumental in working with Economic Development organizations and communities to create jobs and build infrastructure throughout Central and Southern Illinois.

Prior to that position, she was President of the Chamber of Commerce in Decatur, where her focus was in helping businesses grow, and lobbying for business issues and economic development opportunities. She helped to revive the Route 51 Coalition, which resulted in funding to widen the highway to four lanes from Macon to its current construction area north of Pana.

Julie has been a familiar face in Central Illinois since 1986, when she joined WAND-TV as the anchor of the 6 and 10:00 news. She spent 11 years on the news team, and maintained an active role as a community volunteer.

She holds a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and attended Millikin University as a Business Major. She and her husband Doug Wolfe have been married for 28 years and have three children.  Their son Travis is a Sheriff’s Deputy in Macon County, and their daughters are in college.  Hannah is in the School of Business at the University of Illinois, and Mallory is an Industrial Engineering major at the University of Missouri.  Julie has been a resident of Decatur for the last 30 years.