McLean County Times

Dan Caulkins was first elected to the Illinois House in 2018. A Republican, his legislative experience includes serving on the Public Utilities and Prescription Drug Affordability Board. Caulkins is a state representative who resides in Decatur, according to the Illinois House.

In a Herald-Review article that Caulkins linked in a Facebook post, David Westrick, a FedEx representative said that there will be full- and part-time employees, and recruiting is underway.

“In addition to competitive wages and a flexible schedule, FedEx Ground offers benefits including paid time off and parental leave,” Westrick said. "FedEx will contract with service provider businesses that hire locally for drivers and other positions."

Easy access to major highways and to customer distribution centers made the North Brush College and Mounds roads ideal for the 317,000 sq. foot brand spanking new facility.

In that same Herald-Review story, Nicole Bateman, president of the Economic Development Corporation of Decatur-Mason County and believes the construction of FedEx Ground said it will bring more major industry to the area.

“I think it will attract more business to Decatur and Central Illinois as a location for distribution and logistics,” Bateman said. “You can reach a third of the nation’s population in a one-day truck drive from Decatur. Decatur is just really primed to take advantage of this.”

It has recently come out that Archer Daniels Midland Co. is partnering with South Korean firm LG Chem in two joint ventures based in Decatur.

With an estimate of around 125 new jobs plus construction work, Bateman notes that economic studies point out that for every ten manufacturing jobs like this created in Illinois, another 17 spring up in the wider economy to service and support them, she said.

FedEx is aiming for an October opening with a mix of full and part-time employees. Initially, they expect to have approximately 65 employees.

Interested individuals can search for positions here https://careers.fedex.com/ground, using Decatur as their location search.