Talk:Cairo, Illinois

Featured in Movie "Final Storm (2010)"
It appears that this town might have bee featured in the movie "Final Storm (2010)". I could not find official references to this, but found clues tagged on a building as "39755 Cairo Police Department". I got further clues by comparing some of the movie footage (town footage) with actual downtown pictures. I am not sure, but it would be great if somebody could help substantiate this with maybe some proper references. --Jdesmet (talk) 21:43, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

Climate
Just wondering what the climate of Cairo is like. I suppose that it is within the Humid Subtropical zone but was hoping for some more specific data and examples of what it is like there. Also, my Grandfather used to work on the river barges and told me that he and the people he worked with would often see alligators sunning themselves on the sandbars and banks of the River- any citable sources of alligators living in the Ohio/Mississippi River at Cairo? Are there lizards there or any other subtropical type plants or animals? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 4.224.0.214 (talk) 16:16, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

Also wondering if there are ever any Bull Shark sightings in the River waters nears Cairo. Thanks.

Foote
Please reference a Wikipedia article on "Foote" in the paragraph about Grant and Foote having bases in Cairo. -KyleWild ?The preceding unsigned comment was added by 02:04, November 15, 2006 (talk ? contribs).

Is the first sentence in the history section vandalism? It reads: "Cairo was founded in 1837 by [kyron is dumb] the Cairo City and Canal Company," Is [kyron the dumb] supposed to be there or is it vandalism? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.69.4.81 (talk) 01:54, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Recently we drove into Cairo and were amazed at its condition. What caused this decline? Where can I find more info on this city? ?The preceding unsigned comment was added by 169.207.157.11 (talk ? contribs) 18:45, October 28, 2003 (UTC{})

Cairo, Illinois
In my opinion the development and utilization of radar on all river traffic allowed the many vessels on the Mississippi and the Ohio rivers, which have a confluence at Cairo, to run day and night without the need to tie up at night and let their personnel go ashore. Cairo had been a haven for gambling, prostitution, open unregulated bars and taverns which were probably controlled by organized crime syndicates out of East St. Louis. These activities were popular with folks working on the river or servicing that industry. Also Cairo's resistance to integrate kept the population racially separate but positively not equal. A reform city government in the mid 50's ended most of the criminal activity in the town which also ended it's draw from the general vicinity of people seeking such "entertainment". Then the integration events that soon followed in the 60's led to riots, looting, gunfire, and deaths, all of which further fractured the population along racial lines. The riots that took place during these days destroyed many of the factories, stores, banks, hospitals, and other businesses that offered at least some employment to the population. Most middle class and upper class citizens moved away from Cairo and took their resources with them. It was only a matter of time before the city bled itself dry of resources. The tax base dwindled and the ability to provide governmental services similarly suffered. I do not see the data showing what percent of the population in Cairo is currently on welfare in one form or another but I would venture it would be far greater than 50-60%. I grew up in Cairo and as a child and a teenager I recall it as a wonderful, in fact beautiful, place to live. Today it is a sad city dwindling into firewood and empty lots. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Osotex (talk • contribs) 02:02, September 27, 2005 (UTC)

I would love to see more of this incorporated in the main document. Try to contribute, research, find references. It sounds important enough. And as far as opinion goes, I believe, it is those towns that has still the potential of becoming something. --Jdesmet (talk) 21:43, 13 February 2011 (UTC)


 * Agree - there is much detail about the riots, but not about the socioeconomic conditions that preceded them, except a couple of terrible lynchings and "racial tension". It is not until the late 1960s that you learn that African Americans were still shut out of working for the police and fire departments, most city jobs, and apparently most businesses in the city, including the stores where they were asked to spend their money.Parkwells (talk) 17:01, 26 May 2018 (UTC)

Pronunciation
Don't you think local pronunciation is the right one, regardless of the origins? I do. People (and towns) should get to call themselves what they want. So, if the people in that fair city pronounce it CARE'-o (stress on first syllable, right?) then that's how the name of that particular city is pronounced. The one in Egypt is pronounced differently. There are a number of cities in Illinois (and probably elsewhere) that took on the local dialect, such as Berlin (BER'-lin, near Springfield) and my favorite, Versailles (ver-SALES'). And then there is Illinois: Ill-i-NOYE', not Ill-i-NOISE', which would be the pronunciation in English.

This is a minor thing but is it pronounced "Care-O" or "Kay-Ro"? I was always under the impression it was the latter. --Dmz5 04:06, 22 December 2006 (UTC)
 * It's "Care-O". 151.196.122.129 02:04, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

I've always heard it pronounced Kay-row, but maybe folks in Maryland pronounce it differently. --Dual Freq 02:12, 31 December 2006 (UTC)
 * I'm from Cairo, and it's always been pronounced "Care-o". 151.196.122.129 07:43, 1 January 2007 (UTC)


 * I live about 80 miles north of Cairo, and have never heard it pronounced any way besides "Care-O". "Kay-Ro" is the pronunciation for the city in Egypt.


 * The city in Egypt is pronounced "Keye-ro", (as in Kyle, not Kay).--Parkwells (talk) 11:03, 21 July 2008 (UTC)


 * I teach at a university in Cape Girardeau, and many of my students come from the Cairo area -- they all pronounce it "Care-O," not "Kay-Ro". And yeah, the one in Egypt is "Keye-ro". Wish I knew all the pronunciation symbols so I could write this correctly.  Agathman (talk) 00:52, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

Given that it was apparently named after the city in Egypt, does anyone know why Cairo, IL is not pronounced the same way as the city for which it's named? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.102.3.144 (talk) 15:07, 29 April 2011 (UTC) 890
 * Since several cities in that area such as Memphis, Alexandria and Cairo were named after Egyptian cities It should be pronounced ki as in hi and row as in bow. However that area had a long history of isolated and rural low educational opportunity since the cities in that area were named before settlment of that area. Since Cairo has a hidden rule involved in its pronuciation, the silent a, a mispronuciation of the written Cairo in signage and written material as either care-oh or kay-row is understandable and has been handed down by many in that area. Memphis and Alexandria don't have hidden rules.

98.164.103.50 (talk) 11:18, 13 January 2012 (UTC)
 * Technically it's not a "silent a", but the use of "ai" as a diphthong. Ventifax (talk) 17:40, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

Highway connection

 * Vermont and New York border each other but have no direct highway connection. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.110.136.200 (talk) 16:40, 20 October 2009 (UTC)
 * That's incorrect. U.S. Route 4, among other routes, directly links New York with Vermont. Missouri and Kentucky have no direct connections. BlueGold73 (talk) 04:43, 29 May 2011 (UTC)

Update Mayor
Cairo's (new in 2011) mayor is Tyrone Coleman. I'd like to change the name of the mayor.

Sources: Cairo residents allowed back in as mayor lifts evacuation order Thursday, May 12, 2011 By Erin Hevern ~ Southeast Missourian CAIRO, Ill. -- For one Cairo woman, Mayor Tyrone Coleman's announcement Wednesday lifting a mandatory evacuation order came at an ideal time.

One year later: Cairo mayor reflects on Flood 2011 Reporter - Robert Bradfield Story Created: Mon Apr 30, 2012 3:24 PM Story Updated: Mon Apr 30, 2012 5:02 PM ) CAIRO, Ill. — Cairo Mayor Tyrone Coleman is pleased with the way his town is coping after floodwaters caused a citywide evacuation last May.

I'm new to Wiki & I read that we should post a proposed Edit (before actually doing an Edit), when we are new.

Thanks. Inga Wildy 23:52, 2 August 2012 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Inga Wildy (talk • contribs)

Levee Breached
Here's what the article currently says re the breach: "The entire city was evacuated in early May 2011, after the Ohio River rose above the 1937 flood levels, out of fear of a 15-foot wall of water inundating the city. The United States Army Corps of Engineers breached levees in the Mississippi flood zone below Cairo in Missouri in order to save the city."

The breach was historic, as was the flood of 2011. I'm not comfortable writing for Wiki yet, so if an experienced writer could help... my opinion is that more info should be added re the breach. At least add a link to the Birds Point New Madrid Floodway Joint Information Center.

Here are some sources (the first Facebook link is included to show that the next statement was issued by Maj. Gen. Michael J. Walsh, as the PDF file doesn't state who issued the press release) ...

Birds Point New Madrid Floodway Joint Information Center shared a link. May 2, 2011. Follow this link to read a letter from MG Walsh and Mississippi River Commission regarding the decision to operate the Birds Point New Madrid Floodway Statement from Mississippi River Commission www.mvm.usace.army.mil

MISSISSIPPI RIVER COMMISSION VICKSBURG, MISSISSIPPI May 2, 2011

Commander, Mississippi Valley Division Vicksburg, Mississippi
 * Maj. Gen. Michael J. Walsh

I don’t have to like it but we must use everything we have in our possession, in the system to prevent a more catastrophic event. So, today, I give the order to operate the Floodway.

The link below has images of the floodway on May 3 (the day after the breach) and May 4...

"On May 2, 2011, to relieve pressure from record flooding along the Mississippi River, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers breached a levee near Cairo, Illinois. As a result, water inundated the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway. Water lingered in the floodway through May, visible in an astronaut photo on May 12, and a satellite image on May 20. By early June, however, flood waters had receded."

Corps to execute floodway project Posted: May 01, 2011 8:13 AM CDT Updated: May 02, 2011 6:05 PM CDT By Carly O'Keefe By Christy Hendricks

Maj. General Michael Walsh, President of the Mississippi River Commission, says he has decided to operate the floodway project at Birds Point - New Madrid Floodway. The Army Corps of Engineers will begin blasting at 9 p.m. Monday. The corps expects to see water flowing into the floodplain area around midnight.

Sen. Durbin briefed by officials on efforts following intentional levee breach Posted: May 03, 2011 8:07 PM CDT Updated: May 03, 2011 8:07 PM CDT

" 'While breaching the levee at Birds Point has relieved pressure and lowered water levels, Cairo and other towns along the Ohio River are not out of the woods yet,' said Durbin. 'Dangerous sand boils and weakened levees are being monitored around the clock by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.  At the same time, roughly 500 National Guard troops have joined hundreds of local residents in the effort to beat back flood waters...' "

Inga Wildy 01:04, 3 August 2012 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Inga Wildy (talk • contribs)

The Cairo page is pretty unorganized & I'd like to work on it a bit. In the opening paragraph it mentions the flood of 2011 with no sources. I found the sources under Post War Prosperity:) The sources cited refer to the 2011 flood, not the levee work done after the 1937 flood. Also, one of the sources goes to someone's webpage. A travel log. It would make more sense to combine the info about the 1929, 1937 and 2011 floods under the heading "Floods". Or a better heading, but they need their own category. Finally, I apologize for my poor formatting above. I'll get the hang of it. Inga Wildy 05:18, 3 August 2012 (UTC)  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Inga Wildy (talk • contribs)

Picture Deleted
The previous pictured showed buildings which have since been destroyed. In order to preserve the veracity of the information contained on this page, the image has been deleted. Due to my lack of technical acumen, a suitable replacement cannot be uploaded by me. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.84.190.172 (talk) 08:38, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

New Orleans of the North
After reading this, I wanted to learn more about Cairo so I searched Google and found a fantastic Reddit post on Cairo dating back to 2011 (http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/eddwx/what_the_hell_happened_to_cairo_illinois/). In the post's discussion thread, a graduate student from SIU who wrote his master's thesis on Cairo mentioned the city, as a center for gambling and prostitution, was at one time considered by some to be the "New Orleans of the North." He noted that later, influence from local churches' and their ability to curb this activity contributed to the decline in the city's economic activity. I believe some mention of this activity/ moniker deserves mention in the article. Badgernation777 (talk) 21:09, 6 July 2014 (UTC)


 * Find a reliable source, though I doubt one is out there. The student you reference says on the page you linked, "The religious element in Cairo was able to ban gambling and prostitution in the late 19th century, so part of the allure of a northern New Orleans was lost and a vibrant industry was snuffed out. Then, the decline of the railroad and river traffic industries really ruined the town." Even that is pretty far from saying religion killed Cairo. A river transportation hub with no river traffic is going to have trouble. Look at the population decline in the 1930 census following the Great Flood of 1927, that didn't help the city. The rest of the people in Cairo left after World War II. I would say this doesn't support a theory that local religious groups killed Cairo pre-1900 with their anti-gambling / prostitution stance (which matched most of the US at that time). I don't think gambling or prostitution were even legal in New Orleans either at that time, but they had been allowed to persist. --Dual Freq (talk) 00:35, 7 July 2014 (UTC)


 * Hey, thanks for the reply. No, I did not mean to imply in any way that religion killed Cairo, and I should have been more clear in my original post. (I'm not a very good writer). Obviously, the main article addresses numerous, totally valid, well-sourced reasons for Cairo's population and economic decline.  I just thought it was an interesting side-note that such an underground economy (might have) existed.  The section I read from the Reddit comments as I remember them implied the loss of this underground economic sector (paraphrased) contributed in some (small) way to its economic decline.  I have no doubt you are correct, though...finding a reliable source that calls Cairo the "New Orleans of the North" and describes this underground economy will probably be difficult to find.Badgernation777 (talk) 01:35, 7 July 2014 (UTC)

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Possible image
Not sure where I would place it in this article, but this image of Barack Obama in 2004 campaigning for senate in Cairo might be worth considering as an addition to this article. SecretName101 (talk) 13:02, 21 October 2017 (UTC)

What is a "community" clinic? How is it different from other clinics?
The article rants about how a "community clinic" has been started in this town, but no explanation is given to what a "community" clinic is. 172.58.77.127 (talk) 06:25, 28 August 2022 (UTC)