Doing it in Danville

At one point our city motto was "Do it in Danville".. My question is simple.. Do what in Danville?
Shop? Eat? Enjoy all of the many activities that are offered here?
I'd love to.. Just a couple issues first.. Look around man... It's a dying community.. And don't make that face like you're disgusted with me for saying that.. There is not one person in this town that hasn't thought it..
What activities?? Outside of my daughters occasional after school events, there isn't much for her to do..
She went to see a movie Friday night and when the movie was out, she was to wait inside the mall until her ride came to get her.. She has strict rules not to leave the mall until then.. It was after dark, and the crime rate is on the rise.. I also check the sex offender list on a daily basis.. Danville is definitely not short of child molesters.. A group of 4 kids inside the mall together seems a bit more safe than outside the mall.
She was told by Mall Security that without having a sack to prove she'd been shopping, she could not sit down in the mall.. Hello??? She paid for a movie and popcorn (was still holding the popcorn bag during this conversation).. That's a pretty significant purchase..
But not my point..
My point is, I would like nothing more than to keep my dollars local, by "doing it in Danville".. However, even if I can find something of interest here in town, I can't seem to get from point A to point B without going through the rest of the Alphabet first.. With one form or another of road construction going on in at least 5 places throughout town, everyone is forced to take alternate routes.. Generally the alternate routes are side streets and back roads that are only two lanes.. With the increased traffic taking these alternate routes, the two lane roads tend to get congested.. Add to this train traffic, and city wide road rage is off the chart.. I drive 5.5 miles to work every day.. Leave my house, taking side streets to avoid the 14 stop lights between my house and Ryleigh's school, drop her off, and take more side streets to avoid 6 more stop lights..
I cross 4 sets of train tracks and 2 school crossings.. My 5.5 mile commute takes no less than 30 minutes and has taken as much as 50..
The same holds true for any shopping or eating... Danville is running a little low on places to shop to start with.. And eating? I can't say there is anything special about the places you can find to eat in Danville.. It's all about convenience.. You can't get anything here, than you couldn't cook at home.. It's just sometimes easier to go out to eat.. Stop me if you think I'm wrong.. Oh yeah you can't stop me, it's my blog.. hehehe..
So here is my point.. with the increased congestion in traffic, the risk of being stopped by one or more trains, and the looping required to get somewhere that should be a direct shot, it's easier and quicker to hit I74 and head to Champaign.. I know if I go over there, I will be able to find whatever it is I'm shopping for, within a couple blocks of the I74 exit I choose to take.. And while I'm there, I can enjoy a meal consisting of something other than a burger or spaghetti..