Galesburg Reporter

In a recent Facebook post, state Sen Neil Anderson (R-Moline) honored the 2023 Illinois Pork Family of the Year, Mark and Karen DeDecker of Cambridge.

"A great evening honoring The DeDecker Family from Henry County on being named the 2023 Illinois Pork Family of the Year as a part of the Illinois Pork Producers Association Expo, " Anderson said in the post.

Illinois Pork Producers introduced the family and noted that Mark and Karen and their son Lance currently farm 2,500 acres of corn and soybeans and market 7,000 hogs annually.

Anderson's website also featured a news release about the family. 

"From sun-up to sun-down for more than 75 years, through adversity and hardships, several wars and the great depression, the DeDecker family never gave up on their mission to help feed the world,” Anderson said in the release. “Not only have Mark and Karen devoted their time to the farm over the last several decades, they remained very active in their communities serving on multiple boards while raising three children.”

Anderson has served the 47th District since 2015, his website biography said. The district now includes portions and/or all of Adams, Fulton, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, Knox, Mason, McDonough, Menard, Mercer, Peoria, Rock Island, Schuyler, Stark, Tazwell and Warren counties. When not serving his constituents as a legislator in Springfield, Anderson is a firefighter/paramedic in Moline.