Grantham mayor tours Reagan sites, meets with Sauk Valley’s young entrepreneurs

DIXON — Graham Jeal, mayor of Grantham, England, spoke with business students and visited Ronald Reagan sites in Dixon and Eureka before Friday’s ceremony in Tampico.

Jeal, who has been mayor since May, is a member of the Conservative party and a businessman with a career in global finance. He lived in New York and San Francisco early in his career and many of his business interests are in Asia.

He shared those experiences during a Thursday gathering with the Whiteside Area Career Center’s CEO program. His host was Sean Sandrock, a graduate of the program in 2020.

“They are very enthusiastic, exactly as they should be at that age,” said Jeal. “They’ve got a lot of opportunity, they just need to go out there and find it. They are highly energized.”

Jeal’s tour of Reagan sites included a stop at the Reagan Boyhood Home in Dixon.

“That was fantastic,” said Jeal. “Great setup there. It’s really important work they do there, keeping the story of Ronald Reagan and how his values were put together in Tampico and Dixon.”

Jeal’s group dined in Princeton then visited Eureka College to view its collection of Reagan artifacts. Reagan graduated Eureka College in 1932. The visit coincided with an unscheduled appearance at the college by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, who was in the Peoria area to visit members of an electrical workers union and review work on the traffic control tower at Peoria International Airport.

Joined by Eureka College President Jamel Wright, the group toured the Peoria Riverfront Museum.

Jeal, in his role as mayor, is a trustee of the Grantham Museum.

Before returning to England, Jeal will visit the Reagan Ranch in Santa Barbara Calif. The ranch, like the boyhood home, is run by Young America’s Foundation, an outreach group promoting conservatism among high school and college-aged students.