ELMWOOD – The fact that the tornado that tore into this Peoria County town two years ago has led to economic development doesn’t surprise Dick Taylor.

“It would have been different if someone had been hurt or there had been loss of life, but the tornado helped us look at things,” said Taylor, who coordinated reconstruction in Elmwood and now directs the town’s economic development program.

“We were experiencing what all small towns have seen in the past 10 years,” he said, referring to a growing number of vacant buildings and a decline in business in this town of 2,100.