Editing Mount Vernon, Illinois (section)

===20th and 21st centuries===
During World War II, portions of the "Car Shops", as they had to come to be known, were converted over to wartime production, including the production of bomb casings.  Around 1939, a portion of the car shops was purchased by Precision Engineering, which originally built components for locomotives. During the 1970s, this company purchased old diesel/electric railroad locomotives, which it scrapped out or refurbished. Today, the plant thrives as a hub for [[National Railway Equipment Company]]<ref>[http://www.nationalrailway.com/nre-mt-vernon Nationalrailway.com] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141122054250/http://www.nationalrailway.com/nre-mt-vernon |date=November 22, 2014 }}</ref> which rebuilds and services diesel electric locomotives for rail lines across the globe.

In 1954, the car shops closed, causing a temporary jump in unemployment throughout the city and the 108 communities called "home" by its former employees.

The [[Interstate Highway System]] was built in the late 1950s and 1960s. The [[Concurrency (road)|concurrency]] of [[Interstate 57|I-57]] and [[Interstate 64 in Illinois|I-64]] is along the western border of the ridgeline which divides the [[Big Muddy River]] and [[Casey Creek (Illinois)|Casey Creek]]. The [[stack interchange]] on the southwest side of town complements the historic Casey Creek bridges, allowing much shorter travel times through the swamps to the east and south.

In April 2007, Mount Vernon voters elected the first female mayor<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.register-news.com/news/local_news/chesley-wins-mayoral-race/article_6af85a8f-1781-58b3-ace6-b0b5e660f010.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150117163523/http://www.register-news.com/news/local_news/chesley-wins-mayoral-race/article_6af85a8f-1781-58b3-ace6-b0b5e660f010.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 17, 2015|access-date=January 9, 2015|title=Chesley Wins Mayoral Race|publisher=[[Mt. Vernon Register-News]]}}</ref> of the city, Mary Jane Chesley. She was sworn into office on May 7, 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.register-news.com/news/king-city-swears-in-first-woman-mayor-three-council-members/article_78a599cd-a40f-53d1-b267-b97798e531fe.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150117163529/http://www.register-news.com/news/king-city-swears-in-first-woman-mayor-three-council-members/article_78a599cd-a40f-53d1-b267-b97798e531fe.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 17, 2015|access-date=January 9, 2015|title=King City Swears In First Woman Mayor|publisher=[[Mt. Vernon Register-News]]}}</ref>