Effingham is a nice enough town. The state of IL has its problems right now. State income tax has recently been raised. The state is broke. School districts have not been getting their funding from the state for over a year. This has led to cut backs in many, many school districts. A new cigarette tax to fund schools was voted down so I'm not sure what the next plan will be.
On the upside, housing in central IL is generally cheaper than most places.