Normal

 

town (1990 pop. 40,023), McLean co., central Ill.; inc. 1865. It is the center of a productive farming region. Motor vehicles are manufactured in Normal. The town originally grew around Illinois State Univ. (1857; formerly called Illinois State Normal Univ.), which remains a major contributor to its economy.

Normal, Illinois
Coordinates: 40°30′44″N 88°59′19″W / 40.51222, -88.98861
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	McLean
Government
- Mayor	Chris Koos
Area
- City	sq mi (km²)
- Land	sq mi ( km²)
- Water	sq mi ( km²)
Elevation	ft ( m)
Population (2005)
- City
Time zone	Central Standard Time (USA) (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	Central Daylight Time (UTC-5)
Website: www.normal.org

Normal is an incorporated town in McLean County, Illinois, United States. It had a population of 45,386 as of the 2000 census. The smaller of two principal municipalities of the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area in area and population, its population had risen to 50,519 by 2005.^[1]

Originally known as North Bloomington, the town was incorporated as Normal in February of 1865^[2]. The name was taken from Illinois State Normal University, a teacher-training institution located there. The school has since been renamed Illinois State University after becoming a general four year university. Normal is adjacent to Bloomington, Illinois, and when mentioned together they are known as the "Twin Cities," "Bloomington-Normal," or simply "B-N." The current mayor of Normal is Chris Koos.

The main campus of Heartland Community College, a two-year, fully accredited institution, is located in Normal, as is a satellite campus of Lincoln College, which offers associate degrees as well as four-year programs.

Uptown Normal (formerly Downtown Normal) is currently being revitalized to attract new businesses, and it was recently made the home of the new Children's Discovery Museum. The district is also home to the historic and non-profit Normal Theater, a restored Art Deco theater owned by the Town of Normal that runs classic and independent films. In 2007, the town council agreed to rename Downtown Normal to "Uptown Normal."

A large percentage of residents of Normal are employed by Illinois State University, State Farm Insurance (Corporate Headquarters in Bloomington), COUNTRY Insurance & Financial Services (Corporate Headquarters in Bloomington) , and the Mitsubishi Motors North America manufacturing facility, which manufactures the Eclipse, Eclipse Spyder, Endeavor, and Galant.

Geography

Normal is located near 40°30′44″N, 88°59′19″W (40.512189, -88.988701)¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 35.4 km² (13.7 mi²), 35.3 km² (13.6 mi²) in land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) (0.44%) in water.

Schools

The Town of Normal is in the McLean County Unit District No 5 School District.[1]

• Normal Community High School (NCHS)
• Normal Community West High School (NCWHS)
• Kingsley Junior High School (KJHS)
• Parkside Junior High School (PJHS)
• Chiddix Junior High School (CJHS)
• Parkside Elementary
• Oakdale Elementary
• Fairview Elementary
• Grove Elementary
• Glenn Elementary
• Colene Hoose Elementary
• Prairieland Elementary
• Sugar Creek Elementary
• Brigham Elementary
• Fox Creek Elementary
• Northpoint Elementary
• Pepper Ridge Elementary
• Towanda Elementary
• Carlock Elementary
• Hudson Elementary

There are also two schools in Normal that are operated by Illinois State University. They are:

• University High School
• Thomas Metcalf Elementary

Demographics

The census of 2000² counted 45,386 people, 15,157 households, and 8,184 families as town residents. The population density was 1,286.6/km² (3,332.6/mi²). There were 15,683 housing units, with an average density of 444.6/km² (1,151.6/mi²). The town was 87.57% White, 7.71% African American, 0.15% Native American, 2.21% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.93% from other races, and 1.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.56% of the population.

There were 15,157 households, 27.3% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.4% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.0% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the town the population was spread out with 17.5% under the age of 18, 38.1% from 18 to 24, 23.1% from 25 to 44, 13.7% from 45 to 64, and 7.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females there were 88.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.5 males. The unusual age and sex distributions are due in large part to the presence of Illinois State University. A significant number of students at Illinois State University reside in Normal, and the institution has large programs in several female-dominated academic fields, such as education and nursing.

The median income for a household in the town was $40,379, and the median income for a family was $60,644. Males had a median income of $41,323 versus $27,486 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,775. About 5.6% of families and 19.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.4% of those under age 18 and 3.9% of those age 65 or over.

However, traditional measures of poverty can be highly misleading when applied to communities with a large proportion of students, such as Normal.^{[citation needed]}

Transportation

Three Interstate highways pass through Normal. Interstate 55 wraps around the north and northwest edge of the city. Interstate 74 shares the I-55 roadway on the western edge of Normal before splitting off toward the northwest. Normal is the southern terminus of Interstate 39.

Central Illinois Regional Airport is located on Route 9 in Bloomington, approximately five miles east southeast from Uptown Normal. The airport is served by five airlines and five rental car agencies, and has direct daily flights to Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, and Orlando.

The Bloomington-Normal Amtrak station is located in Uptown Normal at 100 E. Parkinson St. The station serves five trains in each direction between St. Louis and Chicago each day. The station also serves connecting bus service to Peoria and Amtrak stations in Galesburg and Champaign/Urbana. It is the third busiest Amtrak station in the state of Illinois, serving more than 100,000 passengers in 2006.

The Bloomington-Normal Public Transit System has 10 color-coded fixed routes in the area for a $.75 adult fare or an unlimited monthly pass for $22. The system also provides lift-assisted paratransit service, "NiteRide," and "Redbird Express," a free campus shuttle to serve Illinois State University.

Constitution Trail is a network of bike and pedestrian paths extending throughout the Bloomington-Normal area. Much of the network is formed from abandoned Illinois Central Railroad right of ways.

Notable natives

• McLean Stevenson, actor, born in Normal
• Awadagin Pratt, musician, raised in Normal
• Ogonna Nnamani, member of the US Olympic volleyball team, born in Normal
• Andrew Bacevich, historian and author, born in Normal
• Andrew Osenga, musician and songwriter
• Ralph Eugene Meatyard, photographer, born in Normal

Media

FM radio

• 88.1 WESN, Illinois Wesleyan University Student Radio
• 89.1 WGLT, Blues & Jazz
• 90.9 WILL, Classical music (RDS) (Urbana-Champaign)
• 91.5 WCIC, Christian AC (RDS)
• 92.9 WRPW "Cities 92.9", News/Talk (RDS) (Peoria)
• 93.3 WPBG "93.3 The Drive", Classic Hits (RDS - Artist/Title) (Peoria)
• 93.7 WTRX, Oldies (RDS)
• 95.5 WGLO, Classic Rock (Peoria)
• 96.7 WIHN "96.7 I-Rock", Active Rock (RDS)
• 97.9 WBBE "97.9 Bob FM", Adult Hits (RDS)
• 98.9 W255AI (Translates 91.5 WCIC), Christian AC (RDS)
• 99.5 WDQZ "99.5 The Eagle", Classic Rock (RDS)
• 100.1 W261BK (Translates 88.5 WBNH), Religious Music
• 100.7 WVMG "Magic 100.7", Soft Adult Contemporary (RDS)
• 101.5 WBNQ, CHR/Pop (RDS - Artist/Title)
• 103.3 WEWT "Truth 103", Christian CHR (RDS)
• 104.1 WBWN "B 104", Country (RDS - Artist/Title)
• 105.7 WIXO "105.7 The X Rocks", Active Rock (RDS - Artist/Title) (Peoria)
• 106.1 WZND Illinois State University Student Radio
• 107.7 WYST "The Bull 107.7", Country (RDS)

AM radio

• 1230 WJBC, News/Talk

Analog television

• 19 WHOI, ABC (Peoria)
• 25 WEEK-TV "News 25", NBC (Peoria)
• 31 WMBD-TV "Newschannel 31", CBS (Peoria)
• 43 WYZZ-TV "Fox 43", Fox
• 47 WTVP, PBS (Peoria)
• 51 W51CT, Trinity Broadcasting Network
• 59 WAOE "My59", MyNetworkTV (Peoria)

Digital television (DTV)

• 28 WYZZ-DT (43.1 - High Definition) "Fox 43", Fox
• 40 WHOI-DT (19.1 - High Definition), ABC
• 40 WHOI-DT (19.2 - Standard Definition), The CW Television Network
• 46 WTVP-DT (47.1 - Standard Definition), PBS
• 46 WTVP-DT (47.2 - High Definition), PBS HDTV
• 46 WTVP-DT (47.3 - Standard Defnition), Create
• 56 WEEK-DT (25.1 - High Definition) "News 25", NBC
• 56 WEEK-DT (25.2 - Standard Definition), NBC Weather Plus

Print

• The Pantagraph, local daily newspaper

Trivia

• The original Steak and Shake was opened in Normal in 1934, but was torn down in 2005. [2]
• Mitsubishi's only North American car manufacturing facility is located in Normal. [3]
• The mayor of Normal will pay US$50 to anyone who can tell him a joke about his town he hasn't heard before. [4]
• Ten Minutes from Normal by Karen Hughes takes its name from the town.

Points of interest

• Camelback Bridge
• Constitution Trail
• Fell Arboretum
• Heartland Community College
• Illinois State University
• Normal Theater
• Bloomington-Normal (Amtrak station)
• Redbird Arena

Sports teams

• Bloomington Extreme Arena league football @ The U.S. Cellular coliseum
• Illinois State University Redbirds
• Prairie Thunder Local Hockey Team @ The U.S. Cellular coliseum

References

1. ^ http://www.normal.org/About/Profile.asp
2. ^ History of Normal

External links

• The Official Website of Normal, Illinois
• Bloomington Normal Public Transit System

Coordinates: 40.512189° N 88.988701° W

Municipalities and communities of McLean County, Illinois
County seat: Bloomington
Cities	Bloomington | Chenoa | Le Roy | Lexington
Town	Normal
Villages	Anchor | Arrowsmith | Bellflower | Carlock | Colfax | Cooksville | Danvers | Downs | Ellsworth | Gridley | Heyworth | Hudson | McLean | Saybrook | Stanford | Towanda
Townships	Allin | Anchor | Arrowsmith | Bellflower | Bloomington | Bloomington City | Blue Mound | Cheney’s | Chenoa | Cropsey | Dale | Danvers | Dawson | Downs | Dry Grove | Empire | Funk’s Grove | Gridley | Hudson | Lawndale | Lexington | Martin | Money Creek | Mount Hope | Normal | Old Town | Randolph | Towanda | West | White Oak | Yates
Unincorporated communities	Barnes | Bloomington Heights | Covell | Fletcher | Gillum | Glen Avon | Hilltop | Holder | Kerrik | Kumler | Lyttleville | Merna | Padua | Sabina | Shirley | Weston | Yuton

	State of Illinois Springfield (capital)
Topics	History | Government | Economy | Culture
Regions	American Bottom | Central Illinois | Champaign‑Urbana | Chicago metropolitan area | Driftless Area | Forgottonia | Fox River | Little Egypt | Mississippi Plain | Northern Illinois | North Shore | Northwestern Illinois | Quad Cities | River Bend | St. Louis Metro‑East | Wabash Valley
Major cities	Aurora | Belleville | Bloomington/Normal | Carbondale | Champaign/Urbana | Chicago | Danville | Decatur | DeKalb | East St. Louis | Elgin | Freeport | Galesburg | Joliet | Kankakee | Moline/Rock Island | Naperville | Peoria | Quincy | Rockford | Springfield | Waukegan
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