Koos on a more traditional fall semester at ISU

Posted on February 24, 2021
Chris Koos
Normal Mayor Chris Koos spoke Tuesday with WJBC’s Marc Strauss. (WJBC file photo)

 

By Neil Doyle

NORMAL – The fall semester at Illinois State University should look a little more “normal,” and that is a good thing according to Mayor Chris Koos.

“Illinois State University students are a major economic driver in our community,” Koos told WJBC’s Marc Strauss. “To not have them in the community will affect every business in the community and affect the Town of Normal overall.”

In a message to the campus community Wednesday, ISU President Larry Dietz said more in-person classes will be offered this fall and more students will live in on-campus housing. The university believes that students, faculty, and staff will have the opportunity to receive the COVID-19 vaccine before school starts in August.

Since the start of the pandemic, roughly 80% of ISU classes have been online. Dietz said administrators are prepared to continue with virtual learning if necessary.

More students on campus is a positive effect, as long as the virus is under control, said Koos.

“I’ve always said that what is good for Illinois State University is good for Normal, and what is good for Normal is good for Illinois State University,” Koos said.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…