By Sam Thomas
The trees in Uptown Normal are glowing with red lights after Illinois State University Provost Janet Krejci and Normal Mayor Chris Koos ceremoniously pulled a lever that illuminated the area, signifying the start of ISU Homecoming week.
Koos said Normal is fortunate to have such a great relationship with its university.
“[Illinois State University] is a large part of the town of Normal,” he said. “Unfortunately, a lot of university communities don’t have good relationships with their university. But in this one, we have a great relationship and it just seems to get stronger every year.”
The ISU Big Red Marching Machine and cheerleaders helped fire up the crowd prior to the lighting of the trees.
Koos added that it would be difficult to recognize Normal without its university.
“They’re a huge part of our community economically, socially and culturally,” he said. “The town would be a completely different place if this university wasn’t here, and we value that. And the university values its relationship with the town.”
Those in attendance were able to visit University Galleries after the ceremoney, where a number of exhibitions featuring alumni artwork were on display.
Koos explained the idea behind the ceremony.
“The original idea came from a group at Illinois State University and they raised some dollars to do some lighting,” he said. “They did [Uptown Circle] originally, and then it was so popular that they raised money and decided to do more each year.”
The lights are now funded jointly by the Redbird Pride Committee and the Town of Normal.
Sam Thomas can be reached at Sam@WJBC.com.
