Originally known as North Bloomington, the town was founded under the name of Normal in February 1865 and officially incorporated in 1867. The name was taken from Illinois State Normal University, a normal school (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." In February, 2008, Forbes.com named Bloomington-Normal as #20 on its list of the 25 smartest communities in the United States. The current mayor of Normal is Chris Koos.
The main campus of Illinois State University, a four-year, fully accredited institution, Illinois oldest public university, is located in Normal, as is Heartland Community College, a two-year, fully accredited institution, also there 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 (with each other) to rename Downtown Normal to "Uptown Normal," despite much ridicule from hundreds of long-time Normal residents who think "Uptown" just sounds stupid. To those residents, it shall remain (and will always be referred to) as Downtown Normal.
A large percentage of residents of Normal are employed by Illinois State University, State Farm Insurance (Corporate Headquarters in Bloomington), COUNTRY Financial (Corporate Headquarters in Bloomington), Unit 5 schools, and the Mitsubishi Motors North America manufacturing facility, which manufactures the Eclipse, Eclipse Spyder, Endeavor, and Galant.
As of the census of 2000, there were 45,386 people, 15,157 households, and 8,184 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,286.6/km sq (3,332.6/mi sq). There were 15,683 housing units at an average density of 444.6/km sq (1,151.6/mi sq). The racial makeup of the town was 87.57% White, 7.71% African American, 0.15% Native American, 2.21% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.93% from Race (United States Census)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 out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.4% were Marriagemarried 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.
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, Orlando and Las Vegas.
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 second busiest Amtrak station in the state of Illinois after Chicago, servicing more than 180,000 passengers each year. Traveling to Bloomington-Normal via Amtrak is a two and a half hour ride from both St. Louis and Chicago, and an inexpensive alternative to driving.
The Bloomington-Normal Public Transit System has 11 color-coded fixed routes in the area for a $1 adult fare or an unlimited monthly pass for $29. The system also provides lift-assisted paratransit service, "NiteRide," which only operates when Illinois State University is in session, and "Redbird Express," a free campus shuttle to serve Illinois State University.