Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. The 2020 census showed the city had a population of 78,680, making it the 13th-most populous city in Illinois and the fifth-most populous outside the Chicago metropolitan area. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area, which has a population of roughly 170,000. Bloomington is 135 miles (217 km) southwest of Chicago and 162 miles (261 km) northeast of St. Louis. Bloomington is home to Illinois Wesleyan University and the headquarters for State Farm and Country Financial.
Colfax is a village in McLean County, Illinois, United States. The population was 996 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Bloomington–Normal Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Le Roy is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,512 at the 2020 census.
Normal is a town in McLean County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 52,736. Normal is the smaller of two principal cities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area, and is Illinois' seventh most populous community outside the Chicago metropolitan area. The main campus of Illinois' oldest public university, Illinois State University, a fully accredited four-year institution, is in Normal, as is Heartland Community College, a fully accredited two-year institution. Chris Koos has been Normal's mayor since 2003.
Towanda is a village in McLean County, Illinois, United States. The population was 431 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Bloomington–Normal Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois serves the residents of forty-six counties, which are divided into four divisions. The counties are: Adams, Brown, Bureau, Cass, Champaign, Christian, Coles, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Fulton, Greene, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, Iroquois, Kankakee, Knox, Livingston, Logan, McDonough, McLean, Macoupin, Macon, Marshall, Mason, Menard, Mercer, Montgomery, Morgan, Moultrie, Peoria, Piatt, Pike, Putnam, Rock Island, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby, Stark, Tazewell, Vermilion, Warren, and Woodford counties.
Jesse W. Fell was an American businessman and landowner. He was instrumental in the founding of Illinois State University as well as Normal, Pontiac, Clinton, Towanda, Dwight, DeWitt County and Livingston County in Central Illinois. He was also the founder of the newspaper The Pantagraph. As a close friend of Abraham Lincoln, it was Fell who urged him to challenge his opponent, Stephen A. Douglas, to their famous series of debates.
The McLean County Courthouse and Square is located in downtown Bloomington, Illinois. The site is on the National Register of Historic Places and encompasses the old McLean County Courthouse and the courthouse-facing sides of three downtown blocks. All 4 floors of the building are now occupied by the McLean County Museum of History for exhibits, collections storage, and offices. The historic buildings at the other side of the square were destroyed by fire in the 1980s. The Square is bordered by four Bloomington streets: Main Street, Center Street, Jefferson Street and Washington Street. The site was home to three previous courthouses before the current one was completed in 1903. The first courthouse at the site was built in 1831, and the second in 1836. The third was built in 1868, but suffered major damage from fire on June 19, 1900.
Franklin Square, or Franklin Park is located in Bloomington, Illinois, McLean County. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Franklin Square contains the homes of former Vice President Adlai Stevenson I and former Governor Joseph W. Fifer. In 1979 the square was designated as a local historic district. Located northeast of downtown Bloomington, the square encompasses the 300 and 400 blocks of E. Chestnut and E. Walnut streets and the 900 block of N. Prairie and N. McLean streets.
John Milton Scott was an American attorney, judge, politician and philanthropist from Illinois. Although he did not win election to the Illinois Senate from Bloomington, Illinois, he served on both the Illinois Circuit Courts (1862-1870) and the Supreme Court of Illinois (1870-1888), including three one-year terms as chief justice. The trust he established in his will funded the first hospital in Bloomington and continues to fund local healthcare today.
The village of Benjaminville, Illinois, was founded in McLean County, Illinois, United States during the 1850s by Quaker farmers, who, like many others who came to Illinois, were looking to take advantage of the rich prairie soil. The town's settlement centered on the Society of Friends and the meeting house that was first constructed there in 1859. The town was rendered a ghost town after 1870 when the expected Lake Erie Railroad did not come into town. Today the unincorporated community of Bentown, Illinois, exists near the site of the former town of Benjaminville.
Miller Park Zoo is a zoo located in Miller Park, a public park in Bloomington, Illinois, United States. It is administered by the Parks and Recreation Department of the City of Bloomington.
Holder is an unincorporated community in Old Town Township, McLean County, Illinois.
The Pantagraph is a daily newspaper that serves Bloomington–Normal, Illinois, along with 60 communities and eight counties in the Central Illinois area. Its headquarters are in Bloomington and it is owned by Lee Enterprises. The name is derived from the Greek words "panta" and "grapho," which has a combined meaning of "write all things."
Clinton Township is a township in Douglas County, Kansas, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 531. It took its name from Clinton, Illinois.
The Dixie Travel Plaza, previously known as the Dixie Truck Stop and Dixie Trucker's Home, is a large trucker and travel plaza located in McLean, Illinois, on Interstate 55. It was established by J.P. Walters and John Geske in 1928 on old US Route 66 as a small sandwich stand in a truck mechanic's garage. By 1930, quickly growing demand had necessitated expansion into a full-size restaurant. The restaurant was expanded several times afterwards, and rebuilt once after a fire in 1965. Walters, Geske and the Dixie Trucker's Home have been recognized by the Route 66 Association of Illinois for their contributions—from 1926 to 1977—to the character of Route 66. They were inducted into the association's hall of fame on June 9, 1990. Dixie was previously home to the Route 66 Hall of Fame when it opened in 1990. In 2003, after Dixie changed ownership, the museum was moved to a new, larger location in Pontiac, Illinois.
The McLean County Museum of History is an AAM accredited institution located in Bloomington, Illinois. It is the principal asset of the McLean County Historical Society, an Illinois nonprofit organization, which was founded in 1892 to study local history. The Museum moved into its current location in 1991.
Asahel Gridley was an American politician, lawyer, merchant, and banker. Born in New York, Gridley moved to Bloomington, Illinois, when he was twenty-one. He served as a brigadier general in the Black Hawk War and was elected to three terms in the Illinois General Assembly. There, he lobbied to have the Illinois Central and Chicago and Alton Railroads pass near Bloomington. Abraham Lincoln once defended Gridley during a slander trial and was a frequent collaborator or opponent in the courts. Gridley is also the namesake of Gridley, Illinois, and platted two other McLean County towns.
