More than 30 floats, such as this one, will be in East Peoria’s annual Parade of Lights, slated for Nov. 18 this year.

STATE

County courthouses getting Lincoln portrait

The Woodford County Courthouse is one of the first courthouses in the state to receive a copy of a photograph of Abraham Lincoln sitting at the Old State Capitol in Springfield. A similar photograph will be hung in each of Illinois’ 102 county courthouses, as part of the activities to mark the state’s upcoming bicentennial.

The photograph was taken by Chicago photographer Alexander Hesler in June 1860.

In addition to Woodford, some of the first counties that already have received the photograph include McLean, Ford, Livingston and Logan. The canvas pictures are 30-inches by 40-inches and framed.

The Bloomington nonprofit Jerome Mirza Foundation is paying for the pictures. Illinois marks its bicentennial on Dec. 3, 2018.

CENTRAL ILLINOIS

Comcast to increase internet speeds

A system overhaul will increase Internet speeds for many Comcast customers throughout the Peoria area, including Eureka, Pekin, Washington and other towns. The overhaul that will be done over the coming several weeks will affect hundreds of thousands of customers in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan.

Some customers may see their download speeds more than double. The change in download speeds will differ across tiers of Internet service. The cable and Internet provider will alert customers to the specific changes to their accounts through letters in the mail and some email notifications.

Comcast customers may need to reset their modems to access the higher speeds. Directions on how to reset modems will be included in notifications to customers. Also, some modems provided by Comcast will not be compatible with the upgraded system and must be replaced.

EUREKA

College officially welcomes its new president

Eureka College officially has a new president. The college community celebrate the inauguration of President Jamel Santa Cruze Wright at the Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena and Convocation Center Nov. 3.

However, she has served as president for longer. Wright was introduced as the 27th president of Eureka College on July 11. She has nearly two decades of experience in higher education as an administrator and full-time faculty member. A native of St. Louis, Mo., she arrived ‘Neath The Elms in 2014 as the college’s first chief diversity officer and also served as vice president for strategic and diversity initiatives. 

Wright is the first woman and first African-American to lead the college, founded in 1855.

Wright received a doctorate and a master’s degree, both from the University of Kansas, and a bachelor’s degree from Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Mo., all in communication studies. 

Several people important in Wright’s life attended the installation ceremony. They included mentors from her time as a student, faculty member and administrator at Missouri Western State University, the University of Kansas, Boston College and Saint Louis University.

Also present were representatives from 16 colleges and universities, local lawmakers and the mayors of Eureka, Peoria and Washington.

EAST PEORIA

Annual holiday parade to light up streets

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas as East Peoria prepares to close streets to make way for the annual Parade of Lights. The celebration, featuring approximately 30 lighted floats, many of them animated, will kick off at 5:45 p.m. Nov. 18.

The 2017 parade will start at the intersection of East Washington Street and Dolans Lane, where Auto Zone is located. It will continue along its traditional Washington Street route, turning left at the intersection with Camp Street. 

Shortly after that, the route will change. The floats will turn right from Washington onto Taylor Street at East Peoria Autobody, and continue along Taylor in front of Central Junior High School, ending at Taylor Street and Springfield Road at the U.S. Post Office. 

A map of the new parade route is available at folepi.org.

–Woodford County News Briefs–