Tagged: western illinois university

Western Illinois University celebrated its founding by looking ahead to its future.  The annual Founder's Day ceremony was highlighted by President Jack Thomas, who delivered a 20 minute speech with the theme “Let Us Not Forget.”

“Let us not forget that we have an excellent history of providing access to a wide range of students, and we must remain an institution that is affordable,” Thomas said, adding that he considers WIU affordable when compared to peer institutions.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the University Theme at WIU. By bringing internationally renowned speakers to campus, the University Theme offers students, faculty and community members the opportunity to enjoy candid and personal interactions with world leaders. Discussions that begin with the lectures often continue days and weeks later in residence halls, coffee shops and classrooms.

Construction will start soon on the next phase of Western Illinois University's campus in the Quad Cities.

Local and state leaders were on hand Wednesday afternoon to break ground for the second building at the new riverfront campus in Moline.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn called it a prudent investment by the people of the state.

"We believe in jobs, and one of the very best ways to have good jobs today and tomorrow is to invest in education," Quinn told the crowd. "We want to make sure that all of our students get a good education."

The City of Macomb has taken steps to ensure the water continues to flow this summer despite the drought.

Mayor Mike Inman said water from one of the city's deep wells is being pumped into Spring Lake, which is the city's water source.

“The water manager started pumping from one of our deep wells the first week of July,” Inman said.

“We're pumping roughly 800 gallons a minute from that deep well into the lake, trying to maintain the water level there.”

The city has two deep wells. Both are at Spring Lake.