Amtrak expands service at Normal station for Thanksgiving week

Posted on November 23, 2015

By Dave Dahl/Illinois

SPRINGFIELD – Over the river and through the woods could mean riding the rails.

“We’re adding additional service to downstate Illinois,” said Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari, “both the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after.”

Magliari says last year Sunday was busier than Wednesday that weekend. The extra service is on the Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, connecting Quincy and Macomb to Chicago, and on the Lincoln Service only as far south as Bloomington-Normal, which Magliari said is Amtrak’s busiest downstate Illinois station.

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year. It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city. Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University. We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk. Going to work every day for some people means…