BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (AP) – A portion of Interstate 55 near Bloomington will be renamed to honor a former resident who killed while serving in Afghanistan.
The Pantagraph reports a dedication ceremony is scheduled for May 18 at VFW Post 454 in Bloomington to honor Sgt. Anthony R. Maddox. Before the ceremony, a motorcycle procession will leave from the VFW and travel along the stretch of interstate that’s being renamed.
Maddox died in an accidental explosion while serving with the Army in 2013. He was 22.
Maddox attended junior high and part of high school in Normal, where he played baseball and football. He enlisted in the Army in 2011.
State Rep. Dan Brady and Sen. Jason Barickman sponsored a resolution to rename the stretch of interstate. Brady says Maddox “will long be honored and remembered here in the community where he grew up.”