‘He inspired us’: Family, friends honor Sen. Scott Bennett with highway dedication
CENTRAL ILLINOIS (WCIA) — People who drive on Interstate 74 between Champaign and the border with Indiana will now drive on the Senator Scott M. Bennett Memorial Highway.
The 50-mile stretch of highway in Champaign and Vermilion Counties was formally dedicated in the late senator’s honor on Thursday. Paul Faraci, Bennett’s successor in the Illinois State Senate, unveiled the sign that now marks I-74 in Bennett’s honor.
People who knew Bennett said he traveled on I-74 frequently. They said it was a trip that showed his dedication to the wide and diverse district he represented.
“They were like trying to decide where they would do it,” said Bennett’s wife Stacy. “There was no other option really, because he did this drive so much and just truly loved it.”
Stacy said the late senator would’ve wanted people to smile when they see the new signs.
“I want everyone to celebrate him and not memorialize him,” she said. “Because that’s not who he was. He would not want people to be sad.”
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Friends, family and politicians showed up to the dedication in Oakwood, proof of Bennett’s ability to bridge philosophical gaps.
“He cared about that portion of the district. That was very important to me,” said Mike Marron, former state representative and current CEO of Vermilion Advantage. “That’s my home, even though it wasn’t probably the easiest part of the district for him to represent.”
Marron said Bennett didn’t have to travel to Danville to visit constituents as often as he did. He even made inroads with some in the non-voting population.
Danville High School student Isaiah Easton said before he met the senator, he was a little intimidated. But he pulled a U-turn after meeting Bennett.
“He inspired us to get into the community and do that community work, because that’s really that’s what like his biggest passion that I saw as a student,” Easton said.
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The 50-mile stretch of highway connecting so many people might just be the perfect memorial for a man who tried his best to do the same.
“He just wanted to listen and was there to listen and try to bring people together,” Stacy said. “And oftentimes that would mean everyone was mad at him because he was compromising. But that’s what he felt was the best way to represent.”
The State Senate passed Senate Joint Resolution 32 designating that the highway in Bennett’s honor. Drivers going east can see one of the signs near route 45 in Urbana. The other is by the Indiana state line for drivers going west.
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