other branch now being Northeastern Illinois University. The state of Illinois began funding the institution in 1951 and assumed control in 1965. CSU is a predominantly black (PBI) university.
== History ==
=== Early history: 19th century ===
Cook County Normal School was founded in 1867 as Cook County’s first teacher training school largely through the initiative of John F. Eberhart, the Commissioner of Schools for Cook County. Eberhart noted that Cook County schools lagged far behind their counterparts in the City of Chicago, especially in terms of the quality and competence of instructors. He convinced the County Commissioners to hold a teacher training institute in April 1860; its success convinced the commissioners of the need for a permanent school to educate teachers. In September 1867, the Cook County Board of Commissioners created a Normal school at Blue Island on a two-year experimental basis; Daniel Sanborn Wentworth was appointed as the first principal.
The school opened in 1869 as a permanent …
