Aurora

Governor J.B. Pritzker joined an Aurora coalition and VNA Health Care in an effort to increase COVID-19 vaccinations for Blacks in Kane and DuPage counties.  

Black Vax Aurora was put in place to ensure that Blacks in the area have equal access to the vaccine.  

Aurora’s poet laureate is making sure that poetry is in clear view in the city’s downtown.  

Karen-Fullett Christensen was at the starting line ready to take off after her appointment. But before she could get into a stride the pandemic swooped in like a whirlwind.  

“So, all the great plans that I had of things I wanted to do related to the poet laureate position really had to be put on hold with the exception of the Aurora Poet Laureate Facebook page,” she said, “and then everything that we're doing with A-Town Poetics.”  

Like most cities across the country, Aurora's local businesses were hit hard by the pandemic. A nonprofit group is partnering with a social space to create revenue opportunities for area vendors.  

Art and Market Aurora is a new indoor market coming to the City.  

Local Nonprofit Aurora Downtown worked with community venue Society 57, 101 S. River Street, to make this possible. 

A northern Illinois community came together this weekend to help paint a mural. That’s despite a dispute over the planning process.

Artist Joshua Schultz was tasked with creating the artwork. He said he had no doubts about people showing up to help. 

“I think that the thing about Aurora and downtown Aurora and the friends of Aurora,” he said, “is that everyone really just wants things to get better and be better and have a good time making them better.” 

Schultz shared that he has absolute faith in the Aurora community.  

The Aurora City Council recently approved a special sign district that has been under review for the past month. This came after controversy arose over the painting of a proposed mural. 

Some local artists and other residents took to social media to express their disappointment in the process for assigning the artist for the mural.

The work, featuring the word “Aurora” in capital, brightly-colored block letters, is to be located on a wall of Tortas Guadalajara located at 5 S. Lake street. This restaurant is on the western edge of the city’s downtown.

An Aurora-based nonprofit with a mission to cultivate community through the arts had to leave the space that housed its bookstore and community center two years ago. The group is now looking to purchase a new building but needs help to do so.

The death of George Floyd ignited protests across the country. But some communities also experienced looting. Aurora was one of them. A local artist used graffiti to help beautify what was destroyed. WNIJ delved into the history of this “City of Lights” artist.

Sam Cervantes was driving through the city’s downtown area on his way to work.

“This is at 8:30 in the morning and there's just droves of people with brooms and dustpans,” he said.

Then he saw them boarding up windows.

Aurora’s mayor, police chief and business owners responded to a night of protests and unrest in the city’s downtown. 

Mayor Richard Irvin held a press conference via Facebook Live and says he understands the hurt and outrage over the recent death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man taken into custody in Minneapolis last week. But he says he draws the line at looting.

Performance theaters across the country have closed their doors due to COVID-19. This has caused cancellations of community shows and other services. But one northern Illinois theater is continuing to engage with its community, despite closures.  

The Paramount School of the Arts in Aurora offered master classes before the COVID-19 pandemic. These classes were offered in conjunction with every Broadway show and taught by artists who were a part of that show. The classes are now virtual.

A northern Illinois organization held an online benefit concert to raise funds for those who lost their jobs due to the state’s stay-at-home mandate. The concert took place Saturday evening. 

Brandon Lyon is an organizer for Relief Coalition. The Relief Coalition is partnering with Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry in Aurora to provide food for those in need. Lyon said the food pantry is receiving help.

 An Aurora photographer is capturing sunshine in the city by adopting a project that started in Boston.  

Amy Nelson said a friend told her she should participate in the Front Steps Project. This project was started by Cara Soulia and Kristen Collins. Soulia is a Boston photographer who decided to take pictures of people sitting on their front steps. Photographers across the nation joined in.

Aurora’s downtown is transforming into what some are calling an “arts district.” 

Melissa Mercado is the executive director of the Fox Valley Music Foundation. It runs The Venue, a performance space located in the heart of downtown Aurora.

The Venue opened in 2019.  Mercado said the atmosphere of the 200-seat listening room is casual. Most sit around tables, and food and drink are available, and the offerings are intentionally eclectic.

A candlelight vigil was held at Northern Illinois University Thursday to honor the victims of the Aurora workplace shooting last Friday. Friends, family and faculty gathered to share their memories of the victims. Associate professor in the college of business Terry Bishop taught both of them and says it is important to remind people that you love them.

“I would urge you all to make sure that you always say that you love the people that you love, you can never say that too much. It is sad that we are saying goodbye to Clay and Trevor, we will never forget.”

Hundreds of people braved a freezing rain in Aurora on Sunday to pray for the victims of Friday’s mass shooting at a manufacturing plant.

Next to crosses bearing the victims’ names, pastors from several faith groups offered prayers for them, their families and the community. The vigil was organized by the Aurora Prayer Coalition and was held outside the Henry Pratt Co., the site of the mass shooting. Many attendees joined in the prayers. They also hugged each other in a ceremony marked by sorrow, but also gratitude.

Elections in Illinois are often handled on a regional basis by the County Clerk. Larger communities like Aurora and Rockford have independent boards, but some of these groups are consolidating into their county governments.

Our story begins in DeKalb County, which recently purchased a set of used voting machines from neighboring Kane County. Clerk and Recorder Doug Johnson says Kane no longer needed them, and it was a way to update the voting infrastructure without waiting for the state to approve new machines.

On February 28, voters in Aurora will whittle down the number of candidates running for mayor of Illinois’s second-largest city.