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ViewsAurora, ILFrom Wiki
[edit] General InformationAurora is a vibrant city of about 157,000. It is the second-largest city in Illinois, behind Chicago of course, and is slightly larger than its eastern neighbour, Naperville. [edit] LocationAurora is situated in the Fox River valley, and the city offices are actually on an island in the middle of the Fox River. Aurora is about 40 miles west of Chicago, and is the largest town or city in Chicagoland, which is the 284+ towns/cities that circle Chicago. [edit] EntertainmentThe downtown area of Aurora has seen large amounts of investment and rebuilding in recent years, and hosts Farmers' Markets from late Spring to early Autumn, and "Downtown Alive!" music events throughout the Summer weekends. Also in central Aurora is Walter Payton's Roundhouse, a large entertainment complex that the now-deceased #34 player for the Chicago Bears poured a heap of money in to, to get it done up beautifully. It is online here and is a microbrewery as well. There are a ton of small bars and clubs dotted all around the city, and on the near-east side the bars are predominantly Hispanic. For those who enjoy gambling, Aurora has two riverboats, which don't actually sail on the Fox River anymore, but the casinos are not allowed to be on dry land, under Illinois law. The boats are moored on the island that the city offices are also on. [edit] Politics & Social Make-upPolitically Aurora leans to the left, unlike neighbouring Naperville which leans strongly to the right. Aurora's current mayor is Democrat Tom Weisner. 30% of Aurora's population is Hispanic. [edit] Getting AroundAurora's main way for reaching Chicago is along Interstate 88 (I-88), which runs east-west and is a tollway. It can take as little as 48 minutes from Aurora's centre, to reach central Chicago on the train in rush hour, and as many as (roughly) 2 hours to get into central Chicago when driving. I-88 is currently rather prone to traffic jams and roadworks. The local bus service is Pace, but the vast majority of people use their private cars. Be prepared to give taxi drivers detailed directions on how to get from A to B. [edit] ShoppingThere are strip malls all over Aurora, and two huge shopping centres. One is Westfield Shoppingtown, which was until recently called Fox Valley Mall, and is commonly known as that, and the Premium Outlet Mall, which is at the intersection of I-88 and Orchard Road, at the north-west edge of Aurora. Fox Valley Mall is at the eastern edge of Aurora, and borders Naperville at Route 59.
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