From the
Mayor’s Desk
Mayor Thomas J. Weisner
Aurora Enters New Season
Happy Spring, Aurora!
I am happy to kick off this edition of the
Aurora Borealis discussing one of my favorite
activities: eating! As Mayor, I spend plenty of
time on the “rubber chicken” circuit, so in my
free time I spare no opportunity (as evidenced
by my waistline) to indulge myself in every
possible variety of cuisine . . . and as you can
see from our front page story, I don’t need to
venture outside of Aurora to find that variety.
Among our 20 of Aurora’s newest
restaurants you can find sophisticated dining
opportunities, like Sushi or Indian cuisine;
casual dining for homemade soups, pasta,
burgers or the ever-popular pizza; and tasty
treats like frozen yogurt. And these are just
the newest additions to Aurora’s already
broad spectrum of successful eateries, like
Luigi’s House, Basils, Mike & Denise’s,
Banana Split, or
Domo 77, which was recently spotlighted
as one of the “most romantic restaurants in
America.”
If you wash down your dinner – at home
or at an Aurora restaurant – with a glass of
water, you will be drinking the best tasting
water in the area, as judged in a recent
county-wide competition. Aurora’s water has
been rated as the best-tasting at the county
level five times in the past sixteen years and
best tasting in Illinois in 1999, 2000, 2007,
2008 and 2009.
We were also recognized recently by a
national real estate company as one of the
ten safest mid-sized cities in America. That
enviable finding was borne out by Aurora
Police Department 2013 crime statistics,
Mayor Weisner and the
Aurora City Council
honor Randy and Lisa
Brown, owners of
Banana Split Ice Cream
Shop, for operating
their successful
business for over
30 years in Aurora.
which showed the Major Crime category
(which includes violent crime) at its lowest
level since 1979, when we began sophisticated
data collection.
More good news is that the Aurora City
Council, once again, reduced the City of
Aurora’s property tax levy for City operations
in 2014. However, the bad news is that the
levy for support of public safety employee
pensions will rise, once again. Public safety
pension benefits are determined by the
Illinois State Legislature, but the costs of the
pension are borne, largely, through our local
property taxes.
As you may know, last year state legislators
approved pension reform for pensions
paid through state coffers, such as teacher
pensions. However, the legislature has yet
to consider reform of public safety pensions
which are paid for at the municipal level.
Public safety pensions are, on average, much
more costly than teacher pensions. Unless
Springfield addresses public safety pension
reform in the immediate future, property
taxes are likely to continue to go up in Aurora
and across Illinois in the future.
May the long-awaited arrival of Spring warm
Mother Earth … and our hearts, as well.
Sincerely,
www.aurora-il.org | 3