Аврора қаласы: Тарихы мен қазіргі жағдайы

Aurora is a city in northeastern Illinois, United States. Located primarily in DuPage and Kane counties along the Fox River, it is the second most populous city in Illinois, after Chicago, and the 144th most populous city in the U. S. The population was 180,542 at the 2020 census. Founded within Kane County, Aurora's city limits have expanded into DuPage, Kendall, and Will counties. Once a mid sized manufacturing city, Aurora has grown since the 1960s into a large city within the Chicago metropolitan area. In 1908, Aurora adopted the nickname "City of Lights", because in 1881 it was one of the first cities in the United States to implement an all electric street lighting system. Aurora's historic downtown is centered on Stolp Island. The city is divided into three regions, the West Side, East Side, and Far East Side/Fox Valley. The Aurora area has some significant architecture, including structures by Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Bruce Goff and George Grant Elmslie. Aurora is also home to over 50 Sears Catalog Homes and seven Lustron all steel homes. The Hollywood Casino Aurora, a dockside gaming facility with and 1,200 gaming positions, is located along the river in downtown Aurora.

Before European settlers arrived, there was a Native American village in what is today downtown Aurora, on the banks of the Fox River. In 1834, following the Black Hawk War, the McCarty brothers settled on both sides of the river, but subsequently sold their land on the west side to the Lake brothers, who opened a mill. The McCartys lived on and operated a mill on the east side. Aurora was established with the building of a post office in 1837. Aurora began as two villages: East Aurora, incorporated in 1845 on the east side of the river, and West Aurora, formally organized on the west side of the river in 1854. Representatives could not agree which side of the river should house the public buildings, so most of them were built on or around Stolp Island in the middle of the river. As the city grew, it attracted numerous factories and jobs. In 1849, after failing to attract the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad building west from Chicago, the Aurora Branch Railroad was chartered to build a connection from Aurora to the G&CU at a place called Turner Junction, now West Chicago. Additional lines were built, including a direct line to Chicago, and in 1855 the company was reorganized into the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The CB&Q located its roundhouse and locomotive shop in Aurora, becoming the town's largest employer until the 1960s. Restructuring in the railroad industry resulted in a loss of jobs as passenger traffic dropped and the number of railroads decreased. The Burlington Railroad ran regularly scheduled passenger trains to Chicago. Other railroads built lines to Aurora, including the Chicago & Northwestern Railway to Geneva, the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway to Joliet, Chicago, Milwaukee & Gary to Rockford, and the interurbans Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad, Aurora, Elgin and Fox River Electric Company, Chicago, Aurora and DeKalb Railroad, and Aurora, Plainfield and Joliet Railroad. With the exception of the EJ&E main line on the east side of the city, all lines other than the former Burlington lines have been abandoned. The heavy industries on the East side provided employment for generations of European immigrants, who came from Ireland, Great Britain, Scandinavia, Luxembourg, Germany, France, Romania and Italy. Aurora became the economic center of the Fox Valley region. The combination of these three factors—a highly industrialized town, a sizable river that divided it, and the Burlington railroad's shops—accounted for much of the dynamics of Aurora's political, economic, and social history. The city openly supported abolitionism before the American Civil War. Mexican migrants began arriving after the Mexican Revolution of 1910. Socially, the town was progressive in its attitude toward education, religion, welfare, and women. The first free public school district in Illinois was established in 1851 here and the city established a high school for girls in 1855. The city developed as a manufacturing powerhouse which lasted until the early 1970s, when the railroad shops closed. Many other factories and industrial areas relocated or went out of business. By 1980, there were few industrial areas operating in the city, and unemployment soared to 16%. Brian Howard, an employee of Harris Corporation, was charged in the incident.

At approximately 1:30 p. m. on February 15, 2019, police responded to an active shooter situation in west Aurora to find that 45 year old Gary Martin had opened fire on fellow employees at the Henry Pratt Company after being terminated from the company. Five officers and several civilians were injured in the ensuing standoff, after which police entered the building and killed Martin. In total, the incident left six dead (including the gunman) and numerous others wounded. It was the first major shooting in the town's history.

Aurora is at (41.7637855, −88.2901352). While the city has traditionally been regarded as being in Kane County, Aurora also includes parts of DuPage, Kendall and Will counties. Aurora is one of only three cities in Illinois that span four counties the others being Barrington Hills and Centralia.)

The annual precipitation for Aurora is about 40 inches. The record high for Aurora is , on July 14, 1936. The record low is , on January 16, 2009. The average high temperature for Aurora in July is , the average January low is
On July 17–18, 1996, a major flood struck Aurora, with of rain in a 24 hour period, which is an Illinois state record, and the second highest ever nationally. Flooding occurred in almost every low lying area in the city, and in neighborhoods bordering the Fox River, causing major damage in some neighborhoods. The flooding was just as bad in Blackberry Creek, on Aurora's far west side. Aurora has not been struck by any major tornadoes in recent history, although they occur in Northern Illinois annually. In 1906, a tornado went through the Aurora Driving Park, a large recreation/amusement park and race track where the Riddle Highlands neighborhood and Northgate shopping center is today. The tornado hit during the afternoon performance of the Ringling Brothers "Greatest Show on Earth" circus, when the park was crowded. It killed 2 people and injured 22, but the grandstand was still filled for the evening performance. Weak tornadoes struck the city in 1954, 1958, 1960, and 1991. In 1990, the supercell thunderstorm that produced the deadly Plainfield Tornado passed over the city, dropping golf ball sized hail and causing wind damage. Less than ten minutes after passing through Aurora, the storm produced an F5 tornado, which touched down in nearby Oswego, less than 5 miles from downtown. The tornado then traveled through Plainfield and Joliet, killing 29 people. The city can receive heavy snowfall and experiences blizzards periodically. Aurora was hit with one of the strongest earthquakes ever to strike Illinois, a M 5.1, on May 26, 1909. It put cracks through chimneys and could be felt 500000 square miles (1,294,995 km2) around.

In 2008, reported major crimes in Aurora were at their lowest level in nearly three decades. The Chief of Police attributed the drop to a number of factors but especially credited the hard work of the city's police officers and the increase in anti gang priorities. Gang violence had reached a high in the 1990s, with the city averaging nearly 30 murders per year. Aurora has also adopted programs such as CeaseFire to reduce gang violence and prevent youths from joining gangs. Aurora had 7 murders in 2016. Like other large Midwestern cities that once relied on manufacturing as an economic basis, Aurora has a large number of abandoned buildings and vacant lots, especially in older sections of the city. Efforts are ongoing to rehabilitate these areas. Environmentally, Aurora has long dealt with pollution of the Fox River. The river was heavily polluted up until the 1970s by factories that had lined the river for over a century. Cleanup efforts have been successful with the help of state grants and volunteer efforts.

Aurora is on the edge of the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor. The city has a long tradition of manufacturing as does much of Chicago metropolitan area. Prominent manufacturers, past and present include Lyon Workspace Products, The Aurora Silverplate Manufacturing Company, Barber Greene Company, the Chicago Corset Company, the Aurora Brewing Company, Stephens Adamson Company, Caterpillar Inc., Western Electric, Allsteel Metals, National Metalwares, and Western Wheeled Scraper Works (later Austin Western Inc.). The most prominent employer and industry was the Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad (later Burlington Northern) which was headquartered in Aurora.

Formed in 1987, the Aurora Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (AACVB) is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to aggressively promoting and marketing the area as a premier overnight destination. The AACVB'S goal is to enhance the economic and environmental well being of a region comprising ten communities: Aurora, Batavia, Big Rock, Hinckley, Montgomery, North Aurora, Oswego, Plano, Sugar Grove, and Yorkville.

Downtown Aurora is home to the Paramount Theatre, a large live performance theater on the National Register of Historic Places, and the Hollywood Casino. There is also the Leland Tower, a former hotel that was the tallest building in Illinois outside of Chicago and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The largest collection of commercial buildings by Prairie School architect George Grant Elmslie is here. The main building of Aurora Public Library and a branch campus of Waubonsee Community College are also located downtown. The Riverfront Playhouse is a not for profit theater that has held a storefront location in downtown Aurora since 1978. A fixture of Downtown Aurora, the Waubonsee Community College Campus, which was formerly located on Stolp Island near the Paramount Theatre, closed in May 2011. A new and greatly expanded campus was built on the western banks of the river, between the river and IL Route 31. The construction of the campus was part of a larger plan to redevelop the Downtown area, putting in parks and new walking paths, and making the area more inviting. The plan also included a pedestrian bridge to connect the banks of the river. Also in the works is a plan to modify or reconstruct the bridges to Stolp Island, which have not been maintained for nearly 60 years.

Street name Location Blues Alley Stolp Avenue between Galena Boulevard and Downer Place Dr. William Bonner Avenue Pond Avenue changed to Bonner Avenue Dr. Lloyd Hall Memorial Drive Beach Street between Claim Street and Delius Street Reverend Oliver Shackleford Jr. Memorial Way Sumner Avenue between New York Street and Grand Boulevard Reverend Robert Wesby Avenue Lincoln Avenue between New York Street and Galena Boulevard Marie Wilkinson Boulevard View Street between Illinois Avenue and Plum Street Rich Ebey Avenue White Avenue between Terry and Hartford

Wayne's World (1992) is a comedy film set in Aurora, with characters developed from a skit on the television show Saturday Night Live. One of the authors was from neighboring Naperville, Illinois, and thought Aurora had the appropriate blue collar feel desired. Most of the movie was filmed elsewhere, but some small sections were filmed on location in Aurora. One scene shows the local White Castle. The film's sequel, Wayne's World 2, is also set in Aurora.

The Stonebridge Country Club, on Aurora's far northeast side, was home to the LPGA Tour's Kellogg Keebler Classic from 2002 to 2004. Stonebridge also hosted the Ameritech Senior Open from 1991 to 1995 on the Senior PGA Tour. The Aurora Islanders/Blues/Foxes, a minor league baseball franchise, played from 1910 to 1915 in the Wisconsin Illinois League. Their most famous player was Casey Stengel, who played one season with the team before being bought by the Brooklyn Dodgers. Stengel batted .352 and was the batting champion of the league for 1911; he also led the league with 50 stolen bases and had 27 outfield assists. The team played in a stadium on the west side in the former Riverview Park. He became known as a manager of baseball teams. Aurora University fields numerous teams that compete in NCAA Division III. Aurora also has its own zoo, Phillips Park Zoo, located within Phillips Park.

The city is home to Aurora University, two branches of Waubonsee Community College, and a branch of Rasmussen College. According to the 2022 Estimates for the American Community Survey, 79.1% of Aurora residents over the age of 24 pursued higher education.

Aurora is also home to other private schools. Within Aurora, there are three Roman Catholic High Schools, Aurora Central Catholic (Diocese of Rockford), Rosary, and Marmion Academy (Order of St. Benedict), and seven Catholic elementary schools operated by the Diocese of Rockford. Along with these three schools is Aurora Christian High School and Elementary School and Resurrection Lutheran School, a Pre K 8 grade school of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Aurora is also home to Fox Valley Montessori School, one of the first Montessori schools established in Illinois in 1969, which offers a preschool and elementary program.

The Aurora Public Library includes the main library, two branches, an express center, a support facility and a bookmobile. The library operations budget is $10 million and the staff numbers 85 full time and 89 part time employees. The library was funded in 1901 through a Carnegie grant. The Santori Public Library, the main library, was opened in June 2015, and offers a 3D printer and a digital media lab in addition to standard book and media services.

The Beacon News is Aurora's oldest business, first published in 1846, and is part of the Tribune Publishing. The newspaper has two editions: the Aurora edition and the Kendall County edition. The Beacon News has been recognized repeatedly by the Associated Press, Illinois Press Association, Northern Illinois Newspaper Association and the Chicago Headline Club as one of the best daily newspapers in Illinois.

Aurora has long been a regional transportation hub. Aurora's transportation system connects its residents and visitors to neighboring towns and cities. The city is served by several major roadways, including Interstate 88 and Illinois Route 59, making it easily accessible by car. Additionally, Aurora offers various public transportation options, including two Metra commuter stops, Pace Bus services, and an expanding bicycle network.

The city is the final stop of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe line of the Metra commuter rail system, allowing rail service into Chicago. The city also has a stop at the Rt. 59 station on the BNSF Line. This station is on the border with Naperville and each city maintains a parking lot on their respective side of the tracks. The BNSF Railway owns and maintains a rail yard in Aurora, which they named Eola Yard.

Pace Suburban Bus operates local bus service in Aurora six days a week (no service on Sundays) and connects to cities and village such as Naperville, Geneva, Batavia, Oswego, and St. Charles. Pace Bus offers 6 fixed route bus connections at the Aurora Transportation Center. The City of Aurora also has two Pace On Demand service zones allowing riders to reserve a trip to anywhere within one of the On Demand Zones. Aurora residents within Kane County are eligible to participate in the Ride in Kane transportation program, providing curb to curb bus or taxi service to individuals 65 and older, individuals with a disability, and those with low income.

The Aurora Municipal Airport is a general aviation airport in Sugar Grove, Illinois, just outside Aurora. Although the airport is in Sugar Grove, it is owned and operated by the City of Aurora. The Aurora Airport is designed as a reliever airport for Chicago's O'Hare and Midway Airports and also handles a lot of international cargo. It is capable of landing Boeing 757 aircraft. In addition, the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center is on Aurora's west side.

Aurora aims to be a bicycle friendly community and promotes bicycling throughout the city. In July 2020, the City of Aurora partnered with Koloni to launch its new Fox Valley Bike Share program. The city has also invested in bike infrastructure improvement projects, further expanding the network of bike lanes and multi use paths. The completion of a bridge in 2021 over the Fox River in Aurora provides a safe and direct route for bicyclists and pedestrians from the Aurora Transportation Center to the Fox River Trail.

Aurora does not have a stop for Amtrak trains, as the old station closed in the 1980s. The closest Amtrak station is in Naperville. Aurora City Lines, the old city bus lines, was closed in the late 1980s in favor of regional bus service. Greyhound buses used to stop at the Aurora Transportation Center, but service was discontinued on September 7, 2011. Aurora also had an extensive streetcar system, operated by the Aurora, Elgin and Fox River Electric Company, that served most neighborhoods. Aurora was served by a number of interurban lines, the most prominent of which was the Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad which provided service into Chicago. The STAR Line would have included a third station at Ferry Rd. north of the BNSF Line.

Aurora has two hospitals, one on the west side, Ascension Mercy Medical Center, and one in Fox Valley, Rush–Copley Medical Center.