downtown auroran magazine "the mayor issue" winter 2016

FREE / LOCAL CULTURE / WINTER 2016 / ISSUE 21

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2 Downtown Auroran Winter 2016

It’s not hard to imagine a thriving downtown. Just drive down Galena Boulevard on a Friday night when the Paramount Theatre

has a show. Traffic is lined up at stoplights, dozens of people fill the sidewalks, nearby restaurants are packed, and there is a buzz in the air.

The same can be said on the first Friday of the month when hundreds mill about downtown to catch art openings and live music.

There are times when our downtown is alive with excitement and undoubtedly a vibrant, active city – more people come downtown now than ever before.

But the vacant buildings and stores shuttered on weekends are very real. There are times when downtown is bustling, and there are times when it is desolate. Business owners want foot traffic and pedestrians want businesses that are open.

I think most of us want a downtown that is open. We want people to be able to stop at cafés, museums, and stores on any given day of the week. We, like Mike Mancuso in our cover story, want people to wonder why they haven’t been to Aurora before - instead of wondering why a door is locked at 4 p.m. on a Saturday.

As more people move into downtown, as popular events draw crowds, and as businesses invest in downtown, there will naturally be more demand for a growing and flourishing downtown sans closed stores, vacant storefronts, and decrepit properties.

In this issue, we talked to a handful of locals who fill important roles in Aurora right now. We asked them what they want for the future of the city, and, invariably, they want a successful downtown. They also want the next mayor to work with them in their various roles that all include making the city a better place.

We don’t know who will be the next mayor of Aurora. We do know that downtown has to be a priority, and not in the abstract sense of rehashed master plans, but in the practical sense of open signs in windows.

Things are happening downtown, and we want an active listener and someone who’s not afraid to push past politics to work with those who both have a little skin in the game and those who just love downtown.

We all have the same end goal. We can all win if we work together.

See you downtown!

Downtown Auroran

www.downtownauroran.com

Marissa AmoniFounder, Publisher and Editor

Kelmscott CommunicationsGraphic Design

Tony ScottCopy Editor

Kate Purl Frank PattersonContributors

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Downtown Auroran (DTA) is a local, independent operation. We promote and support local arts and culture while advocating for a vibrant downtown.

DTA is published quarterly and distributed free of charge throughout downtown and select locations in the Aurora area. DTA is printed in Aurora, Ill. by Kelmscott Communications.

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cover story

page 6

Table of Contents

DOMINGO PARADA

MARCH 4 | MAY 6 | AUG 5 | OCT 7

The NextMayor

page 9

Art ist Prof i leBy Frank Patterson

Candidates Q&A

page 10

4 Comic

5 Locust Report

6 Cover Story

9 Artist Profile

10 DTA Q&A: Linda Chapa LaVia

11 DTA Q&A: Mike Saville

12 RERZ, Please! by Rick Guzman

13 Reboot Aurora by Jim Schweizer

15 Calendar

f e a t u r e s


�Pierre "PeeAirs" Lucero, 22, is an Aurora artist and co-founder of the fine art collective Abnormal Perspective. Lucero works with all types of mediums, but likes paint best. He traveled to Japan and spent the night inside the infamous Aokigahara Forest.

Insomnia


Two-way streets are the latest change in downtown Aurora. River and Lake Streets are now officially going both ways as of early January. Galena Boulevard and New York Street also boast two-way traffic, but only east of downtown. Galena and New York will continue to be one-way in downtown, which occasionally causes some confusion for drivers.

Blue Bird Beat is open. The coffee shop at 7 S. Stolp Ave. run by Karademas Management is now in full throttle on the ground floor of the historic Leland Tower. The small coffee shop offers a full coffee bar, baked goods, and several convenience store necessities.

Further up on the Leland Tower, a pair of penegrine falcons calls the building home. The birds, considered a threatened species, are enjoying the lofty heights and nearby river. Local folks are working with the building management to secure a nesting box for the falcons.

Reporting the News and Gossip in Downtown AuroraWhat should downtown Aurora look like in 2030? Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) is working to update the 2005 Seize the Future Master Plan, and they held their first public meeting in January to get input from the community. Aurora was awarded the Local Technical Assistance grant by CMAP, so the agency will spend the next weeks and months getting to know the city before they share their vision of a future Aurora. Follow the effort on Facebook at Aurora LTA.

Invest Aurora announced last fall that a high tech, technology support company is moving into the old library at 1 E. Benton St. Support Companies bought the building for $10 and hopes to bring its 100 plus employees from its current Far East Side location to downtown by next year.

As a result of a $10K grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association, Santori Public Library invites Aurora Latinos to record their family story. Interviews can be conducted in English or Spanish. The project runs through June 2016. Contact Melisa Martinez at [email protected] to schedule an interview.

The Locust Report

�Jason DeLancey is a freelance SEO guy on the West Side. He is a fan of cameras, coworking, and biking to work.

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3 Michelle Meyer, Executive Director of Mutual Ground

As the executive director of a non-profit in Aurora, I believe that we work with the city by providing a vital, low cost service for Aurora citizens (to utilize free of charge) if they find themselves, a family member, friend, co-worker, or neighbor in the position of needing help. Because domestic and sexual violence does not discriminate by age, race, religion, race, culture or socio-economic status, it is a vital resource to have available here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.Mutual Ground’s mission is to provide education, awareness, and life-changing services to individuals, families and communities to end the cycles of domestic and sexual violence. We are using a three-pronged approach to work toward this mission which includes prevention, intervention, and on-going services.

How does a mayor work with those who make our city tick? What do business owners, nonprofit executives, community activists, and property owners want from the next mayor? We asked a few notable locals to tell us about themselves, what they want for downtown, and how the mayor and city can work with them.

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1 Mike Mancuso, Owner of The YeteeI haven’t worked much with the city. I would like to be

more involved, but my business is online. I have done lots of popup art galleries all over downtown. Now we have our own dedicated space.I own Theyetee.com. We are an online retailer that sells shirts and art all over the world. We ship out 99.9% of our products. We started in 2011. It grew from the living room to a small space in the Graham building, to our current location at 110 Cross St. We now have 11 employees.I would love to see some more businesses come down here. People who make things. People that run software companies and tech startups. I would like to see smart young people kick downtown into gear. I would like to start a small business incubator downtown soon.I want tons of cool original shops that people drive and park and walk around for half the day and wonder why they haven’t been to Aurora before.

2 Julian Vargas, Center Coordinator at Family Focus AuroraAs the center coordinator for Family Focus Aurora, I can be

found either writing proposals, mapping out an event, under a desk fixing computers, in Springfield lobbying legislators, developing new programs and so on. I provide support to the center’s varied programs.Family Focus’ mission is to promote the wellbeing of children from birth to age 18 by supporting and strengthening their families within their communities. We work with children directly as well as with their parents, but we also try to improve the community that those kids live in. I am open to working with the next mayor in these efforts. Aurora has a vibrant local art scene. I would love to see that artistic heart worn on the city’s sleeve. Specifically, I want to see public spaces and outdoor displays of local art. I want to get a sampling of local artists’ work when I’m driving down Broadway.

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The Next Mayor


The next mayor can ensure that Mutual Ground continues to provide these valuable services to its citizens by helping us secure the necessary funding to not just sustain, but grow with the ever changing needs of our communities. Funding should not be cumbersome to obtain; staff should be helping victims of these crimes, not preparing mountains of paperwork.I would like Aurora to have more open and deliberate collaboration between local government, for profit, and not-for-profit sectors, and I’d like to see a safer community, and a thriving downtown area.

4Ulysses Diaz, Community Activist and Counselor I work as a bilingual counselor at Waubonsee Community

College. I support students through academic advising, career, and personal counseling. Within and outside of my job, I am working towards creating an equitable and healthy community. To achieve this we must get engaged and build relationships with those around us. I’d like for city council meetings to be more accessible. There is time for the public to speak but it’s at the end (most towns do public forums at the beginning), which sends the message that the council’s time is more important than the residents’ time. They also aren’t videotaped or broadcasted, although we have a TV station, which broadcasts Montgomery’s meetings, but not ours. It would be cheap and easy to tape them and put them on our station and on the web for people to watch whenever, but they don’t. It’s also tricky for people to find information on what’s going on at council meetings on the city’s website. An honest government should basically do all they can to be transparent and really inform people about what’s going on, so that residents know and make informed decisions, and we don’t do a great job of that.I’d like to see murals and gardens placed all over downtown and in our residential communities to showcase the great artwork our city creates and to provide a sustainable, healthy, and local food source. I would love to see the downtown area renovated with more local businesses and a community center. Our social service agencies need to be adequately funded to provide multiple safe spaces that address myriad concerns.

5Tim Frederick and Jennifer Rauch, Owners of If These Walls Could Talk

We specialize in preservation grade, 100% archival custom art framing as well as shadowbox/memory box framing. After having worked for another framing company for many years, we realized that we could offer a better custom framing experience based on doing what is best for the art and customer, so we opened a storefront in downtown in 2013.In addition to our custom framing services, our facility consists of a 1,200-square-foot gallery featuring original artwork for sale from local artists.We would like to see the next mayor put more focus on the historical downtown area of Aurora. Aurora is a large, beautiful, and diverse city. The downtown can be a point of interest for lots of different sorts of people; from photographers to history enthusiasts (who travel to tour such places).There needs to be more support for artisan shops and the “maker movement.” It would be nice if the city could find a way to incentivize the building owners to rent to these sorts of peoples. Artists/makers have an uncanny ability to beautify on a budget (it’s what they do) and if the burden of bettering the downtown were distributed among many instead of just a few, we could really create something wonderful together.We need to encourage street-level storefronts for the artists and the makers. We need places that make people from outside

of downtown proper want to linger. We’re pretty sure that no one window shops lawyers or accountants.

6Keith Gerald, Business Development Executive with ByteGrid Data Center

In my current role, I work closely with OnLight Aurora to make sure that companies based in Aurora, or are planning on locating here, are aware of the technology advantages of residing their business in Aurora. OnLight Aurora is one of several major fiber providers in the ByteGrid facility. Aurora companies can use OnLight Aurora’s 10Gb fiber network for transport of their mission critical data to ByteGrid for disaster recovery and business continuity.My work is exciting because no two days are alike. It involves meeting and working with clients on their IT projects, keeping up to date on the changing technologies, networking with end-users, vendor and industry groups, and giving tours of the Aurora data center. The next mayor of Aurora can assist me in my job by continuing the great work Mayor Tom Weisner has done in promoting Aurora as a technology hub. The new mayor needs to be a great cheerleader for the city of Aurora and have a vision that truly transforms Aurora to be the second city where people want to come and live, work, and play.I’d like to see a faster pace for the economic development and revitalization of downtown Aurora. It is a rich diverse community that is unlike all others in the Fox Valley region and it is disheartening to hear the negative opinions of one’s safety in the downtown area. The art community has done a fantastic job with their activities downtown along with Paramount Theater, Hollywood Casino, RiverEdge Park, and the major restaurants. Now is the time for major investment from our government and business community.

7Kim Granholm, Property Owner and Owner of Aurora Fastprint

As a property owner and president of Aurora Downtown, I work closely with the city almost daily on parking concerns, holiday decorations, flowers, and more. I am constantly providing feedback to a number of departments on what I see as potential problems or giving kudos on some of the hard work that has happened downtown. There is some incredible energy downtown right now; it’s palpable.My father, Tom Bartlett, and I own Aurora Fastprint on Galena Boulevard, and we also own the building. It is a family-owned digital print and sign shop. Our jobs start with creative graphic design service and flows to digital printing, signage, or promotional products.As a business owner, we need some assistance in getting some of the vacant properties filled, some feet on the street, and utilizing the riverfront more. More residential spaces filled would be ideal and not just commercial spaces. Although commercial would help my business more in the short term, the long term goal would be to have long term stability in the downtown, and I think that starts with more people living down here.This is taken from a document that Benjie Hughes from Bureau Gravity is working on for Aurora Downtown and I thought the words were perfect:“My wish is for a successful downtown that has a true city feel, full of old buildings repurposed for new uses. It will be a genuinely integrated environment where people of many cultures, tastes, ethnicities and income levels intermingle and benefit from one another. It will be filled both with residents and with independent businesses. Downtown will be organic, energetic and colorful.” n


�April Boyd-van Blerk was born in the Mississippi Delta and recently moved from Oxford, Miss. to downtown Aurora. She works as a field archaeologist and spends most of her spare time traveling backroads with her camera in hand.

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�Chryssafenia Gardiakou grew up in Aurora and recently received her master’s from NIU in DeKalb. She has exhibited her work for the last 17 years, and is involved with an art collective in Greece that holds art shows and teaches children about art.

Untitled Sun God Pilgrims


DTA Profile: Domingo ParadaInterview by Frank Patterson

Domingo Parada is currently showing his work at Upstream Gallery in New York at their 22nd Annual Juried Small Works Show.

The painter keeps busy preparing and shipping his artwork for exhibitions abroad from his Aurora home. It wasn’t always so easy. Parada once hitched rides with delivery trucks to transport his art to exhibitions.

Bolivian-born Parada is an internationally-acclaimed artist, who has been recognized with awards and honors from around the world for his ground-breaking contemporary art.

Parada studied at the Universidad de San Francisco Xavier of Sucre, Bolivia, and attended classes at the Museo de Arte Moderna of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with Brazilian artist Ivan Serpa.

“I started with regular representative paintings,” he said. “I did portraits and all kinds of things, but I was not expressing enough of my own feelings, and I tried different styles.”

Eventually, Parada developed his own unique style, utilizing acrylic paint to create geometric abstract images. His art is prismatic, employing line, angle, and color. The style was revolutionary and controversial when he debuted it in his homeland.

The new style “was like a revolution in my life,” Parada said, adding that “it was a big shock for the population of that part of Bolivia.”

The southern part of Bolivia was very conservative at that time, Parada said. He was criticized because his artwork wasn’t representative of the history or culture of the region.

However, Parada, who speaks Spanish, English, Portuguese and Italian, said that he felt that it would be dishonest to depict the culture of the Inca Empire or of the native people of Bolivia, since he did not share that heritage. His father’s lineage goes back to Galicia, in Spain; his mother’s lineage, to Palestine.

In time, his work became recognized. “They invited me to represent my country in an exhibit de Cordoba in Argentina. I was representing Bolivia with another artist,” he said.

Parada returned to Bolivia to continue his work.

“After a while I was invited by the ambassador of the United States in Bolivia to come to the United States. At that time they used to have a visa—I think it’s called ‘cultural enrichment’ or something like that.”

Parada settled in Chicago. While living there, he met his wife, who lived with her roommates in an apartment in the same building. He recalled hearing Gregorian chants coming from their apartment; a sound that he liked.

Later, they met and began discussing movies, music, and art.

“She paints, also,” Parada said. “She paints very well, but she doesn’t want to show her paintings, because she is in the process of finding her own style.

“Because of my family and kids, we moved out of the city and to the suburbs,” Parada said.

Later, they moved to Aurora so Parada could take a job teaching Biology at East Aurora High School. He said he did not want to teach art because he is “very honest,” and he did not want to discourage young hopefuls with his criticism.

Parada worked at East Aurora High School from 1989 until his retirement in 2011.

But first and foremost, Parada is an artist.

“I never had a doubt. I was working always in art,” he said. n


DTA Q&A: Linda Chapa LaViaWhy are you running for mayor?I am running to be the next mayor of Aurora because I love this city. I was born here, I was raised here, and I’ve raised my family here.

As a community, now is the time to come together and address some of the serious issues we face such as unemployment, violence, and business development.

I believe that I can be a great advocate for the city of Aurora with the right vision to make our city great again.

What do you see as the city’s top issue? How will you tackle it?Business development. My family and I have opened over a dozen small businesses. I want to use this experience to make sure that the businesses in our city have the tools they need to be successful and become better job creators here in Aurora.

One of my first actions as mayor will be to create a business department that will focus on recruiting businesses to move to Aurora, helping them have the resources they need to be successful, and most importantly serve as a conduit between residents looking for work and employers ready to hire qualified individuals.

Where do you stand on historic preservation? Are there any buildings that should be saved or demolished?I believe that we as a community need to strike a balance between historic preservation and progress. My family and I live in a house that was built in 1886. I have a healthy respect for the past, but I have an even greater inspiration for the future.

What is your specific plan to address our schools and educational system?As new revenues are created in the city, I will work to steer much of it directly into education. It’s time for cities to stop thinking that only the state and the federal government can impact education.

As a city, Aurora can create a very positive impact for the education of our youngest citizens. It will be a top priority of my administration to become a model city for education.

How will you work with the Aurora community?As a lifelong resident who has raised my family here, I have deep roots in the community that have only grown stronger over time.

As a state representative, I’ve met with thousands of Aurora residents, through my office and by attending community gatherings. I’ve also hosted hundreds of constituent breakfasts where I invite constituents to come visit with me and my staff, and we have very open conversations about how to move our community forward.

As mayor, I plan on being very accessible to residents of our city. In fact, you can go to our website, www.chapalavia.com and Tell Linda Your Ideas. Since we launched this campaign, we’ve read and discussed hundreds of ideas submitted by residents.

Aurora residents are faced with high taxes. What are your thoughts on the city’s property taxes and do you have a plan to reduce the burden?No doubt taxes in Aurora, and across Illinois, are a challenge that we all face. As a legislator in Springfield, I’ve supported policies that would reel in property taxes and update our antiquated tax code that relies far too heavily on property taxes.

As mayor, I will continue to work to significantly impact policy in Springfield that will hopefully alter how our citizens pay their taxes.

And I truly believe there are two major things we can do to address these issues. The first is foster a spirit of Buy Aurora campaigns so our city employees and our own citizens will spend more of their money here in Aurora. Secondly, attracting more businesses to open their doors in Aurora will increase our local tax revenue. n


A Century of Aurora MayorsThe next mayor will have the honor of being

Aurora’s 57th mayor. Here’s a list of mayors from the last 100 years starting with the present.

Thomas J. Weisner 2005–2017

David L. Stover 1997–2005

David L. Pierce 1985–1997

Jack Hill 1977–1985

Albert D. McCoy 1965–1977

Jay Hunter 1961–1965

Paul Egan 1953–1961

Loyd H. Markel 1949–1953

Henry Rauscher 1948–1949

Andrew J. Carter 1941–1948 (Died in office)

Harry B. Warner 1937–1941

Conrad M. Bjorseth 1931–1937

Charles H. Greene 1921–1931

Charles A. Townsend 1919–1921

James E. Harley 1915–1919

DTA Q&A: Mike Saville Why are you running for mayor?I am running for mayor because I have the experience, leadership, and ideas to move our city forward. We have made many improvements since I have been an alderman. There are challenges Aurora faces today, and I have a proven ability to

work with people to solve them.

I am not looking at Band-Aid approaches, but long-term solutions to solve our challenges. It requires energy, partnership, creativity, ability to make tough decisions, common sense, and it takes leadership, and I have all that.

What do you see as the city’s top issue? How will you tackle it?Economic development. We have experienced good economic development on the Far East Side and the Orchard Road/Galena corridor for the Far West Side. Downtown Aurora has many amenities we have to take advantage of and build on to make it a regional destination point.

Additionally, we have to focus on economic development for the Near East and Near West sides. There needs to be living wage job creation and filling of vacant buildings. The only way the East Side and West Side School districts can get better is to improve the tax base. They need businesses that create living wage jobs and improve their images. We have plenty of affordable housing surrounding the downtown areas and we must do all we can to promote density reduction and homeownership.

As mayor, how will you attract people to Aurora, and keep residential neighborhoods stable?By adding to our economic base, expanding economic development, and increasing living wage jobs, we can attract people to Aurora. I co-sponsored the Crime Free Housing ordinance to make rental housing safe for both investors and renters thereby creating safer neighborhoods. I believe we need to do more with density reduction methods and resurrect the reconversion grant funds to change multi-family homes

back to single family homes. We need to continue to keep our infrastructure in good condition: roads, bridges, sewers, water, and parks. We need more parks in our older neighborhoods.

What is your specific plan to address our schools and educational system?The city of Aurora is its own separate taxing and elected body. The School Districts are separate government entities as well. So the best way the city of Aurora can support our school districts is to be aggressive in expanding our economic tax base by getting businesses to locate in Aurora and thereby generating living wage jobs. The city needs to focus on stable housing and code enforcement. The city needs to work with our state representatives to put pressure on Springfield at all levels to fund schools differently and not on the backs of our local taxpayers.

Aurora residents are faced with high taxes. What are your thoughts on the city’s property taxes and do you have a plan to reduce the burden? I have been a strong proponent of economic developments for over 35 years and I have approved billions of dollars of development since I have served on the Planning Commission beginning in 1980. We must be aggressive and reach out to the business community looking at ways to make development easy in our city. Economic activity is the key and although our employment rate is 5.1 percent, we can improve. We need more jobs. We can leverage our fiber network to attract companies, more retail, and sales tax, etc. Our goal should be a “Gigabyte City” (like Chattanooga and Santa Monica). We need to expand the tax base to lessen the burden on the levy and therefore the taxpayers. We also need to be fiscally conservative; always looking for cost savings, efficiencies, and better ways to do things to lower costs. n

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RERZ, Please!Guest column by Rick GuzmanA little-known tax credit from the state’s River Edge Redevelopment Zone (RERZ) program has been helping to attract a lot of developer interest because the program can fund up to a quarter of the project costs for the redevelopment of old,

historic buildings. Unfortunately, this interest and momentum may slow down now that time has effectively run out to complete projects by the program’s required completion/expiration date of Dec. 31, 2016.

Aurora is blessed with some great architecture, much of which can be re-purposed to add additional housing to the downtown. And more housing units in the downtown will increase the viability and attractiveness of developing additional retail and entertainment. Done right, however, restoring and repurposing vacant, historic buildings is almost always more expensive than new construction, which is why incentives, which help offset those increased costs, are so important.

The depth, length and disproportionate impact of the recession meant that RERZ never had an opportunity to have its desired effect as development nationwide essentially came to a halt for several years. The next mayor of Aurora will inherit a much stronger economy and additional residential development along the Fox River and near the Aurora Transportation Center is only a matter of time. But without RERZ, many of Aurora’s historic, downtown buildings like the Hobbs, the Terminal, or the former Waubonsee buildings will likely remain vacant—becoming increasingly difficult to repurpose and ultimately save.

While not every old building can (or should) be saved—particularly not at taxpayer expense—it is possible to achieve both historic preservation and economic growth and revitalization. But to accomplish this, the future leadership of the city will need to continue to retain and further develop a high-level knowledge of the complex world of tax-credit/private equity partnerships that can bring about these long-term, viable uses that are needed to ultimately preserve these buildings.

For example, these types of partnerships led to the saving of the former St. Charles Hospital and the Octagon House without the need to expend a single, local taxpayer dollar. And while complicated, the layering of as many as five different state and federal tax-credit programs to develop upfront private equity can make it possible for more of these expensive—but important—projects to actually come to fruition.

As the pressures on local property taxes grow from decisions in Springfield to inflate public-safety pensions and underfund education, Aurora will have even less resources to contribute directly to the preservation of historic structures. Finding new, private uses—and users—for historic structures, therefore, becomes the key to historic preservation.

Downtown Aurora is ripe for what’s called Transportation Oriented Development (T.O.D.) where new residents are drawn to areas that combine proximity to mass transit with nearby amenities like parks, retail, entertainment venues, restaurants, and improved pedestrian environments.

Under the Weisner administration, Aurora already boasts the best example of an infill T.O.D. in the region with over 1,000 units of townhomes and higher-end apartments recently developed along Station Blvd., near the Route 59 train station.

More than 1,000 units of housing could be possible downtown as well, but that goal will be made much more difficult if RERZ is not extended. The first 100 units are already under construction through the adaptive re-use developments of the historic/former Elks Club and St. Charles Hospital buildings. A revitalized and thriving downtown, propelled by more projects like these, is crucial to the future of Aurora as a whole because our downtown helps to both define us and set us apart from our suburban neighbors.

Artist-targeted housing with renovated, first-floor restaurant or shared artist studio/workspace are just a couple of the exciting proposals awaiting the fate of RERZ. Its extension, therefore, is of critical importance to the future of downtown Aurora and is one way that Springfield can help level the playing field for historic river downtowns like Aurora’s.

While the way forward for our downtown will neither be certain nor easy, Aurora has an exciting opportunity over the next few years to grow in a way that not only succeeds at preserving important, historic structures, but proves that historic preservation and adapting to a 21st century economy need not be mutually exclusive.

Rick Guzman is the assistant chief of staff for Mayor Weisner. He and his wife Desiree founded Emmanuel House, which helps lower-income, working families buy their first homes in Aurora. They live near downtown Aurora with their two young daughters in an historic district on Aurora’s West Side. n


Reboot AuroraGuest column by Jim SchweizerLast July, Ramona Wood and I created a Facebook group called “Reboot Aurora (IL)” as a forum to discuss topics of interest to Aurora voters. With a mayoral race in the future for the city, a repeat of the most recent governor’s election, which was notable for a lack of any clear campaign plan to fix Illinois’ problems, was of real concern.

I have been closely following Aurora’s City Hall for over a year, and I attend many of the finance, committee of the whole, and city council meetings. I attend because I feel that the involvement of ordinary citizens in the running of a city is of paramount importance to ensuring a transparent and ethical local government. My future, and yours, depends on a healthy, vibrant local economy and culture, and we should all participate in decisions that directly affect us to the extent we are able.

Already, on Reboot Aurora, there are over 400 people trading thoughts and ideas about what they would like candidates for mayor to include in their candidacies and campaign agendas. In the group, Wood and I keep track of candidates as they declare their intentions to run and we will maintain a record of each platform as it develops up to Election Day.

As the group’s administrators, Wood and I created guidelines to keep the political discussions courteous and on topic. The most important are that all opinions are to be respected; personal attacks are not allowed, facts are essential, and rumors and insinuation are unacceptable.

There are approximately 60 topics currently under discussion. Any group member may introduce a subject which they would like to see a mayoral candidate address. Conversations are ongoing concerning historic preservation, sustainability, government transparency, downtown revitalization, economic planning, legislation, arts, jobs, schools, and so on.

Identifying an issue is important, but another benefit of the Reboot group is that contributors can offer possible solutions to problems. It is a chance for Aurora residents to be proactive in their evaluation of possible mayors and to ensure that their participation in the election process is noted.

I hope that people considering a run for mayor will find Reboot to be a useful venue in which to hear what concerns citizens

most. Unlike traditional media, social media allows candidates to interact in almost real time with possible constituents who are knowledgeable, astute, and willing to participate.

Reboot Aurora is planning to have meetings in 2016 offline as well. Meeting times, places, and structure will be decided through the Facebook page. If all goes well, Reboot would like to be a part of a candidate debate, or two, prior to the election.

After the election Reboot may transform into another venue for Aurora’s citizens to continue to be part of the local political process. If you haven’t already, join Reboot and become part of the conversation.

Jim Schweizer lives in an historic house just west of downtown Aurora. He is a former educator, entrepreneur, real estate developer, and Silicon

Valley technology start-up executive. Currently, he serves on the Aurora Preservation Commission, closely follows the workings of City Hall, and is active in the preservation, sustainability, and arts communities. n

Adrienne SandmanProperty Manager

[email protected]

Thank you, Mayor Weisner!

Jim Schweizer and Ramona Wood started Reboot Aurora (IL) on Facebook last year.


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From volunteering at area events to supporting the local arts, community involvement has been an integral part of Old Second since 1871. We wouldn't know how to do business any other way.

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START LOCALSTART LOCALSTART LOCALSTART LOCAL

With Musical Theatre Historian Charles Troy

Santori Public Library 101 S. River St.

TWO attendees will take home a pair of tickets for the show compliments of the Paramount Theatre! Call 630-264-4101 to register.

Tuesday, March 8 6:30 p.m.

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FEBRUARYTHE ALLEY ART FESTIVAL SHOWFri Feb 5 at 7 Quirky and fun, a curated show with some favorite local artists from Alley Art Festival. If These Walls Could Talk, 32 S. Stolp Ave. Alley Art Festival on Facebook.

STORYTIME AT THE CAFEMon Feb 15 at 11 The Aurora Public Library hosts an off-site storytime for children with books, dancing, and fun, plus a free cookie. Free. River’s Edge Cafe, 14 W. Downer, Ste. 18. No reg. needed. aurorapubliclibrary.org

MAKE YOUR OWN VALENTINESWed Feb 10 from 6 to 7 Kids are invited to make masks their own Valentine Day cards. Free. Culture Stock, 43 E. Galena Blvd. Sponsored by Downtown Auroran Magazine.

MARCHTHE CREATION OF “WEST SIDE STORY”Mon March 8 from 6:30 to 8 Learn the inside scoop about West Side Story from musical enthusiast Charles Troy. Free. Santori Public Library, 101 S. River St. Register at (630)264-4100. aurorapubliclibrary.org

FLAVORS OF AURORA: STIRRED NOT SHAKEN-JEWISHOpens March 20 Guest curator Marilyn Katz shares the culture history of Aurora’s Jewish community. Open Wed-Sat, noon to 4. Free. David L. Pierce Art & History Center, 20 E.Downer Pl. (630) 906-0650. aurorahistory.net

STORYTIME AT THE CAFEMon March 21 at 11 The Aurora Public Library hosts an off-site storytime for children with books, dancing and fun, plus a free treat. Free. River’s Edge Cafe, 14 W. Downer Pl. Suite 18. No reg. needed. aurorapubliclibrary.org

APRILRECORD STORE DAYSat April 16 from 8 to 8 A great day to support musicians and a local record store. Kiss the Sky, 180 First St., Batavia. kissthesky.net

STORYTIME AT THE CAFEMon April 18 at 11 The Aurora Public Library hosts an off-site storytime for children with books, dancing, and fun, plus a free cookie. Free. River’s Edge Cafe, 18 W. Downer Pl.

EL DIA DE LOS NINOSSat April 30 from 1 to 5 Celebrate children at this day-long festival. Free. Spring Street Parking Lot at Lincoln Avenue.

2ND 2 NONE 5K and 10K RUN/WALKTBD at 8 Race through the historic streets of downtown Aurora. Sponsored by the Aurora Food Pantry and Communities in Schools and benefitting the Food for Thought initiative. RiverEdge Park, 360 N. Broadway. 2nd2none5k.com

LIMITED RUNS & SHOWINGSAPAC GROUP SHOWOpens Feb 19 A group show hosted by the Aurora Public Art Commission and co-curated by Fawn Clark Peterson. The exhibit runs through April 9. Open Wed-Sat, noon to 4. Free. David L. Pierce Art & History Center, 20 E.Downer Pl. (630) 256-3340. aurora-il.org

BUNDLED UPThrough March 5 Aurora Historical Society curator Jennifer Putizier shows us winter clothing through the ages. Open Wed-Sat, noon to 4. Free. David L. Pierce Art & History Center, 20 E.Downer Pl. (630) 906-0650. aurora-il.org

THE AURORA STORYContinuing The Aurora Historical Society exhibit on the 2nd floor of The DLP tells the history of Aurora from pre-settlement times to the present. Open Wed-Sat, noon to 4. Free. David L. Pierce Art & History Center, 20 E.Downer Pl. (630) 906-0650. aurorahistory.net

ART AT CITY HALLAurora’s City Hall features works of art on every floor. Open Mon-Fri, 8-5. City Hall, 44 E. Downer Pl. aurora-il.org

RIVERFRONT PLAYHOUSE“Boeing Boeing” thru Feb 20 Riverfront Playhouse, 11-13 Water Street Mall, is a 90-seat, not-for-profit theatre located next to City Hall on the Water Street Mall in downtown Aurora. $12-$15. (630) 897-9496. Reservations recommended. riverfrontplayhouse.com

CalendarONGOING EVENTSDAAM!Join artists of all kinds at the informal Downtown Aurora Arts Mixers. Various locations. Check Downtown Auroran Magazine on Facebook for dates and times. downtownauroran.com

FIRST FRIDAYS IN DOWNTOWN AURORA: FEB 5, MARCH 4, APRIL 1 First Friday of the month Art is alive in downtown Aurora. Enjoy several art openings in one glorious night. Various venues in downtown, including If These Walls Could Talk, Paramount’s Grand Gallery, SciTech, Yetee Gallery, Allen and Pepa Architects, The DLP, and The ArtBar at Two Brothers Roundhouse. auroradowntown.com

M.U.S.I.C. MONDAYSMondays from 6 to 7 Free, live music every Monday night. Culture Stock, 43 E. Galena Blvd. M.U.S.I.C. on Facebook.

CLASSIC MOVIE MONDAYSMondays at 7 Great, classic movies every Monday. $1. Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd. paramountaurora.com

Need more art and culture? Visit:downtownauroran.com and click on Marissa’s Calendar for all the best local events.

Inner Harmony Acupuncture 383 W. Galena Blvd.

(inside Sculpted Image)

Mavis A. Bates, L.Ac.Licensed Acupuncturist

NCCAOM Board Certified(630) 605-9244

myinnerharmony.com

Get poked. Get healthy.

downtown auroran magazine "the mayor issue" winter 2016

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