Aurora Illinois
Aurora is the largest city in Kane County, Illinois. The city also lies within DuPage, Will and Kendall counties. As reported in the 2000 U.S. census, the city was home to 142,990 people, while the city’s estimated 2007 population is 175,952. About 110,000 of the city’s residents reside in Kane County, while about 42,000 live in DuPage County. Only a few thousand Aurorans are in Will and Kendall Counties.
Although mostly considered part of Kane County, Aurora is also on the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor. Aurora has a long tradition of manufacturing, making it an industrial center that could stand alone, separate from Chicago. Prominent manufacturers, past and present, included: Lyon Workspace Products, The Aurora Silver Plate Manufacturing Company, Barber Greene Ltd., the Chicago Corset Company, the Aurora Brewing Company, Stephens-Adamson Company, Caterpillar Incorporated, and Western Wheeled Scraper Works (later Austin-Western Inc.). Olsson Roofing Company, Inc. was started in 1914 and is one of the oldest companies in the city. The most prominent employer and industry was the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad (later Burlington Northern) which was headquartered in Aurora. The CB&Q Roundhouse is still standing, and is now the popular restaurant Walter Payton’s Roundhouse.
Two main school systems have served the Kane County, Illinois core location of Aurora, Illinois since the 1860s, one on either side of the Fox River which physically divides the city. In addition, the far eastern portion of Aurora, within DuPage County, Illinois, has been served by Indian Prairie School District (IPSD) 204 since that district’s formation in 1972. All three of these districts (Aurora Public Schools: West Side (District 129), Aurora Public Schools: East Side (District 131) and IPSD) have their headquarters and administrative offices within the Aurora city limits. As of 2005 there will be no less than forty public schools within Aurora city limits, serving residents of Aurora and neighboring communities.
Due to the sheer size of the city of Aurora, these are not the only three school systems serving residents - some students in the far north end of the city (north of I88 in Kane County) attend Batavia, Illinois public schools, some on the far southwest side attend the Kaneland School district (headquartered in Maple Park, Illinois), and some students in the far south end of the city (Kendall and Will County portions) attend Oswego, Illinois public schools. 4 schools of Oswego School District #308, are located within Aurora’s city limits.
Aurora is also home to the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA), a state-funded residential magnet school for grades 10 to 12. While IMSA operates under public funds (and uses the site originally designated West Aurora High School North Campus), it is managed wholly independently of the other public schools in the city of Aurora. Young residents meeting IMSA’s requirements who live in Aurora, or any other Illinois community, may apply for admission to IMSA.
The above-named districts have forty-six public schools within the city limits of Aurora (seventeen for District #131, thirteen for District #129, eleven for District #204, four for Oswego District #308 and the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy). Aurora is also home to twenty-two private schools, 2 branches of the Waubonsee Community College, and the main campus of Aurora University.
