The longtime executive director of the Aurora Economic Development Commission has announced his resignation, effective Wednesday.
Paul Borek, who began running the commission in 1990, is leaving to become vice president of business development for Old Second Bancorp of Aurora.
The commission board has decided to replace Borek with Assistant Director Sherman Jenkins, who has been in that post since 1991.
Jenkins’ promotion is expected to be approved by the City Council at its meeting Tuesday. He would be paid $80,267.
Meanwhile, a search committee has been formed to hire a new assistant director.
The commission, formed in 1981 when the city’s economy was struggling, is a joint venture of the Greater Aurora Chamber of Commerce and the city. The chamber provides office space, and the city pays staff salaries. The commission aims to attract new businesses and promote existing ones.
Borek was director of development for the Chicago Economic Development Commission before taking the post in Aurora. During his tenure, 340 new companies, including several Fortune 500 firms, located or expanded in Aurora.
Unemployment, which was at 12.8 percent in 1993, dropped to 4.3 percent last year.
The projects Borek helped attract “elevated the image of Aurora as one of the most sought-after communities in the nation for business development,” said commission board Chairman John Banbury. “For two consecutive years, 1996 and 1997, Aurora logged the largest industrial projects in metropolitan Chicago.”
Most of Borek’s tenure was marked by efforts to diversify the economy and redevelop shuttered commercial properties while attracting large industrial, corporate, research and warehouse operations to boost employment.
Jenkins, who held several corporate and public relations posts before joining the commission, has concentrated on developing older portions of the city.
