When Aurora Mayor John Laesch officially took office nearly one year ago, much of his inauguration speech was spent talking about challenges the city would need to face.
On Thursday, during his first State of the City address, Laesch put many of those challenges behind him — highlighting his successes while looking to the future by announcing new initiatives and sharing his broader vision for the city of Aurora.
“Shifting to a people-centered government is new territory,” he said. “For some, that change has been too much, too fast. For others, it has been too slow and not enough.”
Standing on stage at Aurora University’s Crimi Auditorium, Laesch told an audience of fellow elected officials, city staff, community leaders and residents that the state of the city was “continually growing, progressing and adapting in an ever-changing world.”
His administration is focused on fiscal responsibility, sustainable growth and government efficiency, he said.
Laesch’s long-term vision for the city, which he said he needs to communicate better, is one that works together so everyone has opportunities to succeed.
He linked that vision to his focus on energy, particularly energy-efficiency, which he said was important because of global warming and “an unprecedented, rapid demand for new energy” largely due to data centers.
Aurora has the chance to lead by building both energy-efficient housing and a renewable energy grid, according to Laesch. His long-term goal is to make Aurora the green building capital of Illinois and the Midwest.
“I believe that we can put Aurora’s people to work with living-wage jobs rebuilding our city with energy-efficient housing and renewable energy,” Laesch said. “We can’t continue to settle for poverty wage jobs. If we want a strong local economy, then we need to make sure that our people can earn a living wage.”
The first step has already been taken toward that goal, he said, pointing to the recent opening of the Aurora CEJA Workforce Development Hub, located within a previously-unused city facility on South River Street. That initiative brings together the existing clean energy-related job training programs of the College of DuPage and the 548 Foundation, which are both funded by the state but previously did not have a permanent location in Aurora.
The next step will be to start building energy-efficient housing with the help of existing incentive programs and new city loan programs, according to Laesch. Aurora is also working to adjust the city’s building codes to make more energy-efficient housing possible, to bring in more light manufacturing companies and to train new contractors, he said.
And finally, the city needs to start thinking about building an alternative energy grid, he said, so that “when brownouts come, the ‘City of Lights’ always shines bright.”
Beyond energy, Laesch also wants to see the city shift to a “Strong Towns urban design model,” specifically around transportation. This will encourage more roundabouts, pedestrian islands and well-designed intersections to reduce the number of car accidents, he said.
“The old way of thinking promoted moving traffic as fast as possible,” he said. “The Strong Towns model seeks to move people as safely as possible.”
In addition to sustainability and living wage jobs, Laesch also campaigned on ethics reform — a topic he also touched on during his speech on Thursday. In October, he formally proposed a campaign finance ethics reform package, which has yet to be approved by the Aurora City Council.
“If you agree that a company that has a city contract should not be donating to city elected officials, then I would suggest reaching out to your alderperson and letting them know that you support the $1,500 cap and more robust financial disclosure,” Laesch said during his speech.
The Aurora City Council voted last month to delay the proposal so it could be further reviewed by a committee, which so far has not moved the reform package forward towards a final vote.
During his inauguration speech last year, Laesch acknowledged the work of past mayors to revitalize Aurora’s downtown, noting that he wanted to continue that progress, but also saying that investment left the city in “serious debt.”
On Thursday, Laesch said the city was “continuing the success of downtown.”
He highlighted the success of the Paramount Theatre, specifically its show “White Christmas,” and other venues owned or operated by the Aurora Civic Center Authority.
Construction on renovations at RiverEdge Park are also wrapping up, he said, and he announced that the band Third Eye Blind will be coming to the park on Aug. 23.
But Laesch has not always been supportive of the Aurora Civic Center Authority’s plans.
Just after being elected mayor, he told The Beacon-News that he would not be moving forward with the City of Lights Center, a concert venue that was being planned. Then, during the city’s budgeting process for 2026, he pulled back on some of the financial support Aurora previously planned to provide to the Civic Center Authority, causing the organization to cut its Bold Series of shows and lay off staff.
Now, Laesch is in the process of replacing some members of the Civic Center Authority’s board of directors.
“One of my goals as mayor is to make sure that the entertainment offered appeals to all demographics in Aurora,” he said. “To make this happen, I’ve been working with city staff and ACCA leadership to vet and bring forward the most diverse board of directors in the history of the Aurora Civic Center Authority.”
As the downtown Hollywood Casino plans to move to its new location near the Interstate 88 interchange this summer, Laesch said that the city is preparing to support its downtown entertainment offerings with additional parking.
The city plans to demolish old structures, plant more trees and add additional parking at the property it owns north of RiverEdge Park along Route 25, according to Laesch. He said the downtown casino’s two parking garages will also be available to theater- and concert-goers.
In his inauguration speech a year ago, Laesch said he’d be delaying the downtown Broadway streetscape project. On Thursday, he said the plan was to use those funds to convert Galena Boulevard into a two-way street — but the state denied that request, so the city’s redesigning the original project to take place in 2026 or 2027.
Laesch also took the time to highlight three local restaurants that have opened downtown or are planning to soon: Vibez on the River, Kai Modern Japanese Kitchen and Mich Big Taco.
Downtown businesses are now supported by a new organization called the Aurora Downtown District, which the city helped create. Laesch said that it is a promotional group aimed at attracting people to downtown through events.
But he also said the city itself is planning on supporting downtown events put on by its partners. Greenfest is coming soon, he said, and Juneteenth will be celebrated downtown this year.
Similarly, the city no longer runs its own cultural flag-raising ceremonies and instead encourages community-led flag-raisings at City Hall, according to Laesch.
Aurora is also getting involved with helping a community project: a push to fix up the Northgate shopping center’s iconic sign.
Laesch said he plans to bring forward to City Council this summer a plan to enter into an agreement with the property owner and the Aurora Historical Society to restore the sign, work that would be paid for using grants and private donations.
Businesses are also set to receive more help from the city through a new “Concierge Service.” This initiative would help businesses navigate the various approvals needed from the city and receive financial support, Laesch said.
That financial support may come from a small business financial loan fund that Aurora is looking at developing, he said, which would offer low-interest loans to businesses that are remodeling old buildings or those that are facing property standards violations.
The goal is to have a proposal about the loan program ready for City Council by late summer, according to Laesch.
Aurora is also looking to put together training sessions for small contractors so they are more familiar with the city’s processes and building codes. Laesch said these contractors sometimes start construction without a building permit, creating a greater risk for house fires from faulty electrical work.
Along with the training sessions, the city will create a “Star Contractor” program to make it easier for homeowners to find people that do quality work, he said.
Changes are also coming to the property standards enforcement and hearing processes, which are intended to streamline both, according to Laesch.
The city will be reviving its print newsletter, the Aurora Borealis, Laesch announced during his speech. Those who want to continue receiving it in print will need to opt-in — otherwise, it will be available online, he said.
Another communication initiative set to return is the “budget-in-brief,” he said, which is a condensed and easy-to-read version of the city’s budget.
The various announcements Laesch made during his speech were scattered throughout praise for the city’s various departments and highlights of their successes.
For example, he said the IT department saved the city $6.7 million through budget adjustments and vendor negotiations.
The hardest part of Laesch’s first year in office was designing the 2026 budget, he said during his speech on Thursday, but he noted the finance department’s hard work during the process.
Last year at his inauguration, Laesch said his administration’s first priority would be to fix the city’s finances. Ultimately, the Aurora City Council passed a 2026 budget that included funding cuts and eliminated positions.
Laesch spent some time during his State of the City speech on Thursday highlighting the efforts of the Aurora police and fire departments. But he also acknowledged the work put in by the public works department, who Laesch said were first responders alongside police and fire, particularly in addressing crises like the multiple storms last year and the leaking water main earlier this year.
At his inauguration, Laesch pledged to address residents’ various outstanding concerns, including at the Factor75 facility on the city’s West Side.
He gave an update on that issue during his speech on Thursday, saying the air quality near the factory should be improving soon based on improvements the company is putting in place.
The city’s winter weather warming center, along with its volunteers, got a bit of the spotlight during the State of the City address.
“You didn’t do it for money. You didn’t do it for a paycheck. You did it because you care about your fellow human beings,” Laesch said, going off script to talk about the warming center’s volunteers. “That is the kind of love that can transform Aurora and potentially transform society.”
Earlier in the night, before Laesch’s speech, two warming center volunteers in particular — C.M. Monsalve and María-Jose Monsalve — received Mayor’s Service Awards for their care of the city’s most vulnerable.
And those weren’t the only awards to be given out at the event.
Climate Justice Awards were given to West Aurora School District 129, for its new electric school buses, and to Mavis Bates, a current Kane County Board member and chair of the Mayor’s Sustainable Aurora Advisory Board, for her commitment to sustainability.
Justice Awards were given to three community response groups — the Aurora Rapid Response Team, Aurora Community Watch and the Resistencia Comunitaria Patrol Team — for their courage in supporting and standing up for the community.
The final award, the Culture Award, was given to just a single person: Charles Smith, whose art is preserved by institutions like the Smithsonian. Aurora Public Art currently has his work on display through April 24.
“Dr. Smith’s work has received recognition across the country. He has not always received the same respect and appreciation when he called Aurora his home,” Laesch said later in his speech. “Dr. Smith’s life and legacy is a testament to the need for equity in the arts, both in policy and in how creative opportunities are made available.”
The future of Aurora will be defined by “all of us” — by the way people show up for one another, the way people solve problems together, the way “we choose progress over comfort” and “people and planet over profit,” Laesch said near the end of his speech.
“Growing Aurora is not just about buildings, new businesses or new infrastructure,” he said. “It’s about building a city where every neighborhood has opportunity and investment, where every young person can see a future for themselves right here at home, and every decision we make reflects the belief that Aurora belongs to all of us.”
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
