Aurora residents will get the chance to give feedback about the city directly to Mayor John Laesch through a series of town halls planned across late July and August.
The Community Listening and Action Town Hall Tour, officially announced late Monday, will be held four Saturdays in a row beginning on July 26. The workshops will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at locations across the city designed to cover each of the 10 wards, according to a city news release.
“We want to give the community an opportunity to provide feedback on the state of Aurora,” Laesch said in the news release. “This listening tour will help my staff and I to better understand what our residents want to see from us and the City over the next four years.”
The first stop in the series will be at Metea Valley High School, 1801 N. Eola Road, a location that city officials say will cover the 1st Ward and the 10th Ward, on July 26.
On the following Saturday, Aug. 2, a session will be held at the city’s Public Works building at 2185 Liberty Street, which is for residents of the 2nd Ward, 3rd Ward and 7th Ward.
Residents of the 8th Ward and 9th Ward will get their town hall on Aug. 9 at the Eola Community Center, located at 555 S. Eola Road.
The last stop on the tour will be on Aug. 16 at the Prisco Community Center, 150 W. Illinois Avenue, for residents of the 4th Ward, 5th Ward and 6th Ward.
Translation services and devices will be available upon request, and childcare will be available at the Eola Community Center session and the Prisco Community Center session.
Residents can reserve their seat ahead of time at www.aurora.il.us/CommunityListening.
Each of the sessions will give residents the chance to work directly with city leadership, according to the city news release.
“We want to be responsive to the needs of our residents,” Aurora Chief of Staff Shannon Cameron said in the release. “These town halls will not only assist us in serving the city, but also encourage civic engagement, helping to build towards the goal of a people-centered government.”
Laesch was talking about doing a citywide listening tour even before he was sworn in as mayor. On election night in April, he said he wanted to use the tour to introduce himself to the city’s different communities and share his vision for the future of Aurora, but also to listen to residents’ concerns so the city can be more responsive.
His number one goal as mayor, he said on election night, would be to respond to Aurora residents.
Already, Laesch has held listening sessions for those in downtown, specifically within the city’s Special Service Area Number One.