Aurora Downs

North Aurora is a village in Kane County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of Aurora. Per the 2020 census, the population was 18,261. North Aurora maintains its own public library district, fire district, and police department, but public spaces and parks are managed by the neighboring Fox Valley Park District.

The 2014 Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center fire was an incident in the United States where arson at an air traffic control facility in Aurora, Illinois (also known as "Chicago Center"); the incident caused close to 2000 airline flights to be grounded. One employee at the facility was treated for smoke inhalation, while 15 to 30 employees were evacuated.Brian Howard, an employee of Harris Corporation, was charged in the incident. He made a guilty plea in federal court in May 2015, and in September of that year received a prison term of 12 1/2 years.

Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZAU) (radio communications: "Chicago Center") is one of 22 Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCCs) operated by the United States Federal Aviation Administration. It is located at 619 W. New Indian Trail Rd., Aurora, Illinois.The primary responsibility of Chicago Center is sequencing and separation of over-flights, arrivals, and departures in order to provide safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of aircraft. Chicago Center covers approximately 91,000 square miles (240,000 km2) of the Midwestern United States, including parts of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa. Chicago Center lies adjacent to Minneapolis Air Route Traffic Control Center, Kansas City Air Route Traffic Control Center, Indianapolis Air Route Traffic Control Center, and Cleveland Air Route Traffic Control Center. ZAU overlies or abuts many approach control facilities (including Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, the Quad Cities, Peoria, Springfield, Indianapolis, and Grand Rapids approaches). Chicago Center is the fifth-busiest ARTCC in the United States. Between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2012, Chicago Center handled 2,343,281 aircraft operations.

Mooseheart, located in Kane County, Illinois, is an unincorporated community and a home for children administered by the Loyal Order of Moose. Also known as the City of Children, the community is featured as a 1949 episode of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's short film series Passing Parade, which was written and narrated by John Nesbitt. In 2013, Mooseheart celebrated its 100th anniversary with a rededication ceremony, public tours, fireworks, and other festivities.Like Moose Lodges, Mooseheart was originally only open to Caucasians. The facility was created to be a home for the widows and the children of members of the Loyal Order of Moose. Later, any child who had a family member who was a member of the Moose could be admitted. In 1994, admission policies were changed to allow any child in need to apply for admission, regardless of the family's affiliation or lack thereof with the Moose.In the 1950s, a pediatrician conducting a longitudinal study of children's growth at Mooseheart recalled there was tension since he felt that the board of directors was conducting the study to prove the superiority of the white race. By the 1990s, Mooseheart was open to children of all races and predominantly enrolled minority children.In 1994, four Mooseheart employees were convicted of sexually abusing children. Two years later, a Mooseheart employee was convicted of possession of child pornography.

The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, or IMSA, is a three-year residential public secondary education institution in Aurora, Illinois, United States, with an enrollment of approximately 650 students. Enrollment is generally offered to incoming sophomores, although younger students who have had the equivalent of one year of algebra and a 9th-grade science equivalent are eligible to apply. All applicants undergo a competitive admissions process involving the review of grades, teacher evaluations, student essays, and SAT scores. Historically, approximately one-third of applicants in any given year are admitted. Due to its nature as a public institution, there are no charges related to tuition, room, and board; however, there is an annual student fee that may be reduced or waived based on family income. IMSA has been consistently ranked by Newsweek as one of the top ten high schools in the country for math and science, and some of its graduates have become leaders in a variety of fields. It is the top-rated public high school in Illinois on Niche.com.

Aurora Central Catholic High School (ACC) is a Roman Catholic secondary school under the direction of the Diocese of Rockford. ACC began as two separate secondary schools in 1926. Madonna Catholic High School, a girls school, and Roncalli High School, a boys school, merged in 1968 to become Aurora Central Catholic. The first campus was located on the east side of Aurora, Illinois, in what is now Cowherd Middle School. The school moved to its current location, on Aurora's west side, in 1995. The 2023 student body was about 450 students.

The Loyal Order of Moose is a fraternal and service organization founded in 1888 and headquartered in Mooseheart, Illinois. Moose International supports the operation of Mooseheart Child City & School, a 1,023-acre (414 ha) community for children and teens in need, located 40 miles (64 km) west of Chicago; and Moosehaven, a 63-acre (25 ha) retirement community for its members near Jacksonville, Florida. Additionally, the Moose organization conducts numerous sports and recreational programs, in local Lodge/Chapter facilities called either Moose Family Centers or Activity Centers, in the majority of 44 State and Provincial Associations, and on a fraternity-wide basis. There is also a Loyal Order of Moose in Britain. These organizations together make up the Moose International.

Rosary High School was established in 1962 by the Dominican Sisters of Springfield, Illinois as a private, all-girls, college-preparatory, Roman Catholic, high school located in Aurora, Illinois. It is ranked as one of the top private schools in the state of Illinois as students achieve on average 5 points higher on the ACT and 43 points higher on the SAT. In addition, Rosary offers 22 various clubs and organizations and 13 sports teams. There is a very high participation rate where 82% of the student body plays in sports with an average GPA of 3.47. Because many of the sports teams reach sectional and state finals, 12 NCAA scholarships are awarded on average each year. Currently, one of Rosary's swimmers, Alexis Yager, has qualified for the Olympic Trials in 3 events. The Beads, Rosary's swim team, has won the Illinois state swim title 8 times (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2023). The Beads have also been runner-up for the title four times (2000, 2003, 2004 and 2014) and have placed third four times (1999, 2001, 2010 and 2011).

Aurora Township is located in Kane County, Illinois. It is divided by the Fox River. As of the 2010 census, its population was 146,149 and it contained 49,127 housing units.

The Fox Valley Park District was founded in 1947 to protect scenic vistas and land alongside the Fox River.It is the second largest park district in Illinois, serving a population of more than 230,000 that includes the communities of Aurora, North Aurora, Montgomery and portions of Sugar Grove. Located approximately 40 miles (64 km) west of Chicago, the Park District's service area encompasses 65 square miles (170 km2) that include portions of Kane, DuPage, Kendall and Will counties. In 2009, Fox Valley was awarded a National Gold Medal award for excellence in parks in recreation.The Park District is governed by a seven-member Board of Trustees. Each member is appointed by either the Kane County or DuPage County Board and serves a four-year term.

West Aurora High School, or WAHS, is a public four-year high school located in Aurora, Illinois. It is part of West Aurora Public School District 129. The school is also referred to as "West," and "West High,".

The William Tanner House Museum, also known as the William A. Tanner House, is a historic residence and museum in Aurora, Illinois. It was built in 1857 for William A. Tanner, a hardware merchant. His descendants lived in the house until it was donated to the Aurora Historical Society in 1936. It now operates as a Victorian-period historic house museum.