History of Aurora, Illinois
Aurora is a city in Kane County, Illinois|Kane, DuPage County, Illinois|DuPage, Will County, Illinois|Will and Kendall County, Illinois|Kendall counties in Illinois, United States. As of the United States Census 2000|2000 census, the city population was 142,990, making it the third-largest city in Illinois; in 2003, a special census found the city's population to be 157,267. Some Aurora residents claim this makes it the second-largest city in Illinois, behind Chicago and just ahead of Rockford, Illinois|Rockford, but Rockford was not recounted at the same time, thus the matter may not be settled until the 2010 US Census. 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.
The city refers to itself as "The City of Lights" because it was one of the first communities to adopt all-electric street lighting (in 1881 - the nickname was adopted in 1908).
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