Artistic volunteers in Aurora paint boarded storefronts the message of Erase Racism Tuesday, June 2 following May 31 violence. Volunteers cleaned up shattered glass in display of Aurora Strong.Jason Crane/The VoiceAppreciation for service: Edward Hospital and Health Services employees in Naperville beam in April and show an expression of thanks for their work to negate COVID-19.Edward-Elmhurst Health photoPoet Laureate in Aurora: Karen Fullett-Christensen, third from left, celebrates her installation as the first Aurora Poet Laureate with her three Deputy Poet Laureates at Gwendolyn Brooks Elementary School in Aurora Wednesday, Jan. 15. From left, Quentin Johnson, Fermina Ponce, Fullett-Christensen, and Anthony Stanford. The late Gwendolyn Brooks was the first Illinois Poet Laureate.Jason Crane/The VoiceIndependence Day: Health care salute: In the absence of the canceled Independence Day parade in Aurora, a group of government personnel formed a 10-vehicle procession past retirement centers, hospitals, senior care centers, and other sites from far East Side to far West Side through downtown. The process starts, above, at Rush-Copley Hospital where health-care workers wave flags. Jason Crane/The VoiceDestruction: A police officer stands powerless to stop the burning Elgin police car in Aurora in the evening Sunday, May 31 in a parking lot near New York Street and Broadway. A peaceful protest rally in the afternoon was followed by destructive smashing of windows and looting in downtown Aurora. Keith Gerald photoPeaceful, but pointed, in Batavia: Signs tell a story at a peaceful rally at the Peg Bond Center and Riverwalk in Batavia Wednesday, June 3. The rally, in response to the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn. May 25, brought more than two weeks of protests and rallies to the Nation. Maggie Thompson photoThe Fox Valley Marines Detachment 1233, based in Aurora, and Scientel, with assistance from Aurora government volunteers, including Richard Irvin, mayor, in Phillips Park place free food packages into an auto of a former military person in Aurora. The event was in conjunction with November 11 Veterans Day.Carter Crane The Voice
