By John Laesch, Aurora, Ill.
A growing coalition of concerned residents and community leaders will be speaking out against the Irvin-led initiative to use taxpayer dollars to subsidize the move of the Aurora downtown casino to the prime real estate at the interchange of I-88 and Farnsworth Avenue.
Aurora Grassroots Alliance has taken the lead role in organizing opposition to some portions of the proposal that will include several demonstrations, speakers at the Aurora City Council meetings, and calls to elected officials. Planned was a demonstration Tuesday, Oct. 18 outside of Aurora City Hall, 44 E. Downer Place, Aurora.. Some of the event participants had planned to speak during the public comments section at the Council’s Committee of the Whole meeting, Tuesday, Oct. 18.
A second event is planned for the Aurora City Council meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25. in front of City Hall. The Council is expected to vote on the proposal during the 6 p.m. City Council meeting.
Coalition member, Nathan Sheppard, a resident of the 8th Ward, has conducted a significant amount of research on the topic and was set to be a speaker Tuesday, Oct. 18 front of City Hall.
“As many families are currently struggling to survive in this post-pandemic world, why is it that the (Richard) Irvin administration is willing to use City resources to help a corporation that can totally afford moving out of downtown by itself?” said Sheppard. “The pre-inflation poverty rate in this City, as of the recent census, is around 10.6% with rents increasing drastically and the local community fridges emptying faster than ever…. We need to support the working families of this beautiful City, not corporations.”
Other members of the coalition were to talk about the $2.75 Billion in gross profits that Penn Entertainment (Nasdaq PENN) made in 2021 and their CEO’s $65M compensation package.
The Aurora Grassroots Alliance group has organized an online petition, printed flyers, and will be circulating a paper version of the petition in targeted wards prior to the October 25 meeting. The online petition is available at bit.ly/3CFQVou.