Aurora is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, with a population of 175,952 (2007 est.). It is located in northeastern Illinois, near the western edge of the Chicago metropolitan area, approximately 36 miles west of downtown Chicago.
Aurora lies within four counties: Kane, Dupage, Kendall, and Will. 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). The name Aurora means dawn.

History
Before white settlers arrived, there was a Native American village in what is today downtown Aurora. In the early 1830's, the McCarty brothers arrived and initially owned land on both sides of the river, but sold their lands on the west side, living and operating their mill on the east side. Aurora was originally two towns: McCarty Mills on the east side and Hartford on the west side of the Fox River. McCarty Mills was named for founders Samuel and Joseph McCarty. McCarty Mills eventually incorporated as Aurora, and Hartford incorporated as West Aurora. The name of Aurora was chosen because the Aurora Borealis, or "Northern Lights", were shimmering fantastic hues of greens and blues high above the night sky on the eve of a then-popular festival called Dairy Days. To this day, Aurora is one of few cities with official colors (of blue and green) due to this event. The two sides became one in 1835. The Aurora Fire Department was established in 1856, and took ownership of its first fire engine that year. The city incorporated in 1857. The two sides couldn’t agree on which side of the river should house the public buildings, so most public buildings were built on or around Stolp Island in the middle of the Fox River. A parking garage stands at the site of the original City Hall and Post Office. The two towns leave a legacy of rivalry between the East and West which is mostly enacted through a high school football/basketball rivalry. This is the oldest high school rivalry in the state of Illinois. As the city grew, many factories and jobs came to Aurora, along with many people. Many immigrants flocked to the city, mainly from Great Britain, Ireland, Scandanavia, Transylvania, Luxembourg, Germany, France, and Italy. Aurora was and still is the main economic center of the Fox Valley Area. Aurora was a manufacturing powerhouse until 1974, when the railroad shops began to close. Soon many other factories and industrial areas became vacant. By 1980, there were few operating industrial areas in the city. Unemployment was over 15 percent. Before things got too out of hand, the city approved the Hollywood Casino Aurora. The casino brought redevelopment to the downtown area as well as the residential areas around it. It also brought the building of several business and industrial parks on the outsides of the city. Today many of the old factories have been reoccupied as warehouses, although several large inner city factories remain vacant.