The new face of Aurora

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Aurora wards designated by population | Mike Solley ~ Sun-Times Media

Aurora population
distribution by ward

Ward 2000 Census 2010 Census Percent Increase

Ward 1 14,126 22,245 57 percent

Ward 2 14,305 16,506 15 percent

Ward 3 14,363 24,051 67 percent

Ward 4 14,497 14,928 3 percent

Ward 5 14,226 16,957 19 percent

Ward 6 14,294 15,300 7 percent

Ward 7 14,205 22,014 55 percent

Ward 8 14,184 14,936 5 percent

Ward 9 14,348 29,342 105 percent

Ward 10 14,442 21,620 50 percent

Total pop. 142,990 197,899 38.4 percent

Article Extras

Updated: March 13, 2012 8:03AM

They’re the numbers that determine how many federal dollars are coming to a city, where the new ward boundaries will be drawn and what kind of housing a town needs.

And the 2010 Census numbers tell a story about Aurora — one of growth.

According to the official 2010 Census, the city’s population increased by 38.4 percent from 2000 to 2010, coming close to the 44 percent growth Aurora experienced between 1990 and 2000. The numbers mean Aurora nearly doubled its population in 20 years.

As it pertains to city planning, the new census tally will bring in additional federal dollars and help with planning future infrastructure improvements, said City Chief of Staff Carie Anne Ergo.

The city will receive a $2.4 million increase in state income tax share, a $458,000 local use tax increase and a $780,000 motor fuel tax increase.

The Aurora Public Library will receive a $34,000 increase in state library funding, said Aurora spokesman Kevin Stahr.

The 2010 Census makes Aurora a city just shy of 200,000 at 197,899 — a number that is especially important now, as the city begins drawing new ward boundaries based on a breakdown of the 2010 head count.

The city’s special ward remap committee is tasked with creating a new ward map that ensures no ward deviates in population above or below 10 percent and tends to follow natural boundaries.

The committee will also have to create a map that does not unfairly dilute a racial voting block, and that’s where the census numbers come into play.

Hispanic growth

The city’s make up is more diverse than ever.

In 2000, 46,557 Hispanic people lived in Aurora. By 2010, 81,809 Hispanics were living in the city — a 76 percent increase.

Hispanics made up about 33 percent of Aurora’s population in 2000. Today, Hispanics are about 41 percent of the city’s population. Aurora’s new ward map will likely will have at least two wards in which Hispanics make up 65 percent or more of the ward population.

As of 2010 data, the 2nd Ward is 81 percent Hispanic and the 7th Ward is 74 percent Hispanic. The 3rd Ward is 64 percent Hispanic and the 6th Ward is 50 percent Hispanic, meaning Hispanics make up the majority in those wards, too.

The city is being cautious with the remap after the adoption of the redrawn 2002 map brought a lawsuit from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

That lawsuit charged the city’s new ward map violated the Voting Rights Act because the redrawn wards supposedly spread Hispanic voters among five wards, diluting their power. The District Court and 7th Circuit Court of Appeals found that Aurora’s map did not violate voters’ rights, but the lawsuit still cost the city $800,000, according to Ergo.

‘Melting pot city’

Census data shows the proportion of the city’s black residents remained constant, steadily increasing with the city’s total population over the past 10 years. In 2000, black residents made up about 11 percent of the city’s population. In 2010, blacks made up about 10 percent of the population.

A major increase is seen in Aurora’s Asian population. The city experienced a 204 percent increase in Asian residents — from a 3 percent make up of the city’s total in 2000 to 6.6 percent in 2010.

In 2000, the city’s population was 52 percent white. In 2010, whites make up about 40 percent of Aurora’s population.

Chief of community services Dan Barriero said the 2010 Census counts were more accurate than the 2000 Census count, in part because of a push by Family Focus Aurora to have highly concentrated Hispanic neighborhoods counted.

“We feel all of those efforts paid off because we exceeded what we did in 2000 by a lot,” Barriero said.

But the count doesn’t show exactly how diverse Aurora is, Barriero said. The census race boxes make it difficult to account for the differences in the city’s Hispanic community — Cuban Americans, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Tejanos. He said people from Mexico might even identify as another race than Hispanic.

“It’s different in a city like Aurora that is a melting pot city. People may not identify with one race or another, but multiples,” Ergo said.

Four-county town

Back in 2000, 97 percent of the Aurora’s population was living in the Kane and DuPage portions of the city.

But between 2000 and 2010, the Aurora sections in Kane, DuPage, Kendall and Will counties all gained population.

Kendall County’s total population in Aurora increased from 840 residents in 2000 to 6,019 in 2010 — more than a 600 percent increase in the share of Aurora’s total population.

Will County also increased it’s share. In 2000, 2,955 Will County residents lived in Aurora; by 2010, that number was 11,471 — a nearly 300 percent increase in its portion of Aurora’s total population.

Together, the two counties now account for 9 percent of the city’s total population — up from less than 3 percent in 2000.

Ergo said that in a community that is served by six school districts, families have settled in a part of Aurora that may be rural, close to the Westfield Fox Valley mall or near downtown.

“Those people have made housing choices based on pretty much different priorities,” Ergo said.

9th Ward doubles

Virginia and Josh Jacobsen were ready to settle down six years ago when they decided to buy a home. The couple had scouted around from Naperville to Bolingbrook before finding just the right spot in Aurora.

Now proud residents of the far East Side, the Jacobsens have settled comfortably into their Wheatlands Subdivision home, which sits in the city’s 9th Ward.

“This area has certainly been built-up,” Virginia Jacobsen said. “None of (these businesses) were here when we first moved in.”

By far, the 9th Ward had the largest increase in population during the decade — its population doubled to 29,342, according to the 2010 Census.

“(This area) seemed like a nice place to raise a family, and it’s certainly turning out that way,” Jacobsen said while she pushed her 19-month-old daughter, Katelyn, on the swings at a nearby park.

Drawn by city ‘character’

According to 2010 Census data, thousands of others had the same idea about Aurora.

Wendy Smetana moved into a house in Aurora’s 3rd Ward in 2009.

As a first-time homebuyer, Smetana said she was drawn to the older homes and cheaper taxes on the East Side of town. The 3rd Ward was the second fastest growing ward in the last 10 years.

“I really liked the character of old homes on the East Side,” she said. “My house is (more than) 100-years-old and with a great front porch, I thought ‘I could see myself sitting out here in the summertime.’”

Smetana, 43, said she told her Realtor she wanted to live in a diverse neighborhood with a lot of families that was centrally located. She moved from an apartment on Aurora’s West Side.

“I’m 10 minutes from Oswego and 10 minutes from the mall. It’s nice,” she said. “The East Side was in my price range. As a single woman, my income was limited to just what I have.”

Population
moves east

In the past decade, nearly 15,000 people have moved into Aurora’s 9th Ward, increasing the population by 104 percent. Compare this to the growth in some West Side wards, and the difference is obvious.

Since 2000, only 431 new residents have moved into the 4th ward, just west of the Fox River. At less than 15,000 residents, it is the least populated ward in the city.

New census data confirms that the average population of each ward is about 19,700, up from about 14,300 10 years ago. But nearly every ward on the East Side topples that average.

The population of the 3rd Ward is nearly 22 percent above the average, with a population of 24,000, while the 9th Ward has grown 57 percent above that target.

The 2nd Ward and the 8th Ward are the only East Side wards that have room to grow before hitting that target mark. On the West Side, every ward has room to grow.

Ergo said people continue to move to the city because of Aurora’s diverse range of housing options and convenient location to the Metra commuter line and Interstate 88. Chief of Development Bill Wiet said more employers continue to move out of downtown Chicago, too, making moving further west more feasible for families.

As Aurora hits its boundaries, Ergo said that the city will focus on reinvigorating older neighborhoods in the city and downtown. Wiet said future development will be near transit hubs, as national trends show that’s where people want to live.