Kane County Reporter

Roads and alleys in Aurora — one of 23 communities to win ComEd’s Powering Safe Communities award — will benefit from better lighting with a $10,000 grant from regional utility company ComEd and the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus.

Through ComEd’s Powering Safe Communities program grant financing, Aurora was empowered to purchase over 100 LED lights that are solar-powered and equipped with motion sensors, for installation over garages and in back yards within neighborhoods lacking light poles.

Districts identified for extra illumination include the Second, Third and Fourth Wards, the  leaders of which will handle distribution of bulbs. Lighting will be installed free of charge by volunteers from Rebuilding Together Aurora, a “safe and healthy housing” organization providing low-income homeowners with needed repairs.

"On behalf of Aurora, I thank ComEd and my colleagues of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus for this grant," Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner said. “It will literally help to make our community shine brighter. This is a true team effort between our aldermen, neighborhood groups, community partners and city staff. When we all join together to solve an issue at hand, we quite often succeed."

On top of extra lighting, the grant funds also will cover production and distribution of brochures on public safety titled "Keeping Our Neighborhoods Safe and Neighborly," compiled by the Neighborhood Group Support Program.

The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus is a consortium of the Chicago area’s 273 municipalities, created in 1997 by former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and mayors from nine suburban jurisdictions to overcome civic boundaries and collaborate on public policy.