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State of the City Address – Mayor Thomas J. Weisner
Tom Weisner is currently serving his third term as Mayor of Aurora, Illinois, the state’s second largest city, with a population of nearly 200,000, after running unopposed in the April, 2013 election.

In his 10+ years as Aurora’s Mayor, Tom Weisner has propelled this former “blue collar town” into the 21^st century as a high performing, progressive city by strengthening neighborhoods, revitalizing Aurora’s riverfront core, promoting sustainable development practices, developing a top-notch telecommunications infrastructure and vastly reducing crime. By focusing on public/private partnerships to spur revitalization, Mayor Weisner is successfully cleaning up polluted riverfront areas, encouraging the Arts and drawing over 400,000 people per year to Downtown venues such as the Paramount Theatre and RiverEdge Park, Aurora’s spectacular new outdoor music venue.

Weisner’s ability to combine innovation with infrastructure development has yielded impressive results and continues to pave the way for economic development opportunities citywide. Over the past ten years Aurora has reconstructed ten major bridges leveraging 80% State funding, improved the neighborhood street program, added the Eola Road Tollway Interchange and welcomed a sixty percent expansion of the Premium Outlet Mall.    Under Mayor Weisner’s leadership, Aurora has become a recognized leader in green infrastructure and fiberoptic networking.

Mayor Weisner is also a leader on the regional, state and national level, currently serving as the Kane/Kendall representative to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), Executive Board member of the Illinois Municipal League, member of the Pension Fairness for Illinois Communities Coalition and recently served as the Chairman of the Chicago Metropolitan Mayors Caucus. Weisner also served on the Illinois Toll Highway Authority Board for five years and is Past President of Metro West Council of Governments. He was recognized for his regional efforts in 2015, when the DuPage Mayor’s and Managers named him “Governmental Leader of the Year” for 2014.  

Prior to joining Aurora City staff in 1986, Tom and his wife, Marilyn, served in the Peace Corps, assisting Melanesian rainforest dwellers in the highlands of Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.

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