Lucky Day Lotto Winning Ticket Sold in Aurora

Could you be the winner of $162,000?

Someone in the area is $162,000 richer. Could it be you? An Illinois Lottery ticket for the Lucky Day Lotto purchased at the Aurora Thornton Gas and Food Mart, 2800 Ogden Avenue, is a winner, according to spokesperson Chanele Newton from North Star Lottery. The winner, who has yet to come forward, matched all five numbers  – 03 - 06 - 19 - 33 - 35 – in the February 8 drawing. The store will receive a $1,625 bonus, 1 percent of the jackpot amount, for selling a winning ticket. Feeling lucky yourself? Jackpots for Lucky Day Lotto start at $100,000. Drawings are seven days a week at 9:22 p.m. with over 35,000 winners every day.   For more information, please visit www.illinoislottery.com.

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‘Super Coupon Queen’ Returning to Aurora For Two Workshops

Cataldo will be offering advanced tips on cutting grocery bills, including information on how the year-long pricing cycle works and the best times to purchase certain products.

Editor's note: The following is a press release from the Fox Valley Park District. “Super Coupon Queen” Jill Cataldo is returning to town in December and January for a pair of workshops full of money-saving tips. Cataldo will host “Super Couponing” from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 6 and “Super Couponing 2: Saving on Everything!” from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 10. Both workshops will be held at the Eola Community Center, 555 S. Eola Road, in Aurora. In a follow-up to her prior appearances at the Prisco Center that drew 300 people, Cataldo will be offering advanced tips on cutting grocery bills, including information on how the year-long pricing cycle works and the best times to purchase certain products. In addition, Cataldo will …

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Republican Kay Hatcher Wins 50th State House Race Over Andrew Bernard

Kay Hatcher won the 50th State House Race in the November 2012 election, defeating challenger Andrew Bernard.

Republican Kay Hatcher has won the 50th State House Race over challenger Democratic Andrew Bernard with nearly 64% of the vote across the three counties her district spans. She received 59.45 percent of the vote in Kendall County, according to that Clerk's Office. Hatcher came away with 9,863 total votes with 7,930 coming in on election day and 1,933 in early voting. Bernard had a total of 6,727 votes with 5,175 votes on election day and 1,552 in early voting.        According to the Aurora Election Commission, Hatcher had 60 percent of the vote, or 2,583, and Bernard had 40 percent of the vote, or 1,703. In Kane County, Hatcher received 17,373 votes, or 68 percent, to Bernard's 8,354 votes or 32 percent. Hatcher has been representing the …

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Free ‘Paws in the Park’ Dog Festival to be Held Oct. 7 in Aurora

Dogs will be able to run off-leash in the fenced-in play area. All dogs must have a current rabies tag to enter the park.

Editor's note: The following is a press release from the Fox Valley Park District. The Fox Valley Park District will hold a free “Paws in the Park” festival from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, at Lincoln Park, located on Aurora’s west side at South Harrison Avenue, just north of Prairie Street and east of Elmwood Drive. Dog owners are welcome to bring their pets to the event, which is hosted in conjunction with the Fox Valley Animal Welfare League. The festival will feature local representatives and resources, pet-related products and gifts, rescue organizations, behavior and obedience specialists and demonstrations, a blessing of all the animals, police dog demonstrations, contests for dogs and numerous prize drawings. Dogs will be able to run …

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'Dark Knight' Theater Shootings in Aurora, CO: 'There But For the Grace of God Go We'

"The Dark Knight Rises" plays in theaters everywhere—a reminder that senseless, horrific violence has no hometown.

The Aurora theater shooting news first came around at 5:20 a.m. today in an e-mail alert: NATIONAL REPORT: AURORA CO: @0115 GMT AN MCI FOR 20+ GSW VICS IN THE 14000 BLOCK OF EAST ALAMEDA AVE 'CENTURY 16 MOVIE THEATER' RPTD GUNMAN USED TEAR GAS AND BODY ARMOR (41,AP) -- At first, I saw "Aurora" and thought immediately of our good neighbor, where I have so many friends. Then I was shocked when the news began to play out in the national media about the Colorado theater shootings. It's the kind of senseless violence that we've seen too often in recent years, and I'm sure it will call up images from Columbine and more discussion about the violence we see in films and video games. The Matrix was blamed in the Columbine case. More discussion will…

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Aurora Honors Martin Luther King With Ceremony

Aurorans gathered at West Aurora High School last night to honor the civil rights leader on his birthday.

Downer Place Bridges in Aurora to Close for 9 Months

The downtown bridges will be replaced this year, starting on Feb. 6, with a new traffic pattern taking effect downtown.

Video: Aurora's Tree-Lighting Ceremony

The City of Lights led the way in tree-lighting ceremonies this year, flipping the switch on its holiday tree on Wednesday.

Yes, it was the day before Thanksgiving. But in Aurora, the Christmas season officially began Wednesday night. That’s when the city held its annual tree-lighting ceremony, complete with a visit from Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus, outside North Island Center on Galena Boulevard. Mayor Tom Weisner flipped the switch that turned on the multicolored lights, with the help of this year’s Miss Merry Christmas and Jack Frost, Aurorans Madeline Assell and Edwin Ramos, respectively. Aurora resident Judi Kessler donated the massive pine tree that serves as the city’s main holiday decoration this year. Kessler’s husband Lin died last year, and had named the tree George. Kessler donated it in his memory, according to Weisner, and the ornaments that hung …

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Aurora Pays Tribute to Fallen Heroes, Commemorates 9/11 Anniversary

The city's 9/11 ceremony took place Friday morning, and included tributes to the Aurorans who have died in the war on terror, and a first-hand account of the World Trade Center attack from a man who survived it.

Aurora marked the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on Friday with tears, salutes, and a survivor’s gripping story. Hundreds gathered under a clear blue sky Friday morning at the Central Fire Station on Broadway for the city’s 9/11 remembrance ceremony. Honor was paid to all of the victims, first responders, police officers and firefighters who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, and a special tribute paid to the four Aurora Marines killed in the subsequent war in Iraq: Jesse De La Torre, Edwardo Lopez, Hector Ramos and Timothy Ryan. Friday’s ceremony included remarks from Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner, Police Chief Greg Thomas and Fire Chief Hal Carlson, who said the 9/11 attacks are like the day John F. Kennedy was shot—those who were …

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Sheriff's Police: Aurora Man Shot Himself in Hand

A 28-year-old Aurora man was trying to dispose of the pistol on Route 34 in Aurora, the Kendall County Sheriff's Office said.

A 28-year-old Aurora man is facing felony charges after shooting himself in the hand, the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office said. Kyle Albert Taylor, of the 100 block of North Gregory Street, was trying to dispose of a 9mm semi-automatic pistol about 3:30 a.m. Aug. 7, according to a news release. He ended up shooting himself with the pistol in the left hand while in the 600 block of Route 34 in Aurora, which is just east of Farnsworth Avenue. Taylor threw the pistol into the trunk of his car and drove himself to Rush-Copley Medical Center in Aurora, where Aurora police responded, according to the news release. Following an investigation by sheriff’s detectives, Taylor was charged with two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and …

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