Addison Wright

Addison Wright is a city-government reporter for the Aurora Beacon-News with a Master's in public affairs reporting. She earned recognition from the National Headliner Awards, Sarah Brown Boyden Awards and the Illinois Press Association. She previously reported for the Daily Southtown and the Tribune’s state politics team. She is a graduate of UNC Asheville, where she was captain of the university swim team. She welcomes tips via email that impact local communities.

Aurora City Hall is at 44 E. Downer Place in downtown Aurora. (R. Christian Smith/The Beacon-News)

Aurora electoral board to decide if recall referendum questions will be on November ballot

August 31, 2026 at 4:26 p.m.

The electoral board is set to meet at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 1, in the Aurora City Hall Council Chambers to hear arguments for and against including the referendum questions...

Ald. Carl Franco, 5th Ward, center, speaks at an Aurora City Council Committee of the Whole meeting on Aug. 18, 2026. Franco would like to see Aurora move away from a strong-mayor system to a city manager form of government. (Addison Wright/The Beacon-News)

Alderman calls for city manager form of government in Aurora

August 30, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Aurora Ald. Carl Franco, 5th Ward, has launched a website and formed a committee advocating to change Aurora from a strong-mayor system to a city manager form of government.

A young wallaby named Bindi stands in her new space at Phillips Park Zoo in Aurora on Aug. 20, 2026. Bindi is one of two young wallabies who recently joined the zoo. (City of Aurora)

Phillips Park Zoo in Aurora welcomes its first two wallabies

August 28, 2026 at 3:16 p.m.

Named Wally and Bindi, the wallabies are the first marsupials to live at Phillips Park Zoo.

Ald. Jonathan Nunez, 4th Ward, speaks at an Aurora City Council Committee of the Whole meeting on July 7, 2026. The City Council on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, approved funds for a storm damage recovery program in his ward. (Addison Wright/The Beacon-News)

Storm recovery funds approved for Aurora’s 4th Ward

August 27, 2026 at 12:34 p.m.

Other resources are also available for Aurora area residents affected by recent storms.

A townhouse development approved by the Aurora City Council Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, is set to be built on a roughly triangle-shaped property at the corner of 75th Street and Ogden Avenue in Aurora, seen here on June 1, 2026, from the 75th Street side. (R. Christian Smith/The Beacon-News)

Aurora City Council approves townhouse project with sustainability features near Fox Valley Mall

August 27, 2026 at 10:32 a.m.

The townhomes will be built over the next three to four years as the homes are sold, officials said.

An aerial view of Orchard Valley Golf Course in Aurora on June 19, 2026. The course is set to reopen Sept. 5 after more than a year of renovations. (Fox Valley Park District)

Orchard Valley Golf Course in Aurora set to reopen Sept. 5

August 25, 2026 at 8:58 a.m.

Orchard Valley Golf Course is set to reopen Sept. 5 after more than a year of renovations, Fox Valley Park District officials said Monday. Golfers can reserve tee times online...

Aurora resident Joanna Weiland inspects the damage on her grandmother's furniture July 7, 2026, after her basement flooded during the Fourth of July weekend. She said she had to throw out some family furniture due to flood damage. (Addison Wright/The Beacon-News)

Lack of flood insurance in Aurora area leaves widespread storm costs for residents

August 22, 2026 at 1:56 p.m.

In Kane County, Aurora and Elgin were hit the worst with uninsured flood damage due to the severe storms in early July, officials said.

From left, Aurora Capital Projects Manager Ian Wade; Ald. Jonathan Nunez, 4th Ward; Ald. Juany Garza, 2nd Ward; Ald. Ted Mesiacos, 3rd Ward; state Rep. Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora; Aurora Mayor John Laesch; and Roberto Velazquez, founder and president of Semper Fi Land Services, break ground on the Mastodon Lake restoration project on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (Addison Wright/The Beacon-News)

Aurora launches Mastodon Lake restoration project

August 20, 2026 at 4:48 p.m.

The project aims to clear sediment and decaying matter from the bottom of the lake, improve water quality and habitat conditions, reduce erosion and add recreational features and native plants,...

At the Aurora City Council Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, Russ Whitaker, left, an attorney who represents M/I Homes, presents the company's plan to build a townhouse development on the city's far East Side as Ald. Daniel Barreiro, 1st Ward, listens. (Addison Wright/The Beacon-News)

Aurora City Council eyes proposed townhouse project with sustainability features near Fox Valley Mall

August 20, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The proposed development, set to be named Kingsley Row, would bring 185 townhomes in 38 buildings to long undeveloped land in the triangle created by the intersection of Ogden Avenue...

Aurora city employees picket outside City Hall in downtown Aurora on Tuesday, March 10, 2026. Several of those employees returned to City Hall on Aug. 11 to speak at a City Council meeting asking for a "fair contract." (R. Christian Smith/The Beacon-News)

Aurora city employees demand a ‘fair contract’ as negotiations continue

August 17, 2026 at 4:36 p.m.

Five months after picketing outside City Hall and 20 months after beginning contract negotiations with the city, a group of unionized Aurora city employees is again demanding what they call...

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