Signed petitions need to be submitted by December 1, 2026.
A Referendum for Aurora · On the ballot April 4, 2027

Beginning professional leadership and experience for Aurora's future.

Aurora would keep its elected mayor and city council, but hire a professional city manager to run all city departments and be responsible for all day-to-day operations.

180,000+Residents — Illinois' 2nd-largest city
$569MCity of Aurora's proposed 2026 budget
Step 01 Aurora Voters elect Step 02 Elected Council + Mayor hire & oversee Step 03 Professional City Manager manage Step 04 Manager Oversees City Departments
Where to start

Three ways to learn more.

This is a decision for Aurora voters to make.

The referendum will be on the ballot April 4, 2027. Between now and then, we're focused on one thing: making sure every voter understands what they're deciding on.

/ Why Change
Why Change Aurora's Form of Government?

A side-by-side look at both forms of government.

Right now, the mayor holds most of the decision-making power. Here's how it compares to a council-manager form of government.

Aurora's Current Structure Council-Manager Structure
Where authority sits Concentrated in the mayor, rather than shared with the full council Shared: council sets policy and budget; a manager carries it out
Policy vs. execution The mayor sets policy (with council approval) and executes it — both roles, one person Mayor & council set policy and goals; the manager executes it day to day
Manager qualifications No formal requirement that administrators hold professional municipal management credentials Hired specifically for professional qualifications — certified, consistent expertise
Accountability Accountability runs through the mayor alone Council selects and annually evaluates the manager, and can replace them
Department heads Report through political appointments Report to one accountable executive, appointed and removed by the manager
Board & commission appointments Mayor's authority Mayor still holds this authority, subject to council confirmation — elected oversight doesn't go away
Staff turnover Tends to be high, as each new administration brings in its own team More continuity, since the manager isn't replaced by election cycles
Aurora's form of government — Stays the same under Illinois law — this adds professional management on top, it doesn't replace the existing structure
The bottom line — “Professionalism doesn't cost, it pays.”
What the research shows

Professionally managed cities tend to perform better

A 2011 IBM Global Business Services benchmarking study of the 100 largest U.S. cities found that council-manager cities ran roughly 10% more efficiently than mayor-council cities. Separately, ICMA's review of Moody's Aaa-rated municipalities found most employed a professional manager, and a majority operated under council-manager government. For residents, that structural efficiency tends to show up in everyday ways — faster response times on local complaints, tax dollars stretched further, and long-term planning that outlasts any single election cycle.

Source: Illinois City/County Management Association (ILCMA) →
What doesn't change

The mayor's role becomes elevated, not obsolete

Hiring a professional manager frees the mayor and council from day-to-day operations, so they can focus on being the chief visionaries, strategic planners, and public advocates for Aurora. It's a shift in tools, not a loss of local, elected leadership.

Why Aurora needs to adapt to today's challenging environment

This isn't about any one person. It's about structure — Aurora needs more than one person making decisions.

The core argument

Right now, one person holds all the power

Today, Aurora's mayor makes major decisions largely alone, without a formal legal process to help weigh those decisions. Large cities like Aurora need to provide their elected officials with as many tools as possible to successfully cope with the complex technical, legal, environmental, and management issues facing our city. That concentration of authority in a single elected official, without the checks that come from shared decision-making, isn't how a healthy local democracy is supposed to work.

This isn't hypothetical. Building Aurora's 2026 budget meant closing a shortfall that at one point reached a projected $29.7 million in the city's general fund, ultimately trimming it to $2.5 million through nearly 140 staffing cuts and department-wide reductions. Under Aurora's current structure, that kind of process both originates in and is carried out by the mayor's administration — with no independent professional manager built in to weigh the operational trade-offs.

Source: Daily Herald, "Aurora offers buyouts to workers, as it plans 2026 budget" →
/ How It Works
How a Council-Manager Government Works

The model, in plain terms.

A quick summary below, along with background reading and a video for further context.

The formal definition

What "council-manager government" means, legally

Under the council-manager form of government, voters elect a governing body (the council), including a chief elected official (the mayor), to lead their community by creating legislation, policy, and a vision. That governing body then hires a professional executive — a city manager — authorized to carry out those policies and oversee the local government's daily operations.

TL;DR

The basics of council-manager government

Council sets policy and budget; an appointed professional manager carries it out, and can be replaced by the council at any time — so accountability to voters never leaves elected officials. Illinois law lets any municipality under 500,000 people adopt this form without giving up its existing structure, so Aurora would keep its current designation while adding these features on top.

Source: ILCMA, Council-Manager Form of Government →
Article

Background reading

ILCMA's overview of how the statutory council-manager form works under Illinois law.

ilcma.org →
Video

How one city recovered from a financial crisis

Lee's Summit, Missouri lost half its financial reserves after a costly legal settlement. It took a professional city manager's office seven years to rebuild the city's reserves and restore its top bond rating — a case study in what a professional team can do that one mayor alone typically can't.

Read the case study on icma.org →
Transition guide

Making the switch is a process, not a single vote

A May 2026 PM Magazine piece by four sitting city and county management professionals frames the shift honestly: expect a multi-year effort, not an overnight fix. Their four key takeaways — on roles, roadmaps, turnover, and communication — are broken down in "What the transition actually looks like," further down this page.

Further reading

International City/County Management Association

ICMA is the professional association for city and county managers and a good source of independent background on the council-manager model.

Council-Manager Form of Government Resources →
Watch

Steve Arbo on Lee's Summit's recovery

Trouble viewing? Watch on YouTube →
Honest expectations

What the transition actually looks like

This isn't a light switch. Based on published guidance from professional city and county managers who've been through it, here's what a well-run transition typically involves.

Clear roles from day one

Defining exactly what the council, mayor, and manager are each responsible for — and training elected officials on the new structure — heads off confusion early.

A real implementation roadmap

Communities that struggle often try to run a new structure using old habits. A deliberate plan for budget, staffing, and services helps avoid that.

Some turnover is normal

Staff and leadership changes are common during a transition. Retaining institutional knowledge where possible eases the adjustment.

Steady, honest communication

Sharing progress and early wins keeps public confidence up. Communities that go quiet during the process tend to see skepticism grow instead.

/ Get Involved

Get Involved

Request more information

Have a question about the referendums? Send it our way.

Sign the petition

Signatures must be collected in person — Illinois law doesn't allow petition signatures online. Use this form to request a visit from a volunteer, or find out where and when you can sign in your neighborhood.

Host an informational meeting

Invite a campaign volunteer to speak with your neighborhood group, club, or workplace.

Volunteer

Help canvass, staff a table, or share information with neighbors.

/ Calendar
Calendar

Upcoming informational meetings.

Dates and locations are being finalized. Check back soon, or sign up on the Get Involved page to be notified as meetings are scheduled.

Sep
23

Town Hall

Wednesday, September 23 · 7:00 PM · Santori Public Library, 101 South River St., Aurora, IL 60506

Add to calendar
Oct
22

Town Hall

Wednesday, October 22 · 7:00 PM · Santori Public Library, 101 South River St., Aurora, IL 60506

Add to calendar
Nov
12

Town Hall

Thursday, November 12 · 7:00 PM · Fox Valley Park District Eola Center, Room 104, 555 S. Eola Rd., Aurora, IL 60504

Add to calendar
/ Municipalities
Not Alone

Aurora would join dozens of Illinois communities already doing this.

Council-manager government isn't experimental — it's one of the most common forms of municipal government in Illinois, used by communities of every size across the state.

79Illinois municipalities

The list below is compiled by the Illinois City/County Management Association (ILCMA) under 65 ILCS 5/5-1-10, the state statute governing the managerial form of municipal government. Aurora is not currently on this list — a "yes" vote would add it.

Arlington Heights Barrington Bloomington Brookfield Carbondale Carpentersville Centralia Champaign Charleston Clarendon Hills Collinsville Crystal Lake Decatur Deerfield DeKalb Des Plaines Downers Grove Elgin Elk Grove Village Elmhurst Elmwood Park Evanston Galesburg Glencoe Glenview Greenville Highland Highland Park Hinsdale Hoffman Estates Homewood Joliet Kenilworth Kewanee LaGrange LaGrange Park Lake Forest Libertyville Lombard Lyons Maywood Mount Prospect Mount Vernon Naperville Niles Normal Northbrook Northfield Northlake Oak Lawn Oak Park Olney Orland Park Palatine Paris Park Forest Park Ridge Peoria Princeton Riverside Rochelle Rock Island Rolling Meadows Salem Savanna Skokie Sterling Streator Sycamore Villa Park Westchester Western Springs Wheaton Wheeling Wilmette Winnetka Wood Dale Wood River Woodstock
Source: Illinois City/County Management Association (ILCMA), municipalities under the managerial form of government →

That's just the statutory council-manager list above. Counting both forms of professional management — city/village managers and city/village administrators — ILCMA's broader jurisdiction directory tracks nearly 200 Illinois cities, counties, and jurisdictions with an ICMA-recognized manager or administrator on record.

Source: ILCMA, ICMA-recognized jurisdictions →
/ Donate
Donations

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Paid for by Professional Aurora. A copy of our report filed with the State Board of Elections is or will be available on the Board's website (www.elections.il.gov).