Media Alert
For immediate release

Contact: Theresa Komitas
Phone: (630) 608-5031
E-mail: tkomitas@SD308.org

Oswego, Ill. (May 25, 2023) — The second grade students at Wolf’s Crossing Elementary School, which is located in Aurora, Illinois, welcomed the Mayor of Aurora, Richard Irvin, in for a visit during the second to last week of school. Mayor Irvin is the 59th Mayor of Aurora and the first African-American to lead Illinois’ Second-largest city.

Mayor Irvin introduced himself to the students and indicated that he was first elected as the Mayor of Aurora in 2017 to a four-year term and re-elected in 2021 for a term ending in 2025. He told the students that the Mayor served four-years in their terms, but has no limit to the amount of terms they can serve. 

After introducing himself to the students, the Mayor took questions from the second grade students. The students had an opportunity to develop questions to ask the Mayor during their Social Studies Unit on “Laws, Rules and Government,” where they were able to learn about what a Mayor does. Students from each class were given the opportunity to ask the Mayor very insightful questions, which the Mayor answered very thoroughly.

Here are a few of the questions that were posed: 

“What do you do for Fun?” The Mayor indicated that he actually likes working and that he considers that “fun.” He also told the students that he likes riding his bicycle, because it reminds him of when he was younger.

“Why did you run for office?” Mayor Irvin indicated that he ran for Mayor because he wanted to make a difference and he wanted to give back to the community. He indicated that prior to being a lawyer, he had joined the military right after high school. It was his service overseas that inspired him to really want to be of service to his community.

“What is the fun part of being the Mayor?” The Mayor indicated that one of the best parts of his job is when he gets to come into schools and visit and talk with students. He did also indicate that it is pretty fun “being a boss” to his staff.

“What are some challenges of being Mayor?” The Mayor indicated that perhaps one of the greatest challenges is knowing that there are a lot of people with a lot of differing opinions. He said, “The hope is to do the greatest good for the most people, and recognize you can’t make everyone happy.”

The Mayor ended his visit by telling the students that when laws are passed in Aurora, it does not become official until it is signed by the Mayor. In signing laws, ink pens are used; therefore, the Mayor indicated that his office had brought ink pens for all the second grade students. He encouraged them to continue writing and using their pens.

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