R. Christian Smith – Page 53

All officers at the Geneva Police Department will soon be wearing body cameras, such as the one shown here, when responding to calls or doing other official police business. (City of Geneva)

All Geneva police officers will soon be wearing body cameras

March 22, 2024 at 3:11 p.m.

All of Geneva’s police officers are set to be wearing body cameras by the end of March, officials have announced.

Robert Worthington of Aurora submits his completed primary election ballot Tuesday at the I.B.E.W. - Local 461 facility in Aurora. (Mark Black / For The Beacon-News)

Aurora area voter turnout trends downward during primary election, officials say

March 19, 2024 at 7:00 p.m.

Aurora area voters went out to the polls on Tuesday to cast ballots in the primary election, but with both parties’ presidential candidates effectively chosen, fewer made the effort than...

Indian Valley Vocational Center Director Joe Barbic, right, accepts the keys to a retired Aurora Police Department patrol vehicle from Chris Linville, fleet maintenance supervisor for the city of Aurora. The Aurora Police Department donated the vehicle to the center's law enforcement program. (City of Aurora)

Aurora Police Department donates retired vehicle to training program

March 18, 2024 at 4:21 p.m.

The Aurora Police Department has donated a retired patrol vehicle to the Indian Valley Vocational Center’s law enforcement program.

Ashley Goeken, right, stands next to Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin at the March 12 City Council meeting after her appointment to Aurora’s Innovation and Technology Advisory Commission was approved by the council. (R. Christian Smith / The Beacon-News)

Woman called ‘voice of the global smart city revolution’ appointed to Aurora technology panel

March 18, 2024 at 6:00 a.m.

Ashley Goeken has been appointed to the city of Aurora’s Innovation and Technology Advisory Commission.

Aurora Police Chief Keith Cross, left, shakes hands with new recruits during a swearing-in ceremony in August 2023. Cross and other officials said the Aurora Police Department is not struggling to find recruits, despite a national shortage of police officers. (Aurora Police Department)

Recruitment strategies help Aurora Police Department fill its ranks despite national shortage of officers

March 16, 2024 at 8:06 p.m.

Despite a national police officer shortage, the Aurora Police Department is having no problems recruiting new officers to fill its rising number of positions, according to department officials.

Near the corner of South Raddant Road and Cleveland Avenue in Batavia, Mahoney Creek runs through a neighborhood and behind houses. Batavia officials are warning residents to stay away from the creek, which runs through the east side of the city, after a chemical foam spill earlier in the week. (R. Christian Smith / The Beacon-News)

Batavia residents warned to stay away from Mahoney Creek after foam spill

March 15, 2024 at 11:49 a.m.

Batavia residents have been warned to stay away from Mahoney Creek after a foam spill was discovered earlier this week.

Rachel Mahmood, a fifth-grade teacher at Georgetown Elementary School in District 204, shakes Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin's hand after being honored at Tuesday's City Council meeting for being named the 2024 Far West Suburbs Teacher of the Year by the Illinois State Board of Education. (R. Christian Smith / The Beacon-News)

Aurora honors award-winning educators

March 14, 2024 at 12:03 p.m.

On Tuesday, Mayor Richard Irivn honored four educators from Indian Prairie School District 204 who recently won statewide and countywide awards.

The Kane County Sheriff's Office and the adjoining jail have an aging heating and cooling system, but instead of simply replacing it, the system will undergo a $1 million redesign as part of a plan to fix its ongoing problems. (R. Christian Smith / The Beacon-News)

Kane County to spend $1 million redesigning heating and cooling system in sheriff’s office, jail

March 14, 2024 at 11:11 a.m.

Kane County is set to spend over $1 million redesigning the heating, cooling and ventilation system in the Kane County Sheriff’s Office and the adjoining jail to fix what officials...

The Indian Prairie School District 204 office is at the Crouse Education Center at 780 Shoreline Drive in Aurora. The district has a number of new life-saving devices in its schools, many of which were provided at no cost to the district, officials say. (R. Christian Smith / The Beacon-News)

Officials say all District 204 schools have new life-saving devices

March 14, 2024 at 11:14 a.m.

One type of new device, rescue inhalers with the drug Albuterol, has already been used four times this school year to help students in an emergency, officials said.

Nicor worker Mike Matlock uses a backhoe to backfill new gas lines around newly-constructed homes in Aurora in 2022. Kane County is considering partnering with a planning group on a study of housing in the county. (Stacey Wescott / baiduhai)

Kane County considers partnering with planning group on housing plan

March 7, 2024 at 4:07 p.m.

The Kane County Board could partner with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning to develop a plan to improve workforce housing within the county.

All Stories