The Voice

https://thevoice.us/aurora-to-mark-5th-anniversary-of-henry-pratt-tragedy-with-candlelight-vigil-memorial-bench-unveiling/

Aurora to Mark 5th Anniversary of Henry Pratt Tragedy with Candlelight Vigil, Memorial Bench Unveiling Members of the community are invited to gather at 6 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 15 for a candlelight vigil to commemorate the solemn occasion of the 5th anniversary of the Henry Pratt tragedy. The remembrance ceremony will honor the five men who lost their lives – Russell Beyer, Vicente Juarez, Clayton P...

https://thevoice.us/live-music-art-among-free-offerings-at-first-fridays-in-downtown-aurora-feb-2/

Live Music, Art, among free offerings at First Fridays in downtown Aurora, Feb 2 The Venue, a live music performance room in downtown Aurora, will host a free concert from 6 to 8 p.m. this Friday. Downtown Charlie Brown will perform for the free First Fridays show.  The Venue will open its doors for an open house from 6 to 8 p.m. on February 2 for the downtown-wide event....

Honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

17-year-old Ph.D. graduate, popular actor to headline Aurora’s MLK Ceremony The City of Aurora will come together on Monday to celebrate the 95th birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The City's 39th Annual Aurora MLK Ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. on Monday, January 15, at Calvary Church, 9S200 Route 59. With the theme 'What Happens to a Dream Determined?" the cere...

Wishes for a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2024!

Wage increase 1 of more than 300 new State laws By Peter Hancok, Andrew Adams, & Jerry NowickiCapitol News [email protected] More than 300 new laws will take effect January 1, 2024 ranging from a ban on book bans to the regulation of “deepfake porn” and prohibitions on videoconferencing while driving. Thanks to a law signed...

https://thevoice.us/aurora-city-council-calls-special-meeting-noon-friday-dec-22-to-consider-amending-an-ordinance-to-define-and-prohibit-unscheduled-bus-stops-of-individuals-including-migrants-and-refugees-who-ar/

Aurora City Council calls special meeting to consider Ordinance amendment prohibiting unscheduled bus stops of individuals, including migrants and refugees With concern about migrants who are transported to the City without prior arrangements, the Aurora City Council plans to convene Friday, Dec. 22, at noon, for a special City Council meeting to consider amending an Ordinance to define and prohibit unscheduled bus stops of individuals who are transpor...

https://thevoice.us/happy-thanksgiving-from-all-of-us-at-the-voice/

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at The Voice! Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at The Voice!

— September 11, 2001 Remembrance —

We remember terrorist attacks by two hijacked planes that were slammed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, and followed by an airplane attack at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va. and an aborted airplane attack on Washington, D.C. by American passengers in Pennsylvania.
(Carter Crane/The Voice)

Naperville Labor Day Parade, Sept. 4, 2023 (Part 1)

Naperville Labor Day Parade, Sept. 4, 2023 (Part 2)

Happy Labor Day!

Labor Day pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers and is traditionally observed on the first Monday in September. It was created by the labor movement in the late 19th century and became a federal holiday in 1894. Labor Day weekend also symbolizes the end of summer for many Americans and is celebrated with parties, street parades and athletic events.

In the late 1800s, at the height of the Industrial Revolution in the United States, the average American worked 12-hour days and seven-day weeks in order to eke out a basic living. Despite restrictions in some states, children as young as 5 or 6 toiled in mills, factories and mines across the country, earning a fraction of their adult counterparts’ wages.

Individuals of all ages, particularly the very poor and recent immigrants, often faced extremely unsafe working conditions, with insufficient access to fresh air, sanitary facilities and breaks.

As manufacturing increasingly supplanted agriculture as the wellspring of American employment, labor unions, which had first appeared in the late 18th century, grew more prominent and vocal. They began organizing strikes and rallies to protest poor conditions and compel employers to renegotiate hours and pay.

Many of these events turned violent during this period, including the infamous Haymarket Riot of 1886, in which several Chicago policemen and workers were killed. Others gave rise to longstanding traditions: On September 5, 1882, 10,000 workers took unpaid time off to march from City Hall to Union Square in New York City, holding the first Labor Day parade in U.S. history.

The idea of a “workingmen’s holiday,” celebrated on the first Monday in September, caught on in other industrial centers across the country, and many states passed legislation recognizing it. Congress would not legalize the holiday until 12 years later, when a watershed moment in American labor history brought workers’ rights squarely into the public’s view. On May 11, 1894, employees of the Pullman Palace Car Company in Chicago went on strike to protest wage cuts and the firing of union representatives.

On June 26, the American Railroad Union, led by Eugene V. Debs, called for a boycott of all Pullman railway cars, crippling railroad traffic nationwide. To break the Pullman strike, the federal government dispatched troops to Chicago, unleashing a wave of riots that resulted in the deaths of more than a dozen workers.

Who Created Labor Day?
In the wake of this massive unrest and in an attempt to repair ties with American workers, Congress passed an act making Labor Day a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories. On June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed it into law. More than a century later, the true founder of Labor Day has yet to be identified.

Many credit Peter J. McGuire, cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, while others have suggested that Matthew Maguire, a secretary of the Central Labor Union, first proposed the holiday.

Labor Day Celebrations
Labor Day is still celebrated in cities and towns across the United States with parades, picnics, barbecues, fireworks displays and other public gatherings, especially over the long Labor Day weekend. For many Americans, particularly children and young adults, it represents the end of the summer and the start of the back-to-school season.
— History.com

https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/labor-day-1