Robert J. O’Connor, 78, a former mayor of Aurora and an alderman-at-large for 36 years, died earlier this at his home following a battle with cancer.
Former Interim Aurora Mayor Robert J. O'Connor hands Aurora Mayor Richard C. Irving the mayoral gavel during the 2017 Mayoral and Aldermanic Inauguration at The Paramount Arts Center in Aurora, IL on Tuesday, May 09, 2017 | Sean King - The Beacon-News
The public will have a chance to remember the former mayor and alderman at a visitation Oct. 16 from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. at The Healy Chapel, 332 W. Downer Place, in Aurora. He was active in the Exchange Club of Aurora as a member, past president, and treasurer. He was a member of the Administrative Board for Phillips Park and Splash Country Aquatic Centers, the Aurora Public Library Board of Directors and the Aurora Police Foundation Board of Directors.
O’Connor first ran for mayor in 1977, at age 32, against longtime state legislator Jack Hill. O’Connor lost by 32 votes. If O’Connor had a politician he modeled himself after, it would have to be Abraham Lincoln, whom he studied, he previously told the Beacon-News. A voracious reader, O’Connor said in a 2021 interview shortly after leaving office that he considered himself a “junior Lincoln scholar,” and often presented lectures on the 16th U.S. president.
O’Connor has several lasting monuments to his time serving the city. One is the Alderman’s Office building, on Downer Place at the Water Street Mall. It was named the Robert J. O’Connor Aldermen’s Office and dedicated when he left office in 2021.
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