<p>Richard Irvin: We are here with another moment of progress and advancement in the city of Aurora. Today will usher in a new era. I said it before, and it bears repeating again. Aurora is a city of lights. And because of our technology infrastructure and commitment to innovation, we are also the city of light-speed.</p> <p>Richard Irvin: Ladies and gentlemen, this is so exciting. I can just see the entrepreneurial spirit is among you here today. Genuinely, Aurora is demonstrating true leadership here. It wasn't too long ago that people turned up their noses at the idea that technology and innovation could come out of the middle of the country. Illinois excels at the pillars of the innovation economy. This is entrepreneurship. They took the leap and the city of Aurora is taking a leap and it's to advance the entire state of Illinois. And I want to thank you all very much. Thank you.</p> <p>John Cecala: It's so impressive, what the city of Aurora is doing and the thought leadership that's going into everything. This event was fantastic, and you don't see this very often, if at all.</p> <p>Maddie Callis: Oh my gosh. So excited. At one point, I was like, why am I not a resident of the 605? There was such enthusiasm among all the people here and how they were coming together to talk about how to bring entrepreneurship, workforce development, cyber security, data privacy. What people were asking in the Q&amp;A after. It really shows you have such an active and engaged community.</p> <p>Michael Pegues: This is just like the beginning, right? It's about awareness. Trying to get people to understand about what's going on here in the city of Aurora and the vibe that's in the air. There's a charge, right? Like I said before, vision, without execution is nothing. We need to continue on that path and keep charging up our citizenry, the city staff, and everybody about what's going on here, and this is going to happen.</p>