Aurora Gets 500K Mask Donation From Willie Wilson Amid Pandemic

AURORA, IL — Chicago businessman Willie Wilson recently donated 500,000 face masks to Aurora to support the city’s new campaign to promote and encourage mask-wearing during the coronavirus pandemic.

Wilson, a candidate for the U.S. Senate, joined Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin and other officials over the weekend at Sage Crest Apartments on the city’s west side. Residents received masks for themselves and all immediate family members, while 20,000 masks were given to the Fox Valley Ministerial Alliance to be distributed at local churches, according to a news release.

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Free masks are available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at the Aurora Customer Service Center, located at 3770 McCoy Dr., the release states. Senior citizens and residents who cannot reach the facility can call (630) 256-4636 to provide information for masks to be mailed.

City officials will also be sending large quantities of the free masks to organizations in Aurora next week, the release states. Those organizations include nursing homes and senior living centers, places of worship, nonprofits and first responders, Irvin said.

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The city will set aside a portion of the masks for schools to use when they return to in-person instruction, Irvin said.

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The donation of a half-million masks will support Irvin’s new Mask Up Aurora campaign, which urges all residents in the state’s second-largest city to wear masks while in public places, and to continue practicing social distancing and washing their hands regularly.

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“This unprecedented donation will go a long way in providing masks to Aurorans as we work together to combat COVID-19,” Irvin said.

The Dr. Willie Wilson Foundation is aiming to distribute 20 million throughout Illinois this week. Wilson pledged to donate 100,000 masks to Aurora in May, which included a drive-thru distribution event where 16,000 masks were handed out to residents, the release states.

Wilson is running as an independent for U.S. senator against incumbent Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin and Republican challenger Mark Curran, who served as Lake County’s sheriff from 2006 to 2018.