the Far East side along the Eola Road and Route 59 areas. This was financially beneficial to the city, but it sapped retail businesses downtown and manufacturing in the industrial sectors of the near East and West Sides, weakening them. In the mid-1980s crime rates soared and street gangs formed. During this time Aurora became much more ethnically diverse. The Latino population grew rapidly in the city during the 1980s. In the late 1980s, several business and industrial parks were established on the city's outskirts. In 1993, the Hollywood Casino was built downtown, which helped bring the first redevelopment to the downtown area in nearly twenty years. In the late 1990s, more development began in the rural areas and towns outside Aurora. Subdivisions sprouted up around the city, and Aurora's population soared. Today, Aurora is an ethnically diverse city of nearly 200,000 residents. Historic areas downtown are being redeveloped, and new developments are being built across the city. Geography Aurora is at (41.7637855, −88.2901352). According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Aurora has a total area of , of which (or 97.94%) is land and (or 2.06%) is water. While the city has traditionally been regarded as being in Kane County, Aurora also includes parts of DuPage, Kendall and Will counties. Aurora is one of only three cities in Illinois that span four counties. (The others are Barrington Hills and Centralia.) Regions of Aurora Politically, the city is divided into 10 wards. Large portions of Aurora can be described as being within three regions: The West Side, which is west of the Fox River. The East Side, which spans the region east of the Fox River, stopping at the DuPage County line. The Far East Side, a portion of Aurora east of the DuPage County line These three regions are partly depicted in police boundaries and school districts. Climate The annual precipitation for Aurora is about 40 inches. The record high for Aurora is , on July 14, 1936. The record low is , on January 16, 2009. The average high temperature for Aurora in July is , the average January low is . On July 17–18, 1996, a major flood struck Aurora, with of rain in a 24-hour period, which is an Illinois state record, and the second highest ever nationally. Flooding occurred in almost every low-lying area in the city, and in neighborhoods bordering the Fox River, causing