The
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Section B
The bronze statue of Marie Wilkinson will move to the Richard and Gina Santori Public Library from its Main Library moorings on Benton Street and Stolp Avenue. Amy Roth photo
Richard and Gina Santori Public Library of Aurora
June 4, 2015
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Daisy Porter-Reynolds, left, executive director of the Aurora Public Library, and Eva Luckinbill, executive director emeritus, receive books May 29 from the closed Main Library conveyed by the Teen Advisory Board members. Ron Langstaff photo
Santori Library naming Christmas 2013 present An early Christmas present came to the Aurora Public Library December 23, 2013, when it was announced that the Main Library would be known as the Richard and Gina Santori Public Library of Aurora. John Savage, Aurora Public Library Board of Directors president, announced Dr. Gina Santori would make a donation of $3 Million to the library to establish a technology endowment to ensure that the downtown library and its branches would have the financial ability to provide the latest technology into the future. The gift allowed the new library’s Teen Space to have tablets, laptops, music and broadcasting equipment available to inspire creativity and give teens the tools they need to achieve their dreams. Dr. Santori and her late husband, Richard, both were dedicated to life-
long learning. Richard Santori passed away in 2010. He was the owner of several auto dealerships both in and around Aurora, including Valley Honda, Valley Imports, and Valley Mazda Volkswagen. He served on committees for the Aurora Regional Chamber of Commerce, Community Counseling Center and the New York Street Business Association. He was an active member of the Chicago Area Automotive Dealers Association and served on the board of the University of Chicago Foundation. He served in the Army and Air Force Reserves as a pilot. Gina Santori of Lisle, a physician and surgeon who is on staff at RushCopley Medical Center in Aurora, now practices only on a pro bono basis assisting patients with complications from diabetes. She received her M.D.
degree from the University of Illinois and her Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree from the College of Podiatric Medicine in Chicago. Dr. Santori is the national black belt champion in Shotokan Karate 11 times over. She ice skates competitively, is a ballroom dancer, and has commercial pilot licenses for both sea and land. She guides the charitable
Innovative technology
"A modern library is much more than books. It is about innovative technology, the ability to collaborate and to be able dream and discover. I'm proud to say, the new Santori Aurora Library has all that and more." —John Savage, president, Aurora Library Board
Dunham Fund grant provides new artwork When you tour the Santori Library, you will notice artwork and sculpture adorning the outdoor plaza, John C. Dunham Atrium and walls. The artwork was funded through a $250,000 Dunham Fund grant to support the arts and education. During a late Summer 2014 press conference at the construction site of the Richard and Gina Santori Public Library, the Dream Catcher sculpture to be displayed in the atrium was unveiled. Dream Catcher artist Jerry Savage’s visionary concept combines art and science technologies and represents the transition of the printed word to the information highway. “Human beings have an intrinsic sense of beauty and truth,” Savage See page 11
foundation that was started by her late husband to support educational opportunities at The Santori School in Prey Veng, Cambodia, and for scholarships for college and university candidates in the United States in the field of aviation, medicine and science. “My husband, a self-taught man, was never afforded the education that he held so dear,” Dr. Santori said. “He studied each morning with the reading of encyclopedias to act as his curriculum. It served him well in his life and he mentored others with his generosity of knowledge and time.” The current Main Library opened in 1904 and was built with a $50,000 grant from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. The Main library building, on Stolp Island, was remodeled in 1969. —Aurora Public Library
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