True Tales of Aurora, Illinois

Check in on visits from Orville Wright, Casey Stengel, John Dillinger and JFK. Learn about the Aurora man who hired Abe Lincoln to defend his business and the police chief who solved the nation,s most gruesome crime. Discover what happened to the man who recorded a landmark blues song in Aurora,s tallest tower and how a boy born in the city,s poorest neighborhood went on to play for the Chicago Bears in Matt Hanley,s fascinating collection of stories from the City of Lights.

Matt Hanley grew up in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He worked at the Elburn Herald and LaSalle News Tribune before being hired by the Aurora Beacon-News in 2003. For the last seven years, he has covered crime, runaway chickens and obscure historical stories for the Beacon-News. This is his first book, and hopefully not his last. To contact him, email truetalesofaurora@gmail.com.