Aurora has quietly pulled the plug on its Aurora's Promise child savings account pilot, city officials confirmed Tuesday. The program, which launched with fanfare in 2025, was supposed to help families start saving for college by seeding kindergarten accounts with a $50 starter deposit. Instead, the opt-in pilot drew only a small number of families, and city leaders now say low participation, staff workload and budget shortfalls convinced them to shut it down.
Background: How the program started
The City Council signed off on Aurora's Promise in late 2024, approving a long-term services arrangement to fund and manage the accounts and reserving nearly $2 million to get the effort off the ground. According to the city's own program page, Aurora's Promise was designed as an opt-in pilot for kindergarteners in West Aurora School District 129 and East Aurora School District 131, with accounts opened through a data-sharing agreement and initial seed deposits supplied by the city. The council's Legistar record spells out the contract structure and budget goals behind the launch, including a proposed 20-year management arrangement for the program.
Why officials say they ended it
As reported by the Chicago Tribune, Mayor John Laesch confirmed the program is no longer operating and said the city has ended its contract with the nonprofit that had been overseeing the accounts. The Tribune reported that Aurora spent nearly $130,000 on its contract with Operation HOPE during the pilot, while enrollment peaked at about 109 families, including roughly 41 students in West Aurora and 68 in East Aurora. The modest numbers led staff to question whether the program was delivering meaningful benefits to participating families.
Operation HOPE's role
Operation HOPE was tapped as program manager when Aurora rolled out the initiative, a partnership outlined in a May 2025 news release. BusinessWire reported that Operation HOPE planned to administer the accounts and provide financial-literacy support to families, using models the nonprofit has implemented in other cities.
What's next for families
City staff told the Chicago Tribune they are still looking at whether a more sustainable child savings account model can be created. For now, they said, it is more efficient to direct families to Illinois' Bright Start college-savings option, according to the Tribune. Officials in West Aurora and East Aurora told the Chicago Tribune they had not been informed the program was discontinued, and the Aurora's Promise information page and opt-in form remained live on the city's website at the time of reporting.
Why CSAs still attract interest
Supporters point to research that municipal children's savings account programs can boost educational outcomes. Aurora's program documents cited findings from San Francisco's long-running CSA effort, including higher on-time graduation rates and improved college enrollment among underrepresented students. City officials now have to decide whether Aurora can reshape the idea into a version that fits the budget, is manageable for staff and is compelling enough for more families to sign up.
