Monday, November 2, 2026

Evanston Scribe

What’s news in Evanston

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Evanston Scribe

What’s news in Evanston

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Headlines

Staff’s rankings for capital projects catch city finance committee’s attention

Last ARPA funds for economic development may be spent on Church Street bridge lighting, other projects

Logan, Smith bring the field to six for Evanston’s special mayoral election in 2027

Evanston Dog Beach users rally at city hall against Dec. 1 beach closing

Tax and service fee hikes get attention in early budget feedback

Rainey is officially in the race for Evanston mayor

Officials search for how to address vacant NU properties

Staffing in question as City Manger’s budget moves to council for first look

Presbyterian Living to seek community input for renewal plan to its northwest Evanston campus

City’s ’Space to Place’ kicks off, giving entrepreneurs a chance to show off their business

Retail activation strategist Claire Seizovic proposed the idea for the city’s new small business retail incubator and pop-up program which made its debut at Bookman’s Alley in downtown Evanston last week. The shared marketplace will be open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m., to 6 p.m. through December 31. Admission is free.

City’s ’Space to Place’ kicks off, giving entrepreneurs a chance to show off their business

Bob05 mins

By Bob Seidenberg With Northwestern students now back filling downtown streets, alums and out-of-towners alike eager to gawk  at the…

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Will a once obscure tax become a dedicated source for future pension funding?

Members of a city committee are scheduled later this week to consider whether a once obscure tax source should be dedicated to pay public safety pensions on a steep funding path.

Jack Mortell, president of the Evanston Firefighters Pension Board, conducted the research showing very little of PPRT monies were going to public safety pensions.

The issue is to be discussed at Wednesday’s city Finance & Budget Committee, scheduled for 5 p.m., at the Lorraine H. Morton City Hall Council Chambers, 909 Davis St.

The city has been receiving funds from the Pesonal Property Replacement Tax (PPRT), a tax established by the state to replace a tax on corporations that was declared unconstitutional, starting in 1979.

Until a few years ago, revenues from the tax which once topped $6 million went straight into the city’s General Fund and was divvied up from there.

But with the city approving a landmark policy putting funding of pensions on a 100% track by 2040, pension officials pushed for the PPRT funds to be dedicated to the payments, maintaining that was the state’s original intent.

Jack Mortell, the president of the Firefighter’s Pension Board, first called attention to the issue in 2022, finding a small percentage of the tax had been dedicated to pension payments in the 20 years previously.

— By Bob Seidenberg

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