By Bob Seidenberg Workforce development, hazard pay for employees, and climate action strategies are among the items on the table as Evanston City Council members weigh spending $43.1 million in federal COVID-19 recovery funds. Council Members are not ready to make decisions quite yet. With a long list of community needs to consider, they indicated…
By Bob Seidenberg Citizens would once again be given a role deciding ethics violations brought against public officials, based on a revised staff proposal that was backed by the City Council’s Rules Committee at their Sept. 7 meeting. Staff had previously recommended that the citizens Ethics Board be eliminated, and decision-making placed in the hands…
By Bob Seidenberg rseiden914@gmail.com The City of Evanston’s past handling of charges of sexual harassment and abuse brought by female lifeguards and beach employees in a petition to the City last July represents “a serious institutional failure that we must get to and rectify,” Mayor Daniel Biss said in a statement on July 22, in…
By Bob Seidenberg rseiden914@gmail.com Gina Speckman, executive director of the Chicago North Shore Convention & Visitors Bureau, had led off with a fact-filled presentation at the city’s Economic Development Committee meeting June 23 on why the city should support her group, which works to attract visitors to Evanston. Dan Kelch, local restauranteur and member of…
By Bob Seidenberg rseiden914@gmail.com The $43.1 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds Evanston is receiving to assist its recovery from the impact of COVID-19 may also prove helpful easing the debt funding the City turns to every year to finance major capital improvement projects. City officials discussed the possibility at the July 12…
By Bob Seidenberg Evanston Mayoral candidate Lori Keenan spoke out Monday night about recent City Council members criticism leveled against citizens “weaponizing” the Ethics Board process with complaints against public officials. During citizen comment at the Dec. 14 City Council meeting, Ms. Keenan told Council members that rather than a “blame the citizens” approach, Council…
By Bob Seidenberg The State Board of Elections has greatly reduced the late filing penalties that office was seeking from Evanston City Clerk Devon Reid dating back to his successful run for office in 2017, acknowledging there were “mitigating circumstances” with the notices that went out alerting Mr. Reid of his missed payments. Board members…
By Bob Seidenberg Evanston residents, age 29 and under, are getting hit particularly hard in the resurgence of the Covid-19 virus. At the Oct. 26 City Council meeting, Mayor Stephen Hagerty reported that 50 percent of the City’s COVID cases in the last week fell in that age group. Those between 20 and 29 years…
By Bob Seidenberg Devon Reid, only 24 at the time, ran an against-the-odds race when he was elected as Evanston’s City Clerk in April 2017. “Four years ago we achieved the unbelievable. We took on a two-term incumbent, won the City Clerk’s race with an overwhelming 66 percent of the vote. Together, in the Clerk’s…
By Bob Seidenberg Evanston property and business owners in the Main-Dempster Street business area, some facing blistering property tax increases in the latest tax bills, brought their concerns to Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi in a freewheeling discussion July 21. Mr. Kaegi was sympathetic to the taxpayers concerns during the nearly one hour meeting held…