By Bob Seidenberg Two senior City Council members took strong issue with the head of a group that markets the city as a destination place, suggesting her past remarks advocating for Northwestern University’s $800 million stadium project “crossed the line” in their criticism of residents who oppose the project. At the Aug. 28 City Council…
By Bob Seidenberg Northwest Evanston resident Nina Paleologos said she has barely used her yard or pool – which sit on the other side of a garage and hedges from her neighbor’s beehives – during the second half of summer. “When I do, I am unable to relax and am in a constant state of…
Close to $240,000 in attorney’s fees spent on the case By Bob SeidenbergA Cook County Circuit Court judge granted the city’s request Thursday to dismiss its nearly $6 million lawsuit brought against a contractor, alleging faulty workmanship on the downtown Fountain Square project. Judge Patrick Sherlock granted the city’s motion for voluntary dismissal without prejudice…
By Bob Seidenberg The city’s Human Services Committee backed a City Council member’s request of $1.75 million from the General Fund to bring together a number of services to address homelessness, with special emphasis on the encampments that have arisen around Howard Street and elsewhere. Committee members voted 4-1 to move the issue to the full council for its Sept….
By Bob Seidenberg Former Eighth Ward Council Member Ann Rainey and her campaign team found a novel – and very green – way to resolve what to do with leftover campaign funds after 34 years in office. In an Aug. 17 ceremony on the south lawn of the Levy Senior Center, Rainey dedicated three trees…
Motion allows ‘time for settlement discussions’ By Bob Seidenberg In a major twist in the longstanding Fountain Square saga, the city on Friday afternoon filed a motion in Cook County Circuit Court requesting that its nearly $6 million lawsuit against a contractor for alleged faulty fountain work be voluntarily dismissed. The motion, filed at 1:46…
By Bob Seidenberg The Hilton Orrington/Evanston hotel’s grand ballroom, which sustained serious water damage at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been restored and is back in its place as the city’s premier meeting and event space. Leticia Phocas, the general manager of the hotel, 1710 Orrington Ave., confirmed in a Tuesday email that the ballroom, which has…
By Bob Seidenberg Fleetwood-Jourdain, the Arrington Lagoon Picnic Shelter, James Park, the Clark Street Beach House, Robert Crown – most residents have used those facilities at one time or another in connection with recreation activities. Members of the city’s Economic Development Committee enthusiastically endorsed a staff plan July 26 to create more food opportunities for…
By Bob Seidenberg Evanston’s Public Safety pensions, at one time among the most underfunded in the state, will be placed on a 100% funding track to reach full funding by 2040. Evanston City Council members on July 24 unanimously passed the resolution, adopting the Pension Funding Policy for Public Safety Pensions. In the past, official…
By Bob Seidenberg A unanimous City Council voted July 24 to order a study of how to remove potentially harmful chemicals that have been found in the city’s water supply. The vote authorizes staff to move forward with an agreement with Chicago-based CDM Smith to provide treatment study services at a cost not to exceed…
