Counsel finds neither Reid nor Revelle had a conflict of interest in the matter By Bob Seidenberg Evanston’s Special Ethics Counsel has ruled that neither City Council members Eleanor Revelle (7th Ward) nor Devon Reid (8th Ward) violated the city’s ethics code when they voted May 22 to support a request by Connections for the…
By Bob Seidenberg Members of the city’s Rules Committee recommended an ordinance that would allow candidates running for mayor to use public funds to finance their campaigns. At their meeting July 17, committee members voted 6-1 in favor of the proposal, moving it to the full City Council for consideration. An earlier vote, to hold the ordinance in committee…
By Bob Seidenberg Proximity to transit, solid household demographics and a strong Northwestern University student and faculty base located nearby all played into a Birmingham, Alabama, firm’s purchase of a prime piece of downtown Evanston real estate. Chicago-based Quantum Real Estate announced in a July 5 release the sale of a portion of the Church…
By Bob Seidenberg Former City Council Member Ann Rainey was originally scheduled to go out to dinner to celebrate her birthday on June 29. Instead, she was rerouted to the Palmhouse, a banquet hall at 619 Howard St., in her beloved Eighth Ward, where waiting supporters serenaded her as she entered. Rainey served 34 years…
By Bob Seidenberg An Evanston resident who has worked to raise the visibility of the local Asian American community told the Evanston Library Board last week that the library should consider hiring a coordinator for outreach and engagement with that group. Melissa Raman Molitor addressed the board June 21 on behalf of the library’s Racial…
By Bob Seidenberg Evanston Public Library trustees approved a budget amendment on June 21 to change five part-time safety monitor positions to full-time positions, creating greater coverage to respond to safety-related issues. At the meeting, library trustees voted unanimously to approve Interim Executive Library Director Heather Norborg’s recommendation to increase the library’s safety monitor budget…
By Bob Seidenberg Evanston has turned to Christopher B. Burke Engineering Limited to oversee a number of major public works projects, but a City Council member wants to hear more about what went wrong with one of them as the city again engages the group. During the June 12 meeting of the Administration & Public…
By Bob Seidenberg As Evanston moves closer to rolling out a first-time civilian response program for lower-priority 911 calls, Rachel Williams has been serving as a roving ambassador for the new system, dropping in at different ward meetings to explain how it will work. On Thursday, June 15, Williams, the city’s reimagining public safety administrator,…
By Bob Seidenberg Janet Alexander Davis, an early civil rights activist whose service and grounded advice has been treasured by generations of Evanston leaders at multiple organizations, was honored with a street segment designated in her name at the June 12 City Council meeting. Evanston City Council members voted unanimously at Monday’s meeting to designate…
By Bob Seidenberg Evanston City Council members gave staff the go-ahead June 12 to move forward with emergency repairs to the elevator that serves the city’s Police/Fire Headquarters, with cost totaling as high as $1.5 million. Staff’s request also touched off discussion about the future of the building the departments share, located at…
