By Bob Seidenberg One by one, the fire companies at Evanston’s five stations took turns notifying radio dispatch they were signing out of service. Locked in a monthslong impasse with the city, 89 Evanston firefighters walked off the job for 53 hours from 6 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 28, 1974, until 11 a.m., Saturday, March…
By Bob Seidenberg Evanston City Council members voted against suspending enforcement of a ban on gas-powered leaf blowers Monday, a pause some landscapers had sought to allow more time for the transition to electric devices. Council members were sympathetic to concerns raised from mostly Hispanic members of the local landscaping community to temporarily suspend enforcement…
By Bob Seidenberg rseiden914@gmail.com A city committee began filling in the blank spaces in an ordinance that would permit video gambling in Evanston for the first time, opening the way for officials to tap into the fast-growing revenue source. A video “gaming cafe” located inside a gas station in Cicero. Under the proposed ordinance discussed…
City’s economic development manager challenges Skokie assertion that it wasn’t trying to recruit the business By Bob Seidenberg rseiden914@gmail.com Members of the city’s Economic Development Committee Wednesday night backed a modified sales-tax sharing deal with the owner of a local car business – this one substantially lower and shorter in duration than the one he originally placed on the…
By Bob Seidenberg The state attorney general’s office has ruled that the Evanston City Council violated the Open Meetings Act last year when it authorized an exclusive agreement with a real estate firm to be the city’s broker in its exit from the Civic Center. The office issued a binding opinion Friday in favor of…
‘No tiny yard is worth the cost,’ maintains one environmentalist By Bob Seidenberg Evanston Human Services Committee members Monday night voted to send to the council a proposal that would temporarily allow the use of gas or propane-powered leaf blowers, after first voting the issue down earlier in the meeting. On a 4-1 vote, the…
By Bob Seidenberg City Council committee voted Monday to direct staff to draw up a resolution that would temporarily lift the city’s ban on gas-powered leaf blowers this spring, allowing officials time to find funding sources for smaller landscaping companies experiencing difficulty making the switch to electric. Members of the city’s Human Services Committee voted…
By Bob Seidenberg The grounds around the city-owned Harley Clarke mansion at 2603 Sheridan Road, given scant attention in the original statement of significance for the historic landmark property, have received a significant boost in status. Members of the Evanston Preservation Commission unanimously approved an amended statement of significance for the mansion at their Feb….
By Bob Seidenberg Members of the city’s Finance & Budget Committee are discussing the need for a new policy, requiring projects with large capital expenditures to come before them for review before going to the City Council for action. Committee members spoke about such a potential policy at their meeting Tuesday, voicing concern they weren’t…
By Bob Seidenberg An Evanston City Council member testified Feb. 8 that she attempted to bring in the city’s Preservation Committee to review changes made “on the fly” to an affordable housing project planned on a parcel next to a landmark structure. First Ward Council Member Clare Kelly was testifying at a hearing on a…
