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By Bob Seidenberg rseiden914@gmail.com With little discussion Monday, Evanston City Council members voted to override Mayor Daniel Biss’s earlier veto of a local grocery tax, narrowly meeting the state’s Oct. 1 deadline for communities to make such a move to replace a recently repealed 1% state grocery tax. Councilmember Jonathan Nieuwsma (4th Ward) made the…
By Bob Seidenberg Of all the local Starbucks stores in the area, the Starbucks located just east of Chicago Avenue at 519 Main St., was among the most union-active. Shift supervisor and barista Connor Brennan said Friday he thinks that may have been its undoing and reason for landing on a company list of impending…
By Bob Seidenberg A local grocery tax, replacing the state’s soon-to-be expired one, isn’t in the bag — yet. Evanston City Council members carried out their part Monday, voting 5-3 to approve a 1% tax on groceries to replace the state tax — one of the most reliable of the city’s revenue sources, generating close…
By Bob Seidenberg A proposal that seeks to address spikes in property taxes that longtime homeowners may receive is moving to the full City Council for review. The “Circuit Breaker Program” could be a “lifeline for working families and seniors who are being priced out of our beautiful Evanston, out of their homes that they’ve…
By Bob Seidenberg City officials are still researching the questions, but found some basis to support Evanston Public Library officials’ claim that the library may be due some of the Personal Property Tax revenue generated since the late 1970s. The issue came up in a discussion during the city’s Finance & Budget Committee meeting Tuesday…
Evanston City Council members have called a temporary halt to what one member dubbed “As the Vacation Rental Turns” (referring humorously to the old TV soap opera “As the World Turns”), weighing requests from individual property owners to turn their buildings into longterm vacation license rentals. Council members on Monday approved a 90-day moratorium accepting new…
Council sets final vote for Sept. 15, preparing to override presumed mayoral veto By Bob Seidenberg Evanston City Council members on Monday moved to back a local grocery tax to replace the state grocery tax, which expires Jan. 1, leaving time for them to override Mayor Daniel Biss’ intended veto. Rather than wait until their…
By Bob Seidenberg Evanston Public Library officials are in talks with the city about an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) agreement, outlining the two entities financial responsibilities in the maintenance of library facilities — an issue library officials have been trying to resolve for over a year. Executive Library Director Yolande Wilburn made the surprising disclosure during…
By Bob Seidenberg A northwest Evanston homeowner will be allowed to remove an elm tree on her property that was leaning over a neighbor’s garage, in the first successful challenge to the city’s private tree ordinance enacted in 2023. In a unanimous voice vote, members of the city’s Human Services Committee on Tuesday granted Kristina…
By Bob Seidenberg From sidewalks to a new or renovated police and fire headquarters, the city has a daunting list of capital improvement challenges stacking up for 2026. At a recent Finance & Budget Committee meeting, staff members presented the possibility of increasing the General Obligation debt the city takes on annually from $10 million…
