Bill Smith, Author at Evanston Now

Bill Smith

Publisher

Evanston Now publisher Bill Smith was born and raised in Evanston and received bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from Northwestern University. He also holds a juris doctor degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.

He was a broadcast news reporter, producer and anchor in Detroit and other cities. He taught journalism at Michigan State and Penn State and at Northeastern University in Boston.

He started working in online media in 1994, beginning with Ziff-Davis Publishing's pioneering project called Interchange and continuing with the Boston-based search engine company Lycos.

He returned to Evanston in 2005 and launched Evanston Now in 2006. He and his wife Jan share their home with a cat named Max.

Six new COVID-19 cases in Evanston, 1,953 statewide

Evanston health officials say there were six new COVID-19 cases here today and the state recorded its highest number of new cases in more than two months.

By Bill Smith posted 2 hours ago

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Development foes attack affordable project

Two frequent opponents of high-rise housing in Evanston criticized plans today for a project that would bring 50 affordable housing units to Evanston. Kiera Kelly and Clare Kelly, owners of

By Bill Smith posted 21 hours ago

Five COVID-19 cases in Evanston, 1,759 across state

Evanston had five new COVID-19 cases for the second day in a row today.

By Bill Smith on August 5, 2020 - 9:14 pm

Corps seeks comments on dredging plan

The Corps of Engineers is seeking public comment on a project to use sand dredged from Waukegan Harbor to build up beaches in Evanston.

By Bill Smith on August 4, 2020 - 9:10 pm

Five new COVID-19 cases in Evanston, 1,471 statewide

Evanston health officials reported five new cases of COVID-19 today, raising the city's seven-day average of cases to 2.3 and its case count for the pandemic to 875.

By Bill Smith on August 4, 2020 - 8:19 pm

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Attorney: City can ban towels from beach fences

Evanston aldermen Monday decided to take no action after an incident last week in which a Lighthouse Beach visitor draped a Confederate flag replica towel over a snow fence.

By Bill Smith on August 4, 2020 - 7:36 pm

Panel looks to reinvent emergency response

Evanston's Human Services Committee Monday night began to look at ways some emergency response tasks might be shifted away from the city's police department. Fire Chief Brian Scott said that

By Bill Smith on August 4, 2020 - 2:25 pm

ETHS Foundation gets record $1.5M gift from alum

Evanston Township High School students will receive support in and out of the classroom this school year thanks to a $1.5 million gift from Class of 1975 alumnus Henry Engelhardt.

By Bill Smith on August 3, 2020 - 4:08 pm

No new COVID-19 cases in Evanston, 1,298 across Illinois

Evanston health officials reported no new COVID-19 cases among city residents today and the statewide count of 1,298 was the lowest in nearly a week. But the state reported just

By Bill Smith on August 3, 2020 - 3:42 pm

HACC tower to get DAPR review

Plans for a 16-story mixed-income apartment tower at 1900 Sherman Ave. will be reviewed by Evanston's Design and Project Review Committee on Wednesday.

By Bill Smith on August 3, 2020 - 10:48 am

Two COVID-19 cases in Evanston, 1,487 across state

Evanston health officials reported two new COVID-19 cases among city residents today while 1,467 cases were reported across Illinois, the lowest new statewide case count in a few days,

By Bill Smith on August 2, 2020 - 5:13 pm

One new COVID-19 case in Evanston, 1,639 across state

Evanston health officials reported one new COVID-19 case among residents here today while the number of cases across the state increased by 1,639.

By Bill Smith on August 1, 2020 - 3:30 pm

Six new COVID-19 cases here, 1,941 statewide

Evanston health officials reported six new cases of COVID-19 today, the highest daily number in a month, while statewide the case count hit 1,941 — a level not seen since

By Bill Smith on July 31, 2020 - 3:18 pm

Evanston has two new COVID-19 cases, Illinois 1,772

Evanston health officials reported two new COVID-19 cases today while the state had the highest number of new cases in more than two months.

By Bill Smith on July 30, 2020 - 4:03 pm

Evanston Now launches new site design

Evanston Now today launched a redesigned website with a fresh look and added features to make it more helpful to our readers.

By Bill Smith on July 29, 2020 - 8:51 pm