Jeff Hirsh, Author at Evanston Now

Jeff Hirsh

Jeff Hirsh joined the Evanston Now reporting team in June 2020 after a 40-year award-winning career as a broadcast journalist.

Hirsh retired in 2019 from WKRC-TV in Cincinnati, Ohio, and moved to Evanston.

He has won more than 40 local, regional and national awards for excellence in reporting, including 26 regional Emmy Awards.

Hirsh is also a three-time winner of the Sigma Delta Chi Award from the national Society of Professional Journalists, once for the Best Documentary in the U.S., and twice for the Best Investigative Reporting.

Music education in the age of COVID

So if the paperwork to get you into the practice room is not quite ready, where do you practice?

By Jeff Hirsh posted 20 hours ago

Wildcat football kicks off Sept. 5 — maybe

The Big Ten released its coronavirus-shortened 2020 football season this morning. But even the conference commissioner concedes the games may never be played. The Big Ten had previously cancelled all

By Jeff Hirsh on August 5, 2020 - 6:57 pm

NU promises crackdown on large gatherings

Northwestern University has a message for students who figure on going to big, loud, alcohol-fueled parties this fall: Don’t even think of it.

By Jeff Hirsh on August 5, 2020 - 10:58 am

No football, but marching band starts practice

The Evanston Township High School marching band is getting ready to perform, in a season where making a question mark on the field might be the only reasonable formation.

By Jeff Hirsh on August 5, 2020 - 12:25 am

Gridlock in D.C. means more homelessness in Evanston

As Congressional negotiators point fingers and try to get something done, community activists in Evanston say the failure to extend supplemental unemployment benefits will lead to more hunger, more evictions

By Jeff Hirsh on August 3, 2020 - 5:04 pm

D65 parents get more time for critical choice

Parents of the 8,000 students in Evanston/Skokie District 65 schools now have a few more days to make a crucial decision. School officials originally gave parents until today to sign

By Jeff Hirsh on July 31, 2020 - 7:21 pm

Durbin worried Trump may refuse to accept vote results

Sen. Dick Durbin told Evanston Democrats tonight that he “worries about the peaceful transition of power in this country.”

By Jeff Hirsh on July 30, 2020 - 9:00 pm

Students from China may be barred from NU

Hundreds of students from China, as well as visiting researchers and professors from that country, may be blocked from attending Northwestern in person this fall.

By Jeff Hirsh on July 30, 2020 - 4:58 pm

Schools expect to run out of space this fall

Not all District 65 parents who want in-person school for their children this fall may be able to get it.

By Jeff Hirsh on July 30, 2020 - 1:00 pm

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Residents express worries over homicides

Neighbors in Evanston's 5th Ward, which saw two murders last weekend, expressed fears and concerns and called for a way to fight back at an online meeting Tuesday night. “Here we go again,”

By Jeff Hirsh on July 29, 2020 - 7:42 am

ETHS teacher develops program to help kids with e-learning

With the reality of more remote learning staring parents in the face, the fear of how their children will cope with school on the computer can be very real.

By Jeff Hirsh on July 28, 2020 - 8:52 pm

City Council to vote on aiding homeless

It’s pretty hard to shelter in place when you have no place to shelter. That was the most recent crisis to pile onto the shoulders of those already facing multiple troubles

By Jeff Hirsh on July 27, 2020 - 3:34 pm

Surveys show gulf between ETHS parents and teachers

Most parents want their children back in the classroom. Most teachers want to avoid the classroom like the plague, because of … the plague. Or rather, the coronavirus. Those are

By Jeff Hirsh on July 24, 2020 - 1:52 pm

Only a quarter of NU fall classes may ever meet face-to-face

For weeks, Northwestern University has been saying that most of its classes this fall will be held remotely, with only a small share meeting in person on campus. Today, we

By Jeff Hirsh on July 23, 2020 - 4:14 pm

Metra seeks injunction against Union Pacific

Metra, the regional commuter rail service, is asking a federal agency for an order against Union Pacific, the railroad that runs Metra's trains through Evanston and many other suburban communities. In

By Jeff Hirsh on July 22, 2020 - 9:36 pm

Witherspoon: Pandemic’s impact is ‘bleak’

“A bleak picture but an accurate picture.” That’s how Evanston Township High School Superintendent Eric Witherspoon described the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on education. But, Witherspoon added, “We can’t mislead you.”

By Jeff Hirsh on July 22, 2020 - 8:26 pm