Local election, crime both drew reader interest in April

Evanston’s most heated election for mayor in many years, and an overwhelming victory for a school tax hike topped the news last month, along with an array of crime stories.

Here’s a rundown of the 10 stories Evanston Now readers read most:

1. Hagerty claims victory in mayor’s race — April 4 — Sustained cheers broke out at the Steve Hagerty election night party as the final vote totals show Hagerty with a narrow victory over Mark Tendam. The margin: 50.47 percent to 49.53 percent.
2. Two charged after north Evanston drug raid — April 1 — Members of the Evanston Police Department’s Special Operations Group this morning executed a search warrant for a narcotics investigation on an apartment at 2602 Central St.
3. Woman charged after fight at McDonald’s — April 3 — Evanston police say things went downhill fast at the McDonald’s on Dempster Street about 9:35 this morning after the car seat in which a woman was carrying her child accidentally tapped the mirror of another car in the parking lot.
4. Gun, drugs seized after domestic battery call — April 5 — Evanston police say that what started out as a domestic battery call ended up leading to the arrest of two people on gun and drug charges.
5. Man charged with delivering heroin — April 15 — Evanston police say an investigation into the sale of heroin in Evanston that started in 2015 led to the arrest Friday of Robert L. Crayton, 39, of 1838 Hovland Court.
6. 16-story tower planned for Sherman — April 7 — Evanston zoning officials this week received a proposal from a developer to build a 16-story building that would occupy most of the west side of Sherman Avenue in the block between Lake and Grove streets downtown.
7. School results: Referendum wins big — April 4 — Evanston and Skokie voters overwhelmingly agreed today to increase the School District 65 tax levy by 16.7 percent — giving the referendum an 80 percent margin of victory.
8. Two guns seized in separate traffic stops — April 17 — Evanston police say the department’s tactical unit recovered two guns in separate weekend traffic stops.
9. Evanston voters start down road to disaster — April 6 — Evanston voters Tuesday decided to head down a road that, unless they turn back, leads inevitably to fiscal disaster.
10. Food scene: Openings and closings — April 16 — More changes on the Evanston restaurant scene over the past few days — with two openings and one closing to report.