Evanston aldermen Monday night will face a challenging decision about affordable housing. The affordable housing project would occupy this vacant corner lot that once housed a gas station, and the two aging apartment buildings behind it to the right. The Planning and Development Committee is scheduled to review a proposal for 27 rent-to-own affordable housing […]
Posted inGovernment
Council to vote on strategic plan Monday
Evanston aldermen are scheduled to vote on a strategic plan for the city when they meet Monday night. The plan, a major goal for City Manager Julia Carroll’s first year in office, has been in the works almost since she started the job in February 2005. The aldermen and city department heads spent Saturday morning, […]
Posted inReal Estate
Compromise sought on Hines redevelopment
Neighbors, the developers and city officials struggled tonight to reach a compromise on plans to redevelop the former Hines lumberyard on Church Street. The Hines lumberyard has been closed for nearly a year. Some neighbors, who for the most part live east of the site, think the proposal for 41 townhouses on 1.5 acres is […]
Posted inEducation, Government
NU plans addition to health center
Northwestern is planning a 15,000-square-foot addition to its Searle health center. Ron Naylor, the university’s associate vice president of facilities management, said the expansion is needed to comply with new federal health information privacy regulations and other new rules. Mr. Naylor said the addition to the center, located on the northeast corner of Orrington Avenue […]
Posted inGovernment, Wellness
Aldermen to consider tougher smoking ban
Evanston’s Human Services Committee is scheduled to consider proposals for tougher restrictions on smoking early next month. A newly-adopted county ban on smoking exempts communities, like Evanston, that already have their own smoking regulations. More from the Evanston Review.
Posted inEducation
Board expands dual language program to three more schools
The District 65 school board has voted to extend the Spanish-English two-way immersion program to three additional schools. Details from the Evanston Review.
Posted inBusiness, Government
Committee approves neighborhood business grants
Evanston’s Economic Development Committee this evening recommended the City Council approve five $10,000 grants to improve neighborhood business districts. The Central Street Merchants Association asked for $10,000 to begin development of a streetscape improvement plan. Ald. Edmund Moran, 6th Ward, said a full streetscape improvement project could cost a thousand times that amount. Ald. Melissa […]
Posted inGovernment, Real Estate
Building permit revenue falls off cliff
The value of building permits issued in Evanston dropped by nearly half in the first two months of this calendar year, compared with the same period a year ago. That’s a far sharper drop than the reduction of about 20 percent that city officials projected for the fiscal year that started March 1 when they […]
Posted inEducation
Backers unhappy with board Afro-centric vote
Supporters of an African-centered curriculum for Evanston schools voiced disappointment after the school board voted to implement it in just one school this fall, rather than the two originally proposed. Details from the Chicago Tribune and the Evanston Review
Posted inGovernment
It’s primary election day
Today is primary election day. The the governor’s race, presidency of the Cook County Board and numerous other contests are on the ballot. Polls are open until 7 p.m. tonight. You can locate your polling place in Evanston by entering your address here. Voters will use a new ballot system this year. Details are available […]
Posted inEducation
Board OKs African-centered curriculum for Oakton
The District 65 school board early this morning reportedly voted to adopt an African-centered curriculum plan for three classrooms at Oakton elementary school this fall. More from Karen Johnson’s recap of the meeting. The Chicago Tribune reports that earlier in the evening the board briefly recessed the meeting after the discussion became heated.
Posted inBusiness
Afrocentric curriculum vote scheduled
The District 65 school board is scheduled to vote tonight on an African-centered curriculum plan for three classrooms each at Oakton and Kingsley elementary schools. Details from the Chicago Tribune.
Posted inGovernment, Real Estate
Spring brings return of yard waste pickup
The city will resume weekly yard waste collections on Monday, April 3. Yard waste pickups will continue on regular refuse/recycling collection days until November 30. To comply with state laws, yard waste must be collected separately from the rest of the household waste. City Public Works Director David Jennings says residents have four options for […]
Posted inGovernment
$5.1 million McCormick repaving project starts
Work to rebuild McCormick Boulevard from Emerson Street to Green Bay Road in Evanston moves into high gear starting Monday, March 27. The work includes roadway reconstruction, storm sewer/drainage structure installation, and traffic signal modernization. The storm sewer installation will include three new outfalls into the North Shore Channel. The project is scheduled to be […]
Posted inBusiness
Anti-war rally held at Fountain Square
About 200 people rallied at the Fountain Square Veterans Memorial in Evanston this noon to protest the war in Iraq on the third anniversary of the start of the American invasion. About 200 people rallied at the Fountain Square Veterans Memorial in Evanston this noon to protest the war in Iraq on the third anniversary […]
Posted inGovernment
CTA trimming Yellow Line trees
The CTA has announced that its contractors will be trimming trees branches overhanging the Yellow Line, or Skokie Swift, tracks in Evanston from Chicago Avenue to Dodge Avenue, and removing small trees next to the right of way between Dodge and McCormick Boulevard, for the next three weekends. The CTA has announced that its contractors […]