All Stories
Council approves brokerage contract on Civic Center move – this time in public
By Bob Seidenberg Evanston City Council members reapproved a contract Monday for a real estate firm to broker a move out of the Morton Civic Center, complying with a blistering opinion from the state Attorney General’s office that ruled the…
Evanston firefighters union pays tribute to historic 1974 walkout ‘Their story will not be forgotten’
By Bob Seidenberg One by one, the fire companies at Evanston’s five stations took turns notifying radio dispatch they were signing out of service. Locked in a monthslong impasse with the city, 89 Evanston firefighters walked off the job for…
Council rejects temporary halt to gas leaf blower ban
By Bob Seidenberg Evanston City Council members voted against suspending enforcement of a ban on gas-powered leaf blowers Monday, a pause some landscapers had sought to allow more time for the transition to electric devices. Council members were sympathetic to…
Council committee working to clear the way for video gambling
By Bob Seidenberg rseiden914@gmail.com A city committee began filling in the blank spaces in an ordinance that would permit video gambling in Evanston for the first time, opening the way for officials to tap into the fast-growing revenue source. A…
Committee backs tax deal to keep VW dealer in Evanston for 10 years
City’s economic development manager challenges Skokie assertion that it wasn’t trying to recruit the business By Bob Seidenberg rseiden914@gmail.com Members of the city’s Economic Development Committee Wednesday night backed a modified sales-tax sharing deal with the owner of a local car business –…
Illinois Attorney General’s office finds city in violation of Open Meetings Act in civic center project
By Bob Seidenberg The state attorney general’s office has ruled that the Evanston City Council violated the Open Meetings Act last year when it authorized an exclusive agreement with a real estate firm to be the city’s broker in its…
Proposal to temporarily halt ban on gas-powered leaf blowers moves to the Council
‘No tiny yard is worth the cost,’ maintains one environmentalist By Bob Seidenberg Evanston Human Services Committee members Monday night voted to send to the council a proposal that would temporarily allow the use of gas or propane-powered leaf blowers,…
Local landscapers hot about leaf blowing changes, call for moratorium
By Bob Seidenberg City Council committee voted Monday to direct staff to draw up a resolution that would temporarily lift the city’s ban on gas-powered leaf blowers this spring, allowing officials time to find funding sources for smaller landscaping companies…
New statement shines light on landscape around Harley Clarke
By Bob Seidenberg The grounds around the city-owned Harley Clarke mansion at 2603 Sheridan Road, given scant attention in the original statement of significance for the historic landmark property, have received a significant boost in status. Members of the Evanston…
City committee stung by Civic Center surprise
By Bob Seidenberg Members of the city’s Finance & Budget Committee are discussing the need for a new policy, requiring projects with large capital expenditures to come before them for review before going to the City Council for action. Committee…