Interim City Manager Russell Unveils Transition Plan for Management of City

By Mary Helt Gavin

Interim City Manager Rolanda Russell unveiled a transition plan last week to articulate a chain of command for City employees, who have seen their ranks decimated over the past year by an early retirement incentive.

Under Ms. Russell's plan, three department directors - Doug Gaynor of Parks/Forestry and Recreation, Evonda Thomas of Health and Human Services and Joellen Daly, who will be director of Internal and Community Services - will assume greater oversight of City departments.

Mr. Gaynor will be director of City operations and will assume administrative responsibility for the Parks/Forestry and Recreation, Police, Fire, Public Works and Facilities Management departments.

Ms. Daly will assume responsibility for the Human Resources, Health and Human Services and Business Performance and Technology departments and the Library.

Continuing as director of Health and Human services, Ms. Thomas will also assume responsibility for the Office of Sustainability and the Youth Engagement Initiative.

Ms. Russell will continue oversight of the City Manager's office and will also oversee the Legal, Finance and Community Development departments.

The plan appears to be a temporary one, to establish oversight and a chain of command while additional employees are hired. "I don't think anyone on the Council views the plan as anything but temporary," Alderman Melissa Wynne, 3rd Ward, told the RoundTable.

Nearly 60 employees have left the City since former City Manager Julia Carroll introduced an early retirement initiative last year, which she said would garner savings for the City over several years, as retirees would be replaced by persons who would be paid less or would not be replaced at all, that is, vacated positions would not be filled.

Aldermen, some of whom said they were shocked by the number of persons who opted for the program, have said they did not expect such a great number of people to leave the City.

"We have had way too many people leave," said Alderman Elizabeth Tisdahl, 7th Ward.

"I think everyone on the Council regrets that vote [to implement the early retirement plan]," Ald. Wynne said. "The loss of expertise and institutional memory is enormous."

Some retirees have said Ms. Carroll's management style induced them to take advantage of the early retirement package. Ms. Carroll herself is a beneficiary of the early retirement package, having resigned just days before the window of opportunity on the early retirement package closed.

With so many persons leaving, the City seemed rudderless for a time, but aldermen say under Ms. Russell's leadership they are feeling more confident about the direction of the City.

"Rolanda is an excellent interim City Manager. She has real strength and quiet leadership," Ald. Wynne said. She added she feels Council members are supportive of both Ms. Russell and her transition plan, and had "heard no complaints" about Ms. Russell's leadership.

"It's very important for us to have this plan. ...We've reassured the staff we'll keep everything transparent," said Ald. Wynne. "I have confidence in Rolanda that she'll work this out, and if we find kinks, we'll work them out. We're all in this together."

"We're heading in the right direction," said Ald. Tisdahl. "It's a hard case to make, but under less than ideal circumstances we are heading in the right direction. ...We are all very, very grateful to Rolanda, and she is doing a lot for the citizens of Evanston."

Both Ald. Tisdahl and Ald. Wynne said they felt Ms. Russell's plan to establish oversight and gradually fill the vacancies was a good one. "We're not hiring willy-nilly. We're making an effort to hire quality people, not just filling a space," Ald. Tisdahl said. She added she appreciated that Ms. Russell is "very serious about having people develop from within."

Both aldermen said they thought the search for a new City Manager would be some time in coming. "We'll wait until after the dust settles," said Ald. Wynne. "We'll fill the positions first so we don't look so sparse. We want to take our time and do a good search."

Ms. Russell told the RoundTable, " The Mayor and Council are supportive. They are passionate about Evanston and share the objective of providing seamless City services while stabilizing the work force through the drain of ‘institutional knowledge' and vacancies."

City Provides Information on Foreclosure Prevention and Tips

In the wake of an accelerating number of foreclosures being filed in Evanston, the City's staff has prepared information on Foreclosure Prevention and Tips, which will be distributed to all Evanston households in the City's Fall Newsletter in late August. The City will also post the information on its website.

The Foreclosure Prevention Tips recommend that homeowners contact their lender as soon as they have a problem making a mortgage payment and that homeowners not ignore mail from their lenders. The Tips say, "Be open to exploring many possible solutions with your lender. Avoiding foreclosure does not always mean you will be able to keep your home. However, it could mean the difference between having no control - losing everything you've invested in your property and being evicted - and being in control - making your own financial decisions and being better prepared for the future."

The Tips also recommend that homeowners seek assistance from a trained foreclosure-prevention counselor if they have trouble reaching their lender, if they do not understand what their lender is saying, or if their lender does not appear willing to work with them. Two local agencies that provide free individual counseling are

· CEDA Neighbors at Work, 1231 Emerson St., Evanston, 847-328-5155 (Martha or Sue). Free individual counseling may include debt restructuring, establishing reinstatement plans, seeking loan forbearance and managing household finances.

· Interfaith Housing Center of the Northern Suburbs, 620 Lincoln Ave., Winnetka, 847-501-5768, ext. 404 (Jasmine). Free individual counseling may include liaising between borrower and lender, renegotiating loans, making referrals to a new lender, filing a "hardship request" for financial or medical reasons, and referring troubled borrowers to legal and financial resources.

Mortgage Foreclosures Accelerating, Gap in High-Cost Loans, Taking in Boarders to Make Ends Meet

Foreclosures Are Accelerating in Evanston
The number of foreclosures filed on Evanston properties has been rapidly increasing. According to data reported by the Woodstock Institute, the number of foreclosure filings was 96 in 2005, 121 in 2006 and 179 in 2007. Between 2005 and 2007, the foreclosure filings increased by 87 percent.

The number of foreclosure filings jumped again in the first six months of 2008. RealtyTrac, Inc. provided data to the RoundTable showing there were 143 foreclosure filings in Evanston zip codes 60201 and 60202 during the six-month period Jan. 1 through June 30, 2008. This was up from 95 foreclosure filings for the same six-month period in 2007, an increase of 51 percent.

African-Americans More Likely to Receive High-Cost Loans
"African-Americans were nearly five times as likely as white borrowers to receive high-cost home loans in Evanston in 2006," concluded an analysis published in The Chicago Reporter on May 5. "Of the 368 home purchase, home improvement or refinance loans acquired by black homeowners, around 48 percent of them were considered high-cost or subprime. ... In contrast, of the 1,529 home loans acquired by white homeowners, only about 10 percent were high-cost."

The analysis also concluded that about 57 percent of all mortgages granted in an area south of the canal and west of Green Bay Road in Evanston were high-cost loans, meaning that the annual percentage rate was three or more percentage points higher than the rates for United States Treasury Bonds for a comparable period.

Law Intended to Protect Mortgage Borrowers Takes Effect
A new law, Public Act 95-0691, intended to protect borrowers from obtaining risky mortgages and from fraudulent lending practices, became effective July 1. According to a prepared statement issued by Governor Rod Blagojevich's office, the new law "limit[s] the types of loans mortgage brokers may offer their clients by making sure that the proposed loan best meets the financial need of the potential homeowner. Mortgage brokers must verify that a borrower will be able to pay the costs of the loans, including principle, interest, insurance and taxes. Mortgage brokers will be held to a higher standard than they have in the past and must act in the borrower's interest, by fully disclosing material facts about the loans being offered."

The Governor's office also said, "A first-time home buyer or anybody refinancing an existing mortgage in Cook County must be recommended for counseling if their loan is interest-only; has negative amortization, or points and fees that total more than 5%; or the loan is an ARM [adjustable rate mortgage] of three years or less."

The law is intended to curb some of the abuses that are the subject of a complaint filed on June 26 by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan against Countrywide Financial Corp. The complaint alleges that Countrywide made loans to persons whose income was not adequate to repay the loan, that it made loans without requiring adequate documentation, and that it engaged in other improper practices.

More Homeowners Taking in Boarders
Consistent with a national trend, the number of homeowners in Chicago's northern suburbs choosing to take in "boarders" - as a strategy to defray housing costs - has been increasing, said Jackie Grossmann, director of the Homesharing Program for Interfaith Housing Center of the Northern Suburbs. "A sluggish housing market, increased taxes and higher utility bills have led many homeowners to consider renting their spare bedrooms for additional income," she said.

Ms. Grossman told the RoundTable that Interfaith has traditionally matched elderly homeowners with a boarder. Recently, there has been a shift in which middle-aged women who are disabled or divorced are choosing to take in a boarder, she said. "Many have for-sale signs in their yards and are unable to sell their homes," she said. "In order to make mortgage payments, they are willing to rent out a room or rooms."

Ms. Grossman said Interfaith matches more than 40 homeowners with renters a year, about one-half of whom are in Evanston. For more information about Interfaith's Homesharing Program visit www.interfaithhousingcenter.org or call 847-501-5732.

Council Seeks Payment-In-Lieu From National-Louis

The request by National-Louis University to allow a dormitory at 1620 Central St. as a special use under the City's zoning code was held over at the July 14 City Council meeting at the request of Alderman Lionel Jean-Baptiste, 2nd Ward. National-Louis would like to house its PACE program for college students with multiple disabilities in the building. To address neighbors' concerns, National-Louis made adjustments to the property, such as installing new windows.

Alderman Ann Rainey, 8th Ward, said she would not support the special use because National-Louis would take the property off the tax rolls and National-Louis would not make a payment in lieu of taxes to the City. She said she believed the program was worthwhile and that the students would make good neighbors. She said, though, "They are like my family; we are good neighbors, too. The only difference is we pay taxes."

Alderman Elizabeth Tisdahl, in whose 7th Ward the property lies, said she had asked National-Louis to make a payment in lieu of taxes, but they declined to do so. She added, "Taxes for National-Louis are a wash. They just returned [their former campus on Sheridan Road, part in Evanston and part in Wilmette] to the tax rolls."

Alderman Steve Bernstein, 4th Ward, said, "The PACE program is what Evanston is [about]. We are, or purport to be, our brother's keeper."

Alderman Melissa Wynne, 3rd Ward, said she agreed with both Ald. Bernstein's and Ald. Rainey's points, but added, "We have to figure out some type of policy by which we curb the removal of our property from the tax rolls."

Alderman Anjana Hansen, 9th Ward, said she does not take taxes lightly, but it's not the sole issue here." She added she agreed with Alds. Tisdahl and Bernstein.

Ald. Jean-Baptiste said he requested a holdover to allow time for interim City Manager Rolanda Russell to "sit down with National-Louis and negotiate a payment in lieu of taxes."
Mayor Lorraine Morton said to the aldermen, "Think about the implications of what you are about to do. You're setting up a precedent that ‘if you can't pay taxes you can't be here.'"

City Plans to Amend Gun Ordinance

In light of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Heller v. District of Columbia, which held that the Second Amendment to the Constitution protects the private possession of handguns, the City is directing its law department to prepare proposed amendments to the City's gun ordinance.

A resolution approved by City Council on July 12 states that the City's gun ban should be amended "to conform ... to the decision of the United States Supreme Court and to further strengthen" the section of the City Code "relating to ‘weapons' in a manner to further protect the citizens of the City of Evanston against unlawful use of weapons."

Witness Against War: 2008

Voices for Creative Nonviolence is sponsoring a "Witness Against War" walk from Chicago to St. Paul, Minn., "to challenge and nonviolently resist the war in and
occupation of Iraq."

The walk was launched in Chicago on July 12; about 15 participants in the walk passed through Evanston on July 13. Persons may join the walk for a day, a week or longer. The plan is to reach St. Paul on Aug. 31, before the Republican National Convention.

The key objectives include pressing the United States to fully fund the reconstruction of Iraq, preventing the future deployment of the military to Iraq, bringing all U.S. troops home safely from Iraq, ensuring full funding for the highest quality health care for veterans and for all living in the United States. Pictured are participants in the walk.

Teen Charged With First-Degree Murder in Infant's Death

Police have charged 17-year-old James R. Jackson, 2025 Dodge Ave., with four counts of first-degree murder in connection with the death of 11-month-old Clarasha Marie Hebron. A statement from the Evanston police said Mr. Jackson, who may not be the biological father, "cohabited with the deceased infant and the biological mother."

Clarasha died on July 8 at Children's Memorial Hospital. Evanston paramedics responded to the Dodge Avenue residence just after 4 p.m. on July 8, in response to a call about an 11-month-old infant in medical distress. They determined the child needed further medical treatment and transported her to an area hospital, according to a statement by Evanston police. Attending doctors sought more specialized care and the child was transferred to Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, according to the statement. While at Children's Memorial Hospital the child's medical conditioned deteriorated, and she died.

Mr. Jackson was held without bond.

Police Offer Tips to Discourage Intruders

The Evanston Police Department offers these tips to make homes more secure by discouraging intruders.

Pinning windows: Pinning double-hung windows is a simple way to better secure one's home.

Lighting: Lighting can be a huge deterrent for a potential intruder. Lighting on all sides of the home, including alleys, is most effective.

Securing doors: Many hardware and security stores carry pry guards, an inexpensive way to secure doors. Additional tips include securing the interior door frame and installing deadbolt locks.

While on vacation: If possible, keep property well-maintained while away. In addition, stop mail, newspaper deliveries and divert package deliveries. Have a family member periodically check on the property.

Neighbors working together: Neighborhood watches have consistently been successful in improving security. Specific area problems are addressed when trained residents enact creative solutions.

Security Surveys: The EPD offers free security surveys for Evanston residents and businesses. Call the crime prevention bureau at 847-866-5019 for additional information.

Six Charged in Street Drug Sales

Six persons were arrested and charged with drug-related offenses as a result of an undercover sting operation, Evanston police announced on July 16. As part of the operation, called "Operation Great Falls," undercover police officers purchased unlawful drugs along the Howard Street corridor, bordering Evanston and Chicago.

Evanston Police Department's Neighborhood Enforcement Team and the Chicago Police Department's Organized Crime Division-Narcotics Section worked together in the operation that targeted Howard Street.