Critics of Restorative Housing Reparations Program Voice Concern and Anger Ahead of Vote by City Council
Residents who formed the group “Evanston Rejects Racist Reparations” staged a protest at 10:30 a.m. on March 6 in front of the Med/Men cannabis dispensary at 1804 Maple Ave., where 35 to 40 people gathered, including speakers, supporters and members of the media. The protest was first announced by former Evanston mayoral candidate Sebastian Nalls during a public Zoom forum hosted by the group on March 6, which drew 55 participants. The group seeks to stop or at […]
D65 School Board Members Plan to Review Policies in Light of Contract with Sagebird Consulting LLC
On Dec. 1, 2020, District 65 Superintendent Devon Horton signed a contract between the District 65 School Board and Sagebird […]
Council to Review Harley Clarke Proposals March 8
More than a year ago, on Feb. 28, 2020, four groups – Artists Book House, Evanston Community Lakehouse & Gardens, […]
LATEST NEWS
Interdependence: Restaurants, Customers and Community Rally for Each Other
Last week, the community rallied around Erica Castro and Pablo Sanchez to keep Gyros Planet & Taqueria open, raising over $60,000 in about 48 hours. When any small business closes, […]
Masked Person of the Day: Lenice Levy
President Joe Biden has said he will ask everyone to wear a mask for the first 100 days of his administration to help reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus. […]
Worn-out Wildkits Settle for Split with New Trier
Evanston’s stranglehold on the Central Suburban League South division basketball championship has to end at some point. But if 2021 is the year, it might have as much to do […]
ETHS Girls B-ball Team Stifles New Trier, Stays Alive in Division Race
The Central Suburban League’s decision to play back-to-back weekend games during the abbreviated basketball season placed even more of an emphasis on the preparation for each foe by every team’s […]
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RECENT POSTS
Reading the RT on a smart phone or tablet? Add us to your home screen
Welcome to the new Evanston RoundTable website – we’re glad you’re here. If you read us on a smart phone or tablet device, we want to let you know about an important change that will […]
Subscribe to the new RoundTable podcast!
The Evanston RoundTable recently launched a new podcast series – the RoundCast. We’re kicking off the series with episodes featuring candidates for office in Evanston’s Feb. 23 primary and April 6 general election. The RoundCast […]
Not Much Progress in Meeting School Districts’ 2014 Joint Literacy Goal
In January 2014, the School Boards of Districts 65 and 202 adopted a Joint Literacy Goal. The goal states: “District 65 and District 202 will ensure that all students are proficient readers and college and […]
Draft Guidelines Set Minimal Proof to Qualify for Proposed Housing Reparations Program
On Feb. 25, Kimberly Richardson, Deputy City Manager, made a brief presentation about draft guidelines to qualify for one of the housing reparations programs being recommended by the City’s Reparations Subcommittee. The Reparations Fund In […]
Students in Summer Lift Program Advance With One-on-One Instruction
A joint District 65/202 summer literacy program heading into its third year has seen strong improvement in student reading levels, in both the 2019 in-person sessions and the 2020 remote-instruction ones. At the Feb. 22 […]
Email to Community Leaders Calls for ‘Counterpoint’ to Groups Promoting Incumbent Challenges in April 6 Election
An email that went out to a wide collection of community leaders March 2 is calling for a “counterpoint” to combat the efforts of some groups promoting candidates against incumbents in the April 6 municipal […]
Evanston Group Rejects Restorative Housing Reparations Program, Launches Effort to Hold Off March Vote
Leading the way has its advantages and its challenges. Evanston has been making headlines as the first U.S. city to fund reparations for Black residents. But the roll-out of a program to even begin to […]
Editorial: RoundTable Defends Reporting on District 65’s Prioritizing Students in Reopening Schools
By Larry Gavin and Mary Helt Gavin An article that appeared in The Daily Northwestern on March 2 quoted Devon Horton, Superintendent of School District 65, as saying that an Aug. 4 article in the […]
CITY NEWS
COVID-19 Update on March 5: Twelve New Cases in Evanston, 1,442 in the State
Vaccine Hesitancy Governor JB Pritzker launched a new $10 million public awareness campaign today directed especially to residents in the hardest-hit communities who are reluctant to take the vaccine. “Vaccine hesitancy is real, and […]
Tours of the Second Ward
The RoundTable invited the aldermanic candidates – Peter Braithwaite and Darlene Cannon – to offer a tour of the Second Ward that included its top three assets and top three challenges before the […]
Evanston Not Receiving Its ‘Fair Share’ of Vaccines
Vaccine supplies are increasing, but the increase in the allotment to the City of Evanston Public Health Department is negligible, said Mayor Stephen Hagerty during a Vaccine Q&A session held Thursday afternoon. The […]
Young Withdraws from Third Ward Aldermanic Race
Eric Young created a buzz early in Evanston’s election season, announcing he was running for Third Ward alderman, challenging Melissa Wynne who’s held the seat since 1998. The owner of La Principal restaurant, […]
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ART & LIFE
‘The Last Summer Sister’
Book Review Rachel Cullen’s latest book, “The Last Summer Girl,” takes the reader by the hand to show intimately the winding and sometimes painful path to […]
He Still Can’t Commit
Dear Gabby, At what age should I stop coloring my hair? Signed,Toning it down Dear Toning, When you start looking like Rudy Giuliani. Dear Gabby, The […]
Evanston Township High School Students Plant Trees in the Evanston Community to Counteract School’s Paper Usage
By Sarah Parisien Evanston Township High School is one of the 85 schools to be working with Tree-Plenish to plant trees in the community to foster […]
Young Voices of Evanston
As part of a unit on writing Opinion pieces, Kingsley fifth-graders wrote reviews on a topic of their choice related to 2020. Here are some of the […]
SCHOOLS
ETHS Reopening: We Must Trust the Data – and Each Other
A century ago, American communities grappled with another deadly pandemic, The Spanish Influenza. Then as now, leaders failed to provide accurate information about the […]
March 5: A Tight Deadline for ETHS Hybrid Learning Choice
Families have only three days left to indicate their preference for hybrid learning at Evanston Township High School. Superintendent Eric Witherspoon announced on March […]
ETHS Could Transition to Hybrid Learning Model in April
Evanston Township High School officials sent a letter to ETHS families on March 1, saying the high school expects to transition to a hybrid […]
COALITION TO REOPEN EVANSTON SCHOOLS CALLS ON DISTRICT 202 TO CREATE MEDICAL ADVISORY GROUP
Lauds Dr. Horton’s leadership in creating group for D65; cites Witherspoon’s January pledge To protect the health of Evanston Township High School’s students, teachers […]
PUBLIC SQUARE
Masked People of the Day: The Crew at Jennifer’s Edibles
President Joe Biden has said he will ask everyone to wear a mask for the first 100 days of his administration to help reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Jennifer Eason of Jennifer’s […]
SPORTS
Hemphill, ETHS Boys B-ball Dig Deep in Win Over New Trier
At 6-foot, 185-pounds, Daeshawn Hemphill hopes to do some damage at fullback or linebacker — or both — for the Evanston football team in March and […]
Arch-rivals Knock ETHS Girls B-Ball Team Our of League Lead
Friday’s road loss at New Trier certainly made things crystal clear for the Evanston girls basketball team. The path to a repeat as Central Suburban League […]
Peters Sets Career Points Mark in ETHS Boys B-ball Team’ Marathon Win
It was only fitting that Blake Peters turned out to be the hero on his historic night. The Evanston senior climbed to No. 1 on the […]
Offense Struggles, But ETHS Boys B-ball Team Prevails with New Lineup
Entering the most important stretch of this abbreviated basketball schedule in 2021, the last thing the Evanston basketball team needed was to change things up on […]
REPORTS & ANALYSES
District 202 School Board Reacts to Emails About Eliminating School Resource Officers
Administrators said SROs at ETHS have a different philosophy and role than do SROs at many other schools.
High Percentage of Students Entering ETHS Lack ‘Proficiency’ in Reading
Only about 30% of Black and Latinx students are entering ETHS proficient in reading.
AP Results Mixed: More Students Earn 3 or Higher on Exams, But Fewer Minority Student Enroll
There has been a decrease in the percentages of minority students taking AP classes over the past few years.
Developing a Segregated Town, 1900-1960
Evanston’s first African American residents arrived in the 1850s, and by 1880 there were approximately 125 African Americans in Evanston. The number grew to 737 in 1900. At that time, many of the African Americans in Evanston worked in domestic and personal service. With the Great […]
The Role of Foster School in the Implementation of School District 65’s Desegregation Plan in 1967 and Its Closing in 1979
Foster School, virtually an all-Black school in 1966, was closed as a neighborhood school in 1967 as part of the District’s desegregation plan, and it was closed altogether in 1979. As time passed, many in the community have recognized that these actions put the burden of […]