Home

At This Time

Saturday at 2:26 p.m.

Morris “Dino” Robinson proudly shows the home of Evanston’s first African American resident. The house, at 325 Dempster St., was officially marked as an African American Heritage Site. “We want to honor this location as one of the first eight we want to designate as a landmark important to the African American community’s historical context,” said Robinson, founder of the Shorefront Legacy Center. This was the home of Maria Murray Robinson, who was brought to Evanston in 1855 as an indentured domestic. (Photo by Richard Cahan)

New sidewalk markers honor Evanston’s first Black resident, Black hospital

Two new sidewalk markers honoring historic Evanston locations for Black residents were unveiled Saturday afternoon, Aug. 13.  The first marker was unveiled at 325 Dempster St., the former home of Evanston’s first documented Black resident: Maria Murray, who was brought to the city as an indentured domestic servant in 1855.  The second marker was unveiled in front of the former…

TOday in Evanston

RECENT POSTS

CITY NEWS

Experts give advice to small Evanston landlords

Experts from local rental housing organizations provided practical resources and advice for small Evanston landlords during a webinar Wednesday evening. Hosted by the city’s Housing & Grants Division, the event came shortly after the new small landlord task force opened a survey to gather input for…

City OKs paying out $3.45 million in reparations

At Monday night’s City Council meeting, the City of Evanston agreed to disburse $3.45 million in additional reparations funds for the remaining 138 “ancestor” applicants lined up to receive benefits. On Jan. 13, a total of 154 ancestor applicants who applied were randomly ranked, with the…

City pursuing traffic solutions as Poplar Avenue to get narrower

Shaving off three feet of width and turning parking by 45 degrees on Poplar Avenue will save the City of Evanston a lot of potential cost and risk in the future, according to Senior Project Manager Chris Venatta. Venatta delivered a brief presentation and fielded questions…

Council passes resolution supporting reproductive health care 

Evanston will wage its own response to the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down Roe v. Wade, with city departments directed to explore ways to support and protect individuals seeking reproductive health care, including abortions. Evanston City Council members voted 6-0 on Aug. 8 in…

ART & LIFE

It’s not your mother’s dorm room

Monogrammed headboards, slipcovered desks and tufted velvet storage ottomans are part of dorm living these days if you believe everything you see online. A quick perusal of Pinterest and TikTok reveals a lot of silliness and over-the-top décor, but there’s nothing unreasonable about the desire for a…

Concert review: Lucinda Williams at Out of Space

Americana legend Lucinda Williams headlined Saturday evening at Canal Shores Golf Course for the third night of Out Of Spaces outdoor concert series this summer season. She delivered a mighty and satisfying set of continuous hits and favorites. A stellar line up of artists headlined the weekend,…

Week in photos: Aug. 1 – Aug. 8

Evanston is a busy place, and sometimes it’s hard to keep up with everything that happens. To help us stay in touch, send your photos to news@evanstonroundtable.com, and we’ll share them with the community. Somewhere Over the Rainbow was the theme for the baby shower held last…

Blues legend Buddy Guy closes out Canal Shores concert series

Blues legend Buddy Guy was the headliner with singer and guitarist Todd Mohr (from Big Head Todd and the Monsters) opening on Sunday, Aug.7, the final day of the Out of Space concert series’ fifth season at Canal Shores Golf Course. Together, big-name headliners such as Guy,…

Bookends & Beginnings’ Top 10 July bestsellers

Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller.Achilles, half-god and beautiful warrior, and Patroclus, the awkward prince, forge a friendship against the will of the gods. When they join the fight against Troy, their friendship is tested and sacrifice demanded by the Fates. This telling brilliantly reimagines Homer’s The…

SCHOOLS

Contract gives ETHS teachers raises, extended parental leave

When teachers at Evanston Township High School kick off the 2022-23 year this Monday, Aug. 15, they will likely get a 2.3% raise and expanded parental leave if the new four-year contract that was negotiated is approved. Most significantly, the contract, which…

District 65 announces school board vacancy

Submitted by Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Marquise Weatherspoon, member of the Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Board of Education, submitted her resignation, effective Aug. 8. Weatherspoon’s board service began in 2021. She served on the Curriculum & Policy Committee, the Park School Advisory…

ETHS adding rowing club to sports team lineup

A new Evanston Township High School rowing program is set to launch this month, giving ETHS students of all grade levels an additional choice in athletic pursuits – and no experience is necessary for them to test the waters. “I’m looking for…

ETHS 101: Everything you need to know before school starts 

Editor’s note: In addition to this piece, the RoundTable also will publish a District 65 101 on everything students, parents and families in elementary and middle school need to know, so stay tuned for that next week. Somehow, the summer is already…

PHOTOS

Picturing Evanston

Joerg Metzner photographed the moon as it rose above Clark Square Park south of Lee Steet Beach. “I was drawn by the bright light of the full reflecting in waves.”

At This Time

As RoundTable readers know, photographers Richard Cahan and Joerg Metzner look for different things when they patrol the city for pictures. Cahan focuses on people; Metzner on scenery. They both photographed the “Sturgeon Moon,” the final supermoon of the year. Cahan found a family at Greenwood Beach: cousins Ethan (from left,…

At This Time

It’s the last week of summer vacation and Evanston High School juniors are hanging out at the Fleetwood-Jourdain Center. “We are always on our bikes every summer,” said Chris Brown, who was with four best friends. “We race everywhere, from Lincolnwood to Old Orchard.” After meeting on the basketball court, Brown…

Picturing Evanston

Solidarity mural by Rahmaan Statik at the Oakton Elementary School on Oakton Street and Ridge Avenue. Based in Chicago, Statik also created a mural in Ingraham Park for the Juneteenth celebration in 2021. (Photo by Joerg Metzner)

At This Time

Workers cut and toss away overgrown branches from the lakefront. Crews are removing small trees from about one mile of shoreline between the Clark Street and Lee Street beaches. Here Dwayne Morris (left) and David Velez work near the Church Street Boat Ramp. The trees are cut for aesthetics and to…

PUBLIC SQUARE

Letters

Letter to the editor: Thank you, city staff

As a resident and taxpayer in Evanston, I am wincing and sighing with every inexplicable turn of events in the City Manager search drama. But I can’t begin to fathom how demoralized our city employees must feel.  Dozens (hundreds?) of dedicated professionals are getting up every morning and heading to the office to…

Columns

Peggy Tarr: ‘Fix Me’*

Individuals and groups talked about the increase in crime and disrespect for others. Leaders from churches, synagogues and mosques met and decided to hold a conference to discuss these concerns. The conference would be held in a school cafeteria at 6 p.m. on a Tuesday evening in hopes…

Columns

Les Jacobson: Beethoven splains it all for you

Bach and Beethoven are the two giants of classical music, the twin peaks of composition, the K2 and Everest of sonic sensuality. Whether you prefer one or the other depends on your musical sensibility, stylistic preferences and even your mood at the moment. Bach is generally considered more…

Columns

Nancy E. Anderson: What to make of all the lawn signs

I don’t remember lawn signs from my childhood. There were bumper stickers and pin-back buttons, like the WIN buttons in the 1970s. (WIN stood for “Whip Inflation Now.”) But I don’t recall signs. Now it seems like they’re everywhere. I’m not talking about signs that contractors put in…

City News

Mayor Daniel Biss: Reflecting over the past two weeks 

Supplied by the City of Evanston I’m shaken by two terrible events that happened in Evanston in the last few weeks. On the evening of July 14, a young man who was walking with his daughter near McCormick Boulevard was shot and killed. Then, this past Monday evening, a teenage…

SPORTS

REPORTS & ANALYSES

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.…