JCC Chicago invites the community to attend a ribbon cutting on at 4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 12 to celebrate the successful expansion of its Early Childhood program to Beth Emet The Free Synagogue at 1224 Dempster St. As an essential-care provider, the full-day childcare and preschool for children six weeks to 5-years-old opened its doors […]
Category: Public Square
Posted inPublic Square
Guest essay: Owner should not govern Council’s church landmark decision
On Monday, Aug. 9, the Planning and Development Committee will consider the Preservation Commission’s recommendation to designate the Second Church of Christ, Scientist at 2715 Hurd Ave. an Evanston Landmark. Unfortunately, the owners of the church object to designation. Owner consent, while desirable, is not necessary for landmark designation. Identifying and designating local landmarks and […]
Posted inColumns
Les Jacobson: High Focus
I’ll admit it: concentration has never been one of my strengths. Even as I’m listening to you my scatter-brained “monkey mind” will skip from topic to topic like a flat rock over water. I’ve grown adept, over the years, at appearing to listen, to be interested and focused, nodding at all the right moments, occasionally […]
Posted inColumns
Peggy Tarr: Just desserts
Three of us (all senior women; two with white hair) decided to go to the Cheesecake Factory’s bakery since we just wanted desserts. When we entered the bakery area, there were a number of patrons ahead of us. Some of the patrons stood in front of the desserts’ display case, so we could only see […]
Posted inPublic Square
Evanston resident John McKnight wins IACD lifetime achievement award
Founders of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute (ABCD Institute), both retired Northwestern professors, won Lifetime Achievement awards from the International Association of Community Development. Evanston resident John McKnight and Jody Kretzmann founded the ABCD Institute at Northwestern University in the early 1990s after publishing their best-selling community development book, “Building Communities from the Inside Out: […]
Posted inPublic Square
Democracy dollars
All too often, our politicians promise to fight for their communities and to represent all their constituents. However, once they’ve won an election, their top priority is re-election. And that means catering to the wealthy donors and corporate interests who can fund their next campaign. But what if politicians could rely on the community for […]
Posted inPublic Square
Pushing back on lakefront pushcarts
Dear Editor, The Evanston City Council voted 6-3 on Monday evening to allow food pushcarts on the lakefront. The three lakefront aldermen opposed the proposal, but do not be deceived by their “no” votes. It was inaction by these three aldermen, not their votes, that failed to stop the arrival of pushcarts on the lakefront. […]
Posted inPublic Square
Guest Essay: A call for universal masking in Evanston public schools
The Evanston public school year begins again next month, and both District 65 and District 202 are ready to welcome students back to a full schedule of classes, sports and social gatherings in person. This provides joy and relief to the thousands of families and teachers who coped with remote learning for more than one year, […]
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Guest Essay: Reconciliation presents an opportunity for Evanston residents to support climate action
The full moon in July had a striking orange glow as it rose in the night sky over Evanston. It was a beautiful sight, but the reason for the unusual color is disturbing. Smoke particles from over 100 wildfires in the West have blown across the country causing the sun to appear red-tinted and the moon […]
Posted inLetters
Senior city staff should be fired
In July 2020, 56 young women signed a petition informing senior Evanston staff that they had experienced or witnessed sexual harassment, assault, and rape as employees of Evanston City beaches. Jennifer Lin is director of Human Resources, and the beaches are overseen by Lawrence Hemingway, the Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Services. Lin and […]