Good morning, Evanston.
Tonight the District 65 and District 202 School Boards will swear in new members for four-year terms and elect new officers. In District 65, Anya Tanyavutti is running for School Board President and Biz Lindsay-Ryan is running for Vice President. In District 202, the Board President will give an update on filling the Board vacancy after only three candidates ran for four seats in April’s election. The District 202 Board meetings are streamed live on the ETHS Wildkits YouTube Live Stream channel, and District 65 meetings are available on the District 65 YouTube channel.
The weather cooperated this weekend for two City-wide events – opening day at the Downtown Farmers’ Market and the Maker’s Market presented by Evanston Made. In its 46th season, the Farmers’ Market regularly hosts over 60 vendors selling everything from fruit to flowers to baked goods.
Overlapping briefly with the Farmers’ Market, the Maker’s Market was held Saturday afternoon on the fifth floor of the Maple Avenue parking garage and featured more than 30 local artists who sold handmade goods including jewelry, paintings, clothing, bags, and pottery. The Maker’s Market is sponsored by Evanston Made, an organization working to unite and support local artists.
“We would love to see people go in the late morning to the Farmers’ Market and then pop over here when they’re done,” said Kathy Halper, one of the Market’s organizers. “We’re just really excited to grow the program.”
The Week Ahead in Evanston
Today
- Butterfly Sky. Stop by the Crown Branch Library for an up-close look at the magic of metamorphosis! Through May 11, all day.
- FAN Webinar: I Am A Girl From Africa. The Power of Community, Perseverance and Education – a Family Action Network webinar with Elizabeth Nyamayaro interviewed by Angela Duckworth, Ph.D., 7 to 8 p.m.
- Northwestern University Edmund Perry Lecture: “White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America.” Presented by Dr. Anthea Butler, Associate Professor of Religion, University of Pennsylvania, 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday
- Evanston Dog Park Public Meeting #2, 5 to 6 p.m.
- FAN Webinar: Stranger Care, A Memoir of Loving What Isn’t Ours with Sarah Sentilles, interviewed by Sally Field. 7 to 8 p.m.
Thursday
- City of Evanston Coronavirus Q&A, 12:00 to 1 p.m.
- CARP Implementation Task Force – Virtual 4 to 6 p.m.
- ETHS Virtual Latino Advisory Committee Meeting. Parents meet on a monthly basis to learn how to navigate the school system and to get information, education, and leadership skills, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
- Housing & Homelessness Commission, 7 to 8 p.m.
Friday
- Evanston Scholar’s 10th Anniversary Pomp!, Virtual, 7 to 7:45 p.m.
Saturday
- Pop-Up Food Pantry, 10 to 11:30 a.m.
- Downtown Evanston Spring Shop and Stroll, 11 to 6:00 p.m.
Sunday
- Evanston History Center’s 46th annual Mother’s Day House Walk-By, “Prairie School: The Hidden Story in Evanston.”
Elsewhere on the RoundTable Website
Anchor Role Perfect Fit for ETHS Track Newcomer Wright. Handling the anchor position on relay teams for a high-powered girls track program isn’t for everyone as an underclassman. But so far Dawson Wright has been more than equal to the task for Evanston. The speedy sophomore anchored not one – not two – but THREE Wildkit teams to victory on Saturday at the windswept St. Rita Invitational meet and helped the Kits pass an early season test in impressive fashion.
Meals on Wheels Announces 2021 Fundraising Gala. Meals on Wheels Northeastern Illinois announced its annual fundraising gala will be held virtually at 6 p.m. on May 7. Meals on Wheels Northeastern Illinois, the premier provider of senior and homebound nourishment and support services, proudly welcomes blues piano and harmonica legend Corky Siegel as its keynote speaker this year.
COVID-19 by the Numbers
- The number of COVID-19 cases in Evanston was 66 for the week ending May 2, down from 74 for the week ending April 25.
- Northwestern University reported 53 new cases for the week ending April 29. Northwestern students, staff, and professors living in Evanston are included in City test and case counts.
- Evanston School District 65 reported three new cases among students and one new case among staff members. The number of students in quarantine decreased to 25 from 72 the previous week.
- There were no reported cases among students and staff at ETHS last week. ETHS reports 45 students in quarantine down from 47 the previous week.
- There were no fatalities reported last week. Evanston has lost 116 residents to the pandemic.
- Our City’s seven-day positive test rate is 1.0%; the test positive rate in suburban Cook County is 5.2%, and in Illinois it is 3.6%.
- The number of cases per 100,000 population over the last seven days is 89 in Evanston, 142 in suburban Cook County, and 156 in Illinois.
- As of Sunday, 4.1 million or 32.3% of Illinois residents are fully vaccinated, including 439,000 in the last week.
Evanston Vax Facts: According to City figures, 76% of Evanston residents 16 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 48% of residents 16 and older are fully vaccinated. Nearly 100% of residents 65 and older have received at least one dose and 89% are fully vaccinated. More details are available on the City’s Vaccine Dashboard.
When will the majority of Illinois residents be vaccinated? If current vaccination rates persist, half of all Illinois residents will be fully vaccinated by early June and 70%, the threshold at which some experts believe herd immunity is achieved for COVID-19, by mid-July.
Around the Web
- Northwestern will promote Mike Polisky to Athletic Director. Mr. Polisky has been NU’s Deputy Athletic Director for external affairs since 2010. Previously, he was an executive for the Chicago Rush and Chicago Wolves.
- Illinois redistricting process continues without 2020 census data, dividing residents and legislators. Typically, the Illinois General Assembly convenes every 10 years to draw new legislative maps for state and federal legislative districts after the release of U.S census data. However, the release of the 2020 census numbers that’s needed for states to draw maps was delayed until Aug. 16.
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