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Good Monday morning, Evanston.
Casey Hallett, 8, approaches Iris the donkey after a Palm Sunday procession around Raymond Park. “This helps us understand the story,” said the Rev. Michael Woolf, senior minister at Lake Street Church, which jointly organized the event with the First Congregational, First Presbyterian and Immanuel Lutheran churches. (Photo by Richard Cahan)
Today is the last day of early voting at the Morton Civic Center – because tomorrow is Election Day. Five candidates are running to fill council seats for the Second and Ninth wards. Also on the ballot: school board positions at District 65 and Evanston Township High School and spots on the Oakton College board of trustees. Read the RoundTable’s election coverage, including a voting guide and candidate profiles. Newsletter subscribers will receive email updates with results on Tuesday night.
The Fifth Ward is set to get a little more affordable housing after the city purchased a house at 1808 Hovland Court with plans to donate it to Community Partners for Affordable Housing. “Similar to the boarded-up properties on Jackson and Emerson, it [the property] was creating an eyesore and trash was accumulating, and we were dealing with other issues,” Council Member Bobby Burns (5th Ward) said at a March 30 ward meeting.
Evanston artist Indira Freitas Johnson reports that the three artworks above, part of her Death and Rebirth series, are being acquired by the Library of Congress. Freitas Johnson, whose sculpture is prominently displayed in Raymond Park, said she was thrilled to be contacted “out of the blue” with the unexpected request. A key part of the acquisition story: Her Instagram account.
RoundTable roundup
Tuesday: Tomorrow is Election Day! Polls are open from 6 a.m. through 7 p.m. Make sure to vote if you haven’t already.
Tuesday: Actor and cookbook author Danny Trejo will participate in a 7 p.m. virtual discussion with Rebeca Mendoza, founder and president of Evanston Latinos.
Wednesday: Northwestern piano student Dong Wang-Ha plays music of Arvo Pärt, John Adams, Chopin and Beethoven 6 p.m. at the Ryan Center for Musical Arts, 70 Arts Circle Dr. Free.
Thursday: The Eighth Ward community meeting is online at 6 p.m.
COVID-19 by the numbers: 20 new cases and no new deaths were reported Thursday, March 30, the last day the city updated totals. The seven-day average is 9.71 cases per day.
More RoundTable reads
Columnist Nancy E. Anderson recalls Ermalea Doyle, who coached her high school’s first swim team for girls in 1977. “She was just one person, but she had made a big difference for my teammates and me, and all who came after us.”
Letter to the editor: The board of the Friends of the Evanston Farmers Market is concerned about a suggestion to move the market to Fountain Square: “Don’t let this poorly designed proposal irreparably ruin one of Evanston’s shining jewels.”
Guest essay: Sonia Cohen and David DeCarlo of the Most Livable City Association write that if Peter Barris, chair of Northwestern University’s board of trustees, opposed a hotel expansion a mile away from his Martha’s Vineyard vacation home, “surely he can empathize with Evanstonians … who live within blocks of the Ryan Field site.”
Dear Gabby: Our columnist drops some relationship advice and weighs in on whether to hire a matchmaker for an adult son. “We cannot steer our children’s lives, we can only be there to pick up the pieces,” she writes.
Meals on Wheels Northeastern Illinois, which delivered more than 17,500 meals in February, plans to add a 38-foot mural to a black wall at its building, 1732 Simpson St. And in other arts news, Evanston’s new cultural arts coordinator starts work today.
The Music Institute of Chicago closes out its 2022-23 season with performances by (above, from left) pianist Inna Faliks, ensemble Quintet Attacca and pianist Mara Aznavoorian in a concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 6, at Nichols Concert Hall.
Photos from our readers
Kimberly Holmes-Ross submitted this photo from a March 26 Youth Advisory Committee forum for 2nd and 9th ward candidates. Teens asked questions on such topics as reparations, sustainability and Ryan Field. Send your photos of people, places and events around town to news@evanstonroundtable.com for a chance to be included in this newsletter.
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Around the web
‘A difference of philosophy’: leaders consider two visions for downtown Evanston’s future. Council Member Clare Kelly (1st) wants $2 million for business grants; city staff seeks to spend $1.5 million on the Evanston Thrives plan instead.
District 65 Caregivers of Color & Our Village group protest school board candidates with alleged ties to anti-equity group. About 15 District 65 parents, teachers and students marched despite bad weather Saturday.
Latest Polls Show Chicago Mayoral Race in Dead Heat as Candidates Make Final Pitches. Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas are campaigning nonstop ahead of Tuesday’s runoff, and the latest polls point to a tight contest.
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