Happy Friday morning, Evanston!
It is another day, where so much seems to be happening. So much news we provide to you, our dear readers, be it on politics, government, safety, education, art and taxes. Everyday we do this newsletter, we hope to surprise, delight and inform you. And we search for the right balance, the right perspective.
This photograph above shows it perfectly as our photographer Richard Cahan, searched last night for just the right perspective— the Evanstonhenge, the unusually sunset around the first day of fall or spring when the waning sun lines up perfectly with the streets and casts light directly down the center. Cahan found the Evanstonhenge just 12 miles north on Dempster Street just east of Ashland Avenue just minutes before sunset. Now, autumn can begin. And now, the news of the day.
Evanston leaders and community organizations have talked this month with Gov. JB Pritzker’s office and the Illinois Department of Human Services about housing and supporting some of the hundreds of migrants bused to Chicago by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Currently, though, local hotels have limited capacity because of upcoming Northwestern football games and events, but the city is preparing for more requests and the possibility of taking in people in the coming weeks.
Krissie Harris became the newest member of Evanston City Council on Monday, Sept. 12, and the RoundTable caught up with her at the end of that week to talk about her path to public service, her career working with community organizations and her long family history here in town. Harris grew up in the Fifth Ward on Lyons Avenue, and her mother, Denise Martin, was the principal and assistant superintendent at Evanston Township High School.
What’s new at the RoundTable?
Welcome to our brand new business column brought to you by Isabelle Reiniger, Minding Our Own Businesses! In this first edition, Reiniger highlights Evanston Public Library’s Hispanic Heritage Month programming coming up over the next four weeks. But more importantly, she is asking for your help in taking care of business. Contact Isabelle with any tips or insights you might have about our businesses.
Elsewhere on the RoundTable website
Review: ‘YAMOLAND: The Sketchiest Place on Earth.’ Fun fact: you do not need to be a current or former student at ETHS, or the parent of one, to enjoy and laugh at the new YAMO show, which opened on Thursday, Sept. 22, in the school’s Upstairs Theatre. The RoundTable’s Wendi Kromash went to last night’s premiere. She explains the premise and urges you to go, go, go to experience joy.
Evanston Essays: Rev. Dr. Michael C. R. Nabors. “In Evanston, there is a remarkable willingness and desire to help, aid and assist others. There is an intersectionality of mutual, compensatory goodwill that permeates the atmosphere. I believe most Evanston residents are ready and willing to help others,” Nabors writes. (If you have a story to tell about what you love about Evanston, please send us your essay at news@evanstonroundtable.com)
Library supports 3.9% tax increase after 3 years without one. Following three years of flat budgets with no tax increases, Evanston Public Library trustees voted unanimously to include the tax hike in the 2023 budget to cover a near $800,000 deficit.
COVID-19 update as of Sept. 22, Cook County moves to ‘low’ community risk level, accurate data lacking for Evanston. The Illinois Department of Public Health is continuing to urge every eligible person to get the updated booster shot from either Pfizer or Moderna. Researchers say the boosters are not only important to protect against getting COVID, but also to protect against the effects of long-COVID which may occur even for mild cases of COVID.
Art of Making Art: Jim Parks. Parks is a local painter and sculpture artist who exclusively bases his work on existing images. After spending the winter in his basement working on sculptures, he dedicated the summer season to a series of hummingbird paintings shown above.
ETHS girls golf: Koecher scores rare top 10 finish at CSL South meet. Senior Amelie Koecher earned a rare top 10 finish in the individual competition, firing an 82 to claim a tie for ninth place with Grace Lieber of New Trier and Jessica Hoffman of Maine South at Wilmette Golf Club.
ETHS boys golf: Freshman Low leads Wildkits at CSL South tourney. Freshman Kieran Low fired a blistering 1-under-par 71 to capture runner-up honors in the individual competition, and the Wildkits placed third in the team standings with a score of 305 that matched their best-ever performance at the league championship meet.
Picturing Evanston. A color spot in the sun at Ridgeville Park on Ridge Avenue and South Boulevard. (Photo by Joerg Metzner)
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Around the web
Dem strongholds beg the White House for help with migrants. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has bused over 13,000 migrants from his own state to New York City, Chicago and Washington, D.C. since April, creating a humanitarian crisis in those cities with high demand for food, clothing and shelter to support the migrants. Governors and mayors in those states are pleading for federal support.
Indiana abortion clinics reopening after judge blocks ban. A week after Indiana became the first state in the nation to enact a near-total ban on abortions since the fall of Roe v. Wade, a state judge struck down the ban, allowing clinics to take patients once again. The state attorney general plans to appeal.
Everything you should do this fall is on this list. From corn mazes to pumpkin patches and everything in between, this guide from WBEZ Chicago has you covered for all the best fall activities in Chicagoland. My personal favorite idea on the list: the Music Box of Horrors: Scared Stupid series featuring horror movies playing at the Music Box Theatre every night in October.
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