Happy Cinco de Mayo, Evanston.
At a town hall hosted by building administrators at Haven Middle School on Wednesday evening, many parents asked about a number of involuntary teacher transfers that Evanston/Skokie School District 65 informed employees of last Friday, April 29.
At least seven teachers at Haven alone are being transferred to other school buildings for the next school year, including several who have taught Haven students for more than 10 years.
Due to enrollment declines, the district had to cut 22 total classroom positions through attrition and retirement, forcing a relatively large reshuffling of educators to consolidate classrooms and fill subject areas needing more educators, Haven Principal Chris Latting said at Wednesday’s town hall.
The home of Evanston reparations recipient Ramona Burton is getting a makeover.
The city has begun dispersing $25,000 grants to the 16 inaugural reparations beneficiaries, and Burton, 72, who was one of the first to choose, decided to use her funds to get eight new windows, a new roof and a new back fence.
“And then, with another program that Audrey Thompson [interim Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Services] told me about, I hope to get central air conditioning and a bathroom put down in my basement,” Burton said. “They’re supposed to put carpet in my two bedrooms, paint and give me new shades.”
Thompson has mobilized the resources of other local programs, like the Handyman Program and Rebuilding Together North Suburban Chicago, to help recipients get the most bang for their buck.
Have a beer on us and support local journalism
We’re kicking off our Spring Membership Drive with News and Brews, a free celebration of local journalism featuring live music and complimentary beer!
Join us from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday, May 9, at Sketchbook Brewing Co., 821 Chicago Ave. All attendees will receive two free beers and we’ll have some light refreshments provided by our friends at Firehouse Grill.
RoundTable editors, writers and other contributors will be on hand for the evening, along with members of our board and advisory committee. We’ll also have a short music program featuring performances by RoundTable Racial Justice Fellow Debbie-Marie Brown and Steel String Highway, the alt-country/rock band led by RoundTable VP Mark Miller and friends.
Here’s a huge thanks to our friends at Sketchbook and Firehouse Grill, our event sponsors! Attendance is limited, so RSVP today to reserve your spot!
COVID-19 by the numbers: 62 new cases were reported Tuesday, May 3, the last day the city updated totals. The seven-day average is 40.3 cases per day. One death was reported.
Elsewhere on the RoundTable website
Evanston’s state lawmakers speak out on abortion rights
State Rep. Robyn Gabel declares that the fight for reproductive freedom continues. “For decades, right wing extremists have waged a war on women in part by attempting to chip away at abortion and reproductive rights,” Gabel writes. “In order to be prepared for the worst case scenario, we passed several bills in recent years to strengthen choice here in our state.”
State Rep. Gong-Gershowitz responds to possible overturning of Roe v. Wade. “The possibility that Roe v. Wade will be overturned represents the greatest threat to reproductive rights and bodily autonomy that we have seen in decades,” Gong-Gershowitz writes. “Roe is the foundation upon which reproductive rights have been built.”
State Rep. Kelly Cassidy condemns the US Supreme Court’s draft opinion on Roe v. Wade. “Here in Illinois, we’ve been planning for this day for a while,” writes Cassidy. “In 2017, we passed HB40, which eliminated our state’s so-called ‘trigger law.'”
Nancy E. Anderson: Life’s transitions and our big, black car. “Why do I feel sad?” I said to my husband a few days ago as we walked in the front door of our house. We had just driven our black 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis to our neighborhood mechanic, sold it and walked home.
Picturing Evanston. This white picket fence, in the former Williams shoe store window on Church Street and Sherman Avenue, has been guarding yet another empty store front for way too long. (Photo by Joerg Metzner)
Evanston Community Foundation names Dominguez new VP of Finance and Operations. “I am very passionate about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and I believe it’s fundamental for it to be part of the fabric of any organization; this is one of the values that drew me to ECF,” Cynthia Dominguez said.
ETHS girls soccer: Kits boot GBN, clinch CSL South championship. Jocelyn Leigh helped deliver Evanston’s first Central Suburban League South division championship since 2016 with a 5-0 victory over previously unbeaten Glenbrook North.
North End Mothers’ Club announces new name after more than a century serving Evanston’s youth. One of Evanston’s longest-serving community service organizations has changed its name to Women for Evanston Youth, underlining that its focus is on serving the city’s youth – and that you don’t need to be a mother or live in the northern part of the city to join in and get involved.
Join our team: The Evanston RoundTable is growing! Check out our jobs page for opportunities in editorial and development.
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From day one, it’s been the RoundTable’s mission to bring you unbiased, in-depth reporting about the Evanston community. But we need your help to continue investing in high-quality and in-depth journalism, reporting news that strengthens and enlightens our community, encourages civic engagement and bolsters our democracy. Please join our community of readers and become a member today.
Around the web
‘A sense of continuity’: Foster and King Lab alums reflect on the schools’ legacies. When Kimberly Holmes-Ross attended the Martin Luther King Jr. Laboratory School in the Fifth Ward from 1969 to 1974, she said her education was carried out with intention and “magic.”
Northwestern closes investigation into alleged non-consensual druggings at fraternity houses this fall. Northwestern will not be taking any action against the Alpha Epsilon Pi and Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternities or any individuals with regard to allegations of non-consensual druggings in fall 2021, University spokesperson Jon Yates told The Daily Northwestern.
Illinois infrastructure gets graded a C-minus. The final grades are in, and Illinois gets a C-minus for its infrastructure. That’s according to the Illinois Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Robert Crown Library hosts workshop on talking to children about climate change. Genie Albina of District 65 stressed the importance of maintaining a positive and forward-thinking tone. It’s critical, she said, to include actions and solutions to minimize distress.
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