Good morning, Evanston.
An estimated 400 people gathered on Sunday in Independence Park for a protest against police violence and a rally to defund the Evanston and Northwestern police departments, organized jointly by Evanston Fight for Black Lives and Northwestern Community Not Cops. As volunteers walked through the crowd offering masks, Michael James’ steady drumbeat punctuated the peaceful march. Organizers said they planned to keep the destination from the police, yet Evanston Police cars were on hand to ensure the protesters could walk on vehicle-free streets, blocking off traffic as needed and tweeting as marchers entered and left intersections.
A season that was in doubt right until the opening kick couldn’t have had a happier ending. Evanston’s boys soccer team blanked rival New Trier 1-0 Saturday afternoon in Northfield and captured the Central Suburban League round-robin postseason tournament championship. A goal by Charlie Fies — a rebound blast in the 15th minute — and clutch goalie play by Ben Weyman enabled the Wildkits to reclaim the fire hydrant trophy they lost 3 weeks ago to the Trevians.
The Week Ahead
Many Earth Week lectures and festivities are planned for this week.
All week
- City of Evanston Nature Photo Challenge: Residents are invited to participate in a nature photo challenge under the categories: Urban Wildlife, Spring Arrival, and Abstract Environment. Submit photos by email to sustainability@cityofevanston by Sunday, April 25. Make sure to include the category and your name in the subject line. The winning photo from each category will be selected by the Evanston Environment Board and highlighted on the City of Evanston’s Instagram page. Winners will also receive a $25 gift card to a local Evanston business.
- Evanston Made Art for the Earth – Join Evanston Made in creating an outdoor nature art exhibit across Evanston in celebration of Earth Month! Share a photo of your nature art on social media using #evanstonmade and #evanstonartconnects.
Monday
- Gardening that Matters 4 to 5 p.m. “How can you take action for climate, community health and biodiversity? Do Less! Less garden clean up, less mowing, and plant more natives. Natural Habitat Evanston will share and discuss.” To Register, email info@wiseuptoday.org and request the zoom link. Hosted by Natural Habitat Evanston and WiseUp: Aging with Attitude.
Tuesday
- Levy Lecture Series: The Watergate Girl 1:00 p.m.
- Zoning Board of Appeals 7:00 PM
- Housing & Community Development Act Committee 7:00 PM
Wednesday:
- Design and Project Review Committee 2:30 PM
- 5th Ward Meeting – VIRTUAL 7:00 PM
Thursday:
- Reparations Subcommittee Meeting 9:15 AM
- Earth Week For Everyone events:
- Lunch & Learn, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
- 11:00 a.m. — Opening Kick-off/Welcome
- 11:10 a.m. — “Let’s Get Going” Sustainably: 5 Ways to Get There
Moderator: Rachel Rosner with Colleen O’Brien, Grace Wickerson Travelin, and Vickie Jacobsen - Noon — “Resources Matter: Ways to Prevent Waste and Recycle Right”
Moderator: Evanston Public Library with Mary Allen of SWANCC - 1:00 p.m. — “Deconstruction: The Sustainable Choice”
Moderator: Evanston Public Library with Anne Nicklin of Evanston Rebuilding Warehouse
Afternoon/Evening Sessions:
- 4:00 p.m.—“Greening Evanston’s Schools” Moderator: Rachel Rosner with: 6th Grade Science Teacher, Carla Stone; ETHS grad and former Sustainability Intern, Aldric Martinez-Olsen; D65 & Quest 4 Earth Students; Becky Brodsky of D65 Green Team, ETHS Sustainability committee, and Seven Generations Ahead
- 5:00 p.m.—“Green Business Brainstorm for Entrepreneurs of Color” Co-hosted with Evanston’s NAACP Moderator: Mila Marshall of the Sierra Club with Gabrielle Walker, 4 Suns Fresh Juice and Chef Q Ibraheem
- 6:00 p.m.—“Environmental Justice in Evanston” Moderator: Rick Nelson, CGE Environmental Justice Evanston, with Kumar Jensen, Mike Boll, and Clare Tallon-Ruen
- 7:00 p.m.—“Land Acknowledgments: Connecting the Past, Present, and Future” Teddy Peterson, Mitchell Museum of the American Indian
- 7:15 p.m.—“Evanston’s Sustainability Future: A conversation with Mayor Elect Daniel Biss and ETHS Senior, Louise Bond” Moderator: Rachel Rosner with Daniel Biss, Evanston Mayor-elect, and ETHS Student, Louise Bond
- Oakton Street Corridor Open House The City of Evanston is seeking community input on improvements to the Oakton Street Corridor, from Asbury Avenue to the North Shore Channel. 3:00 PM
- 3rd Ward Town Hall Meeting – VIRTUAL 7:00 PM
- “I Am Greta” Film Screening Presented by Citizens’ Climate Lobby Evanston Chapter. 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Friday, April 23
Earth Week For Everyone events:
- Lunch & Learn, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.11:00 a.m.—“Keeping Habitat Resilient” Moderator: Jean Saunders with Leslie Shad, Tim Sonder, and Allison Sloan
- Noon—“Talking Trash in Evanston” Moderator: Rachel Rosner with Andrea Densham, Maia Tekle and Liam Engel
- 1:00 p.m.—“Making Buildings Better” Moderator: Joel Freeman with Sylvia Wooller, Dick Co, and Nate Kipnis
Afternoon/Evening Sessions
- 4:00 p.m.—”Beyond Waste” Moderator: Brian Becharas with Mary Beth Schaye and Erlene Howard, Michelle Redfield, and Rachel Rosner
- 5:00 p.m.—“Renewable Energy in Evanston” Moderator: Brian Becharas with Len Sciarra, Joel Freeman, and Ajiah Gilbert
- 6:00 p.m.—“Water and Earth” Moderator: Ajiah Gilbert with Debra Shore, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, Maia Robinson, Nia Williams, and Emma Barreto of Evanston Fight for Black Lives
- 7:00 p.m.—CGE 10-Year Celebration Master of Ceremonies: Kumar Jensen
Saturday, April 24
- Ecology Center Celebration – Stop by the Evanston Ecology Center for family-friendly, socially-distanced activities. 10 a.m. to Noon
- Pop-up Food Pantry Pantries take place on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month, and participants must register in advance by calling 847-448-8630. 10:00 AM
- Earth Week For Everyone event:
- Legislative Event Environmental Action in Washington and Springfield. Moderated by: Kady McFadden, U.S. Congresswoman Jan Schakowksy, State Representative Robyn Gabel, State Representative Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, State Senator Laura Fine, Jack Darin of the Sierra Club. 10:00 a.m.
Earth Day Cleanup Events:
- Beach Clean up – Help the City and Alliance for the Great Lakes clean up Evanston beaches including South Boulevard, Lee Street, and Clark Street. 10 a.m. to Noon
- Central Street Earth Day Cleanup 10 a.m. to noon
- The Main-Dempster Mile makes Spring cleanup fun! Spend 30 minutes cleaning up a street or park on the Main-Dempster Mile and earn treats from neighborhood businesses! 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Self-Organized Neighborhood Clean Up Clean up a park or public space in your neighborhood. Volunteers can pick up gloves and trash bags at the Evanston Ecology Center or Robert Crown Community Center between Monday, April 19 and Saturday, April 24.
More information about Earth Month community events can be found at cityofevanston.org/earthmonth.
For a list of other upcoming events and meetings, please check the RoundTable calendar. Have an event to publicize? Submit your event for inclusion on our calendar.
Covid-19 by the numbers: We are checking in with many sources to keep you updated on COVID-19 cases and vaccine information.
- The number of COVID-19 cases in Evanston fell to 62 cases the week ending April 18 from 89 the week ending April 11.
- Northwestern University reported 29 new cases the week ending April 15. Northwestern students, staff and professors living in Evanston are included in City test and case counts.
- Evanston School District 65 reported 11 new cases among students and 2 new cases among staff members. The number of students in quarantine increased to 59 from 15 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 6.1% and in Illinois 4.0%.
- The number of cases per 100,000 population over the last seven days is 84 in Evanston, 174 in suburban Cook County and 176 in Illinois.
- Illinois received 930,000 doses and used 876,000 doses of the vaccine in the past seven days. Illinois has used 81% of the 9.9 million doses received to date.
- As of Sunday, 3.3 million or 26.1% of Illinois residents are fully vaccinated, including 428,000 in the last week.
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.
Variants: Illinois Department of Public Health now reports 1,434 cases of more infectious COVID-19 variants, including 1,037 cases of variant B.1.1.7 (UK), 288 cases of P.1 (Brazil) and 92 cases of B.1.427/429 (California).
Evanston Vax Facts: Some 59% of Evanston residents 16 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 31% of residents 16 and older are fully vaccinated. The proportion of Evanston seniors vaccinated is higher; 94% of residents 65 and older have received at least one dose and 71% are fully vaccinated.
Registration for City vaccination clinics is prioritized by age, from oldest to youngest, starting with those 45 years and older this week. More details are available on the City’s Vaccine Dashboard.
Everyone 16 and older is eligible for vaccination in the State of Illinois. Given the limited supply of vaccines the City of Evanston is receiving, you may be able to schedule an appointment earlier at vaccination sites in suburban Cook County, theState of Illinois or Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sites. The FEMA drive-through site in Gary, Indiana has appointments available today, tomorrow and throughout the week. The site is located at Roosevelt Park, about a seventy minute drive from Evanston.
Elsewhere on the RoundTable website
2021 Beach Passes Available Beginning April 26. Evanston beach passes for the 2021 season will be available for purchase beginning April 26. The City’s public swimming beaches will open on Saturday, May 29.
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