Plan Commission Approves Mather Proposal

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

Live-Work Condos on Greenwood

Police Chief Uses Advisory Board for Official Complaints

Council Rejects ZBA Appointee from NU

No Motive, No Suspects Yet in Murder, Police Tell Neighbors

New Dean at Medill

Home Heating Fair to Help Consumers Manage Costs

Evanston May Host Gay Games This Summer

Hamos Seeks Re-election

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Plan Commission Approves Mather Proposal

A sketch of Mather's proposal shows the two 10-story buildings at the corner of Davis Street and Hinman Avenue with the enhanced east and south gardens.

What Mather proposes
Under the proposal the two new 10-story buildings will house 245 apartments, 24 assisted living apartments and 40 long-term care suites. Amenities will include a day spa, fitness center, library, rooftop terrace dining, underground parking lot and underground walkway that connects the buildings beneath Davis Street.

Mather also plans to return to the City several parking spaces that had been reserved for Mather. The $150 million project will also include almost two acres of gardens. The Mather estimated timeline would have both buildings open by 2010.

In Mather's final statements before the Plan Commission, David Reisman said the project would generate an annual $650,000 to $1 million in real estate taxes, which could benefit public schools as well as the City. He also discussed the 65 new jobs the renovated buildings could create, many of which could go to Evanstonians.

"We are very pleased with the [Plan Commission's] vote…our plans changed significantly over time with more than 50 meetings with neighbors," said Mary Leary, president and CEO of Mather.

The neighborhood dispute
But some Evanstonians who will be affected by the renovations adamantly opposed the final proposal. The project was stalled for many months by a futile attempt to have the Georgian building designated a historical landmark. Neighbors were also upset that the new buildings might encroach on the R-1 zoning district, which restricts buildings to single-family residences only.

"There are now no buildings above ground in the R1 zoning district," said Ms. Leary. "My door has been open [to the neighbors] since we proposed the plan and is still open for any concerns or comments."

Thomas Conley of 1632 Forest Place argued that Mather must prove why these renovations are not economically viable on a smaller scale. He also claimed the entrance fees to Mather, which are in the range of $500,000, are at the high end of all continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) and said this construction will not help in the diversification of housing in Evanston, because it "targets wealthy seniors....Mather] reached conclusions in a cursory manner."

David Reynolds, 204 Davis St., and owner of The Homestead, 1625 Hinman Ave., followed Mr. Conley and focused on the enormity of the new buildings. Mr. Reynolds said, "[They] do not respect the scale of the neighborhood." He also added that he would like Mather to have a "less aggressive" number of apartment units and noted that Mather's new renovations would allow them more housing units than the average American CCRC (285 units), or median American CCRC (301 units).

Mr. Reynolds then argued that the new 249 parking spaces in Mather's basement would have no public benefit because the space would only be used for Mather staff, residents, and guests. Some of the older buildings in the neighborhood might also suffer a loss of sunshine from the height of the proposed buildings, said Mr. Reynolds. He concluded that the neighborhood welcomes redevelopment, but only within the limitations of the zoning ordinance.

Plan Commission
After both sides had argued their case, each member of the Plan Commission gave reasons that Mather should be given a positive recommendation.

Steve Samson began by saying that he is sensitive to the neighbors but is strongly in favor of the project. Mr. Samson concluded that the Evanston community needs to provide up-to-date living arrangements for senior citizens, but also said that he would like to make sure Mather is kept on the tax rolls, because these buildings will have an extremely positive effect on public schools.

David Galloway concluded the affirmative responses by giving his highest respect for the "stellar presentations" of each side and stating his belief that Mather is in pursuit of a noble cause: to provide more accommodating living arrangements for seniors.

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In each household, adoption has stretched the notion of the nuclear unit.  Not only do these resilient families draw a circle big enough to include birth parents and grandparents, close neighbors and siblings in distant lands.  But they also draw with a multicolored palette of race and ethnicity.

Claudia Deeny holds her baby sister, Samantha, while their brother, Gray, plays out of camera range.

The result, say these Evanstonians, is nothing but positive:  "There are never too many people to love a child," says Ms. King.

Samantha, 6 months old and the third adopted child of Ms. King and her husband, will celebrate her first Christmas this year.  She joins Grayson, almost 7; Claudia, almost 5; a dog, a cat and a 4-month-old puppy in the comfortable Victorian the Deeneys call home. 

Open adoption, where the birth (biological) parents choose the adoptive parents, has altered how families like the Deeneys mark important occasions.  At their house, says Ms. King, "the holidays are all about including the birth families."  The Deeneys typically invite Gray's grandparents and aunt, who have embraced all three children, to a combination Christmas/birthday celebration on Claudia's Dec. 19th birthday.

This year each birth family will receive a special gift – a glass plate decorated with their child's handprint – in addition to photos that help them keep track of their growing child. 

The Deeney family is a multiracial rainbow.  While Gray, who is one-quarter Japanese, resembles his Caucasian adoptive parents, his African-American sister is beginning to notice how she looks different.  "For Claudia it's about hair," says Ms. King, "why she can't comb it or wear it ‘down.'"  For such reasons the Deeneys intentionally "surround [the children] with people who look like them and other families formed by adoption," says Ms. King.

A board member at the Cradle, the site of their adoptions, she praises the agency's support systems.  But with or without support, she says, trans-racial families have an easier time blending in in Evanston than they do in more isolated communities.  "Here kids go to school with kids who look like them, and their parents have friends who do, too," she says. 

While baby Samantha is finding her voice in the chorus of Deeney children, Sam, nearly 3, is singing solos with his toy guitar.  His mom, Cindy Doe (whose name has been changed here for reasons of privacy), has a whole new appreciation of the holidays since she adopted him. 

"Before Sam," she nods to a foot-high tree made of pinecones, "that was my Christmas tree."  Now a full-size tree occupies the place of honor in the living room, while a toy train chugs around the dining room table.  Cindy, a single career woman, considered adoption for ten years before choosing it over yet another remodeling project.

A new kitchen or a child - she opted for the latter.  Because she wanted a boy, she turned to the Cradle's Russia program, where available boys outnumber girls.  For the Russian literature and history major, a visit to Russia was a bonus. 

Within nine months she found herself there, in a small room in a remote Russian town, holding 15-month-old Sam, whom she calls the "happy, healthy, gregarious, athletic, intelligent boy" of her dreams.  Like other Russian babies, he was offered first to domestic families.  "It was my good fortune they never met him," she says.

Sam dances to "Jingle Bells" while Cindy talks about their adventures together – zoo visits, train rides, rendezvous at "the pumpkin house" with an inflatable ghost.  Despite the premature death of her mother and her father's move to Florida, Cindy, a Glenview native and Northwestern University graduate, knew she could count on a network of friends.
But she hardly imagined that her neighbors would be so dedicated to Sam that they plan to show up at 5:30 Christmas morning to watch him open presents.

Later that day Jaime and Lizzie Merdinger, both 15 but not blood siblings, will mark the beginning of Hanukkah with their adoptive parents, Michael and Jenny.  For the first time in the teenagers' lives, the families they left behind in Peru when they were adopted as infants will have a part in the celebration. 

In June the Merdingers embarked on a trip whose highlight was not Machu Picchu or the Amazon rainforest – which they saw – but their first visit with the children's biological families in 15 years.  Weeks of investigation by a former Lima police chief turned up the birth moms of both children.  Weeks of counseling with professionals at the Cradle, Ms. Merdinger's workplace, "made all the difference" in the very positive outcome of the reunion, she says.  At the counselors' suggestion, the children presented their birth families with an album of photos they chose to tell their story. 

"They're very nice people," says Jaime of the families.  "The worst part of being adopted," he says, "was not knowing whether I had brothers and sisters."  He learned he has a full brother and two half-brothers – and many cousins.  Lizzie met her mother, grandmother and 9 ½-year-old half-sister.  The teens talk about whom they look like and the sense of completion they feel. 

"It meant a lot to me," Jaime says.
In many ways the Merdingers have been preparing for this reunion all along.  Each year since kindergarten the family has attended Culture Camp in Minnesota, reuniting with friends who shared a hotel in Peru during the adoption process and basking in the culture of South America.

With their "conspicuous family" (one clearly formed by adoption), the Merdingers are grateful for where they live.  "We're in Evanston for the trans-cultural, multicultural, no-one-looks-askance atmosphere," says Mr. Merdinger.

They weave adoption into holiday stories whenever they can, he says.  "It's easy with Passover and the story of Moses," he says – and not so easy with Hanukkah.

But this year the holiday tradition of their extended family will have a new twist.  For some years the adults have brought a labeled envelope filled with money to the party instead of a gift.  Each in turn talks about the non-profit whose name he designated.  Then the littlest child draws one envelope, and all the money goes to that recipient.
This year, says Ms. Merdinger, her family has already told her their intention.  They will send all the Hanukkah money to Peru, half to Jaime's family and half to Lizzie's.

Claudia Deeny holds her baby sister, Samantha, while their brother, Gray, plays out of camera range.

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Live-Work Condos on Greenwood
By Bill Smith

The Plan Commission tonight is expected to hold its second hearing on a proposal to turn a vacant industrial building at 2100 Greenwood St. into 26 live-work condominiums.

Architect and co-developer Stephen Yas told the Commission last week that while the project is located in the new West Evanston Tax Increment Financing District, the developers are not seeking any funding from the TIF.

"We'll just be contributing tax revenue to it," Mr. Yas said, projecting that the project will generate more than $5 million in additional tax revenue over the 23-year life of the TIF district. He said that because all the lofts will be one-bedroom units, he anticipates the project will not add any students to local schools.

The developers seek to have the property's zoning changed from general industrial to transitional manufacturing to permit the residential use.

The existing International-style factory building covers almost the entire lot. The developers plan to reduce the lot coverage to 84 percent by removing portions of the roof and creating landscaped courtyards in the newly-opened space. But they will need a zoning variance to do that, because the proposed new zoning calls for a maximum 41-percent lot coverage.

The developers are also seeking a maximum building height of 45 feet, four feet more than allowed under the zoning, to provide elevator access for handicapped residents to planned roof decks.

Mr. Yas said the building was constructed in 1951 for the Main Steel Polishing Company and once had a rail spur track running into it. He said the developers plan to preserve at least some of the large cranes used to move steel around the factory and anticipate that future artist-residents might use them to move works of sculpture.

Mr. Yas also said the developers hired neighborhood residents to do demolition work at the site and plan to hire more local residents to work on the construction project.

In addition, he teaches a weekly architecture class for Evanston Township High School students at the site and has made the building available to the Evanston Fire Department for training exercises.

Mr. Yas said he has consulted extensively with community residents about the design of the project. He said the surrounding residential neighborhood is "extremely well-kept" and that he has met as many as four generations of the same family at neighborhood meetings.

At the suggestion of neighbors, Mr. Yas continued, the developers plan to use recessed balconies in the project so that activity on the balconies will be less visible to the neighbors.

The project will include 32 parking spaces inside the building. By contrast, Mr. Yas said, when the factory was operating, its 40-50 employees all parked on the street.

In an interview, Mr. Yas said he believes the project will "really get the development ball rolling" on the west side and that it should be possible to revitalize the area "without gentrifying it, as has happened downtown."

He said the developers plan to sell the one-bedroom, 1,500 square-foot condo units for about $300,000 each – or roughly $200 per square foot.

County records show the developers bought the property in September for $1.4 million.

Plan Commission members seemed favorably disposed to the project after last week's session. Member Steve Samson told the Economic Development Committee, which met the same night, that he thought the project was "very impressive."

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No Motive, No Suspects Yet in Murder, Police Tell Neighbors
Residents in the St. John's neighborhood watch group met last week with police and aldermen at St. John's United Church of Christ, just around the corner from where 43-year-old Lynda Twyman was murdered Thanksgiving weekend.

Police Chief Frank Kaminski, Deputy Chief Joseph Bellino, Second Ward Alderman Lionel Jean-Baptiste and Fourth Ward Alderman Steve Bernstein told the dozens of residents, who packed the meeting room and spilled over into the church pews, as much as they could about the crime and police progress in solving the murder. "The investigation is still open," Deputy Chief Bellino said.

Police reported they have "latent fingerprints" and have received "a hundred leads by phone" but still have no motive. A knife found in a neighbor's outdoor grill has been sent to forensics, they added.

NORTAF, the North Regional Task Force on major crimes, which helped in the initial stages of the investigation, has been deactivated, Deputy Chief Bellino told the RoundTable. "The investigation is now being solely handled by the Evanston Police Department officers who were involved in the original investigation," he said, adding, "if, as the case progresses, there is need for forensic or investigative support, NORTAF can be reactivated."

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He will succeed Loren Ghiglione, who will complete the academic year as Dean, take a leave of absence during the 2006-07 academic year and then will return to Medill as the first holder of the Richard Schwarzlose Professorship of Media Ethics.

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Evanston will be a host to the Gay Games next summer, an international Olympic-like sporting event that is expected to bring an $80 million boost to the Chicago area economy.

The games are scheduled for July 15 through July 22 and are estimated to attract roughly 12,000 athletes and 20,000 to 30,000 spectators. The event will showcase the Chicago area from Evanston to Hyde Park, Susie Arnold, co-chair of the Gay Games Board of Directors, told Human Services Committee members at their Dec. 5 meeting.

Most of the sports competitions will take place in the City of Chicago, but Evanston will offer five venues, most of them at Northwestern University. The Norris Aquatics Center will host swimming and diving competitions. The Welsh-Ryan Arena will feature wrestling, power lifting and physique competitions. The Combe and Vandy Christi Tennis Centers, both on the NU campus, will host tennis matches.

Evanston's Robert Crown Center and Ice Rink will be used for figure skating practice only, not competitions.

"The purpose of the Gay Games is to empower people through athletics," said Ms. Arnold. "It's open to people of all ages, races and athletic and artistic abilities, regardless of sexual orientation."

The Gay Games is a quadrennial event that was founded in 1982 by former Olympic decathlete Tom Waddell. They have been held in San Francisco, Vancouver, New York, Amsterdam and Sydney and are returning in 2006 to the United States after a 12-year absence.

Mayor Richard Daley is the honorary board chair of the 2006 Gay Games, and several elected representatives from the Evanston area, including Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, have endorsed the event. Alderman Steve Bernstein, 4th Ward, chair of the Human Services Committee, said he would recommend to the Evanston City Council that it adopt a special resolution showing its support for the games. The Committee approved the event at its Dec. 5 meeting.

Police Chief Uses Advisory Board for Official Complaints
By Beth Demes

Police Chief Frank Kaminski told members of the Human Services Committee last week that he has followed through on a previous promise and formed a citizen review panel for complaints against police officers.

The panel consists of three citizens the chief randomly selected from a group of 10 volunteers. The volunteers came from the Police Department's Advisory Board. Panel members were trained in the department's investigative process.
They met for the first time on Nov. 3 to review two separate complaints against police officers. Chief Kaminski said they reviewed summaries of the complaints that presented the facts of the cases but no names of complainants or officers.

A member of the Office of Professional Standards participated in the session to answer any questions.

After two hours of discussion, the panel confirmed the decisions that the chief had made to dismiss both cases, which involved allegations of unprofessional conduct.

At the Human Services Committee meeting, member Lionel Jean-Baptiste, alderman of the Second Ward, said, "I think this is a good direction, but we should not characterize it as an independent citizen review." The alderman pointed out that the panel only reviews the report prepared by the police department and does not independently interview complainants or officers.

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Council Rejects ZBA Appointee from NU
By Bill Smith

By a 5-4 vote on Monday night City Council rejected Mayor Lorraine Morton's appointment of a top Northwestern University official to the City's Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA).

Alderman Ann Rainey, 8th Ward, said Northwestern University is the City's biggest landowner and Ronald Naylor, NU's associate vice president for facilities management, would continually be faced with conflicts of interest that should cause him to recuse himself from voting on issues before the board.
Alderman Elizabeth Tisdahl, 7th Ward, said the vast majority of the issues the ZBA handles are approvals of decks, fences and additions to single family homes. The rest, she said, are special uses which ultimately are reviewed by the City Council. It is exceedingly rare, she said, that any issue involving the University's interests would come before the board.

Alderman Edmund Moran, 6th Ward, said he knows Mr. Naylor. "He is eminently qualified for this position, and I consider him to be a person of the highest integrity," Ald. Moran said. He criticized what he called "aggressive, partisan and relentlessly negative people" who attacked the appointment and said he feared the negative vote will seriously impair efforts by the City and University to work together.

Alderman Lionel Jean-Baptiste, 2nd Ward, said he doesn't think Mr. Naylor would have done anything wrong if he were on the board, but suggested that if he were in Mr. Naylor's situation he would have withdrawn his name from consideration to avoid any perception of wrongdoing. Aldermen Holmes, Moran, Tisdahl and Wollin voted for Naylor, while Aldermen Bernstein, Hansen, Jean-Baptiste, Rainey and Wynne voted against the appointment.

Pay for peace
The Council voted to require the North Shore Anti-War Coalition to pay for a certificate of insurance to hold a peace vigil at Fountain Square schedule for last night, but decided to waive the city's application and permit fees.
The unincorporated group has held several previous vigils at Fountain Square without incident, but became caught up in the City bureaucracy when it asked to use a sound system at the Tuesday night event.

Snow job
City staffers promised the Council's Administration and Public Works Committee that they'd develop proposals to address concerns aldermen raised about snow removal after last week's storm. Aldermen said they had received complaints from residents who moved their cars to the cleared side of the street, only to receive tickets because they made the move before 9 p.m. and from people who cleared their driveways, only to have them filled with snow by passing plows.

Assessing affordability
The Planning and Development Committee has scheduled a special meeting for 7 p.m., Jan. 5, to discuss plans to force developers to provide affordable housing in the City. Several speakers urged the Committee to raise a proposed developer contribution from $40,000 to $100,000 for each 10 units in a project. Others suggested that developers be required to include the affordable units at the sites of their projects, rather than be allowed to contribute money to have those units built elsewhere.

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Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky will convene a home heating fair, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Dec. 17 at the Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave. The fair is designed to help consumers reduce energy costs and manage utility bills this winter heating season.

Attendees may apply on-site for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and other energy assistance programs. To apply for assistance, constituents must bring Social Security cards or other legal documentation for all household members; proof of income for the past 30 days prior to application date; a copy of their lease if the utility costs are included in the rent; a copy of current utility bills.

The Fair will also examine existing government and community resources that individuals and families can use to address immediate weather-related needs and help tackle high energy bills. Energy experts will be on hand to provide one-on-one assistance and discuss weatherization efforts, payment plan options, energy audits and winter heating safety.

Rep. Schakowsky, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has called upon Congress and President Bush to approve additional federal funding for energy assistance programs, expand the eligibility requirements for LIHEAP, and advance a national energy policy that promotes efficiency, renewable energy sources, and energy reliability and affordability.

The Home Heating Fair is being presented in cooperation with the Citizens Utility Board; CEDA Neighbors at Work; Nicor Gas; ComEd; the State of Illinois; and the City of Evanston.

The event is free of charge and open to the public. For further information contact Ra Joy, from the Office of U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky, 847- 328-3409.

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State Representative Julie Hamos announced that she is seeking re-election for a fifth term in the 18th District.

In making the announcement, Rep. Hamos stated, "I continue to believe that state laws can make a significant difference for people and communities. I don't seek quick fixes; instead, my approach is to exercise leadership on complex issues and seek long-term, lasting solutions."

Rep. Hamos was the chief sponsor of the Older Adult Services Act.
This year she was tapped as chairman of the new Mass Transit Committee and has already succeeded in reorganizing and securing state funding for "paratransit" services for disabled riders.

As examples of state policies that make a difference for families, Rep. Hamos pointed to laws she has sponsored and passed, such as universal hearing screening for all newborns, which identifies hundreds of babies with hearing loss each year and enables them to receive timely treatment. Her Homelessness Prevention Act provides small grants that allow thousands of families to stay in their homes each year to overcome short-term emergencies.

Rep. Hamos says she will also continue to work to expand the availability of quality affordable housing for low-wage workers, the disabled, and low-income seniors.