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Evanston Youth Initiative

Speaking at the Evanston Youth Initiative kickoff, Alderman Lionel Jean-Baptiste said government should employ and train youth.

By Victoria Scott

Referring to that incident, EYI member Carolyn Murray said, "Since then a group of men and women came together and stayed together... to define a positive course of action to move forward. ... One member put it this way, ‘It's time to put the neighbor back in the 'hood.'" The EYI mission is "to unite resources to help develop and support productive, skilled and contributing Evanston black youth and families."

Reverend Michael Curry of First Church of God said, "It's not that we're not concerned about other youth, but we felt somehow you need to start where the greatest needs are, and we feel the greatest needs are in our community.

Fleetwood-Jourdain dancers at the Evanston Youth Initiative.

"We are here because those 39 names are not going to be forgotten. We are attempting in this historic event to gather some synergy for the community. We are brought by our fears. How can we halt this [killing of children]? Death is said to be the calling card to the table of compassion.

"This is not an African-American struggle, not a Latino struggle, not a Caucasian struggle, not an Asian struggle, not a Jew or gentile struggle. This is a mankind struggle.

"It is my hope that we forget about the color of our skin, forget about our socio-economic status, forget about the generation we were born in. I hope we all take the challenge of helping our young people be successful in whatever they face in life."

Second Ward Alderman Lionel Jean-Baptiste, another member of EYI, spoke about youth in Evanston. "If you have youth in your family, you feel the impact of their reality. Unless we make a radical departure from what we're doing, the future is up for grabs."

He spoke against the negative labels sometimes applied to black children. "There is nothing more complex or smarter than a young child. A child who is poor is not underprivileged, at risk, disadvantaged. Labels create the underprivileged child. Poverty has nothing to do with it. We have to be clear about that."

Ald. Jean-Baptiste said that in Evanston 50 percent of black males aged 16-24 have had "some sort of interaction with the criminal justice system. ...In EYI we need to focus on the 16-24-year-olds. Unless there is some intervention, we think they will have a negative impact on the community."

He said the government should be an intervener. "My belief is that government must step up to provide some kind of accountability, because the private sector will not step up to do it. Governments have an obligation to give support and job training. ...Whatever it is, we need to try to find an answer for the problem. By the time these kids are in high school they have lost confidence in their ability to achieve.
"EYI is just getting started," he said. "Unless we succeed, it is our loss."

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Stations of the Cross on Good Friday

At each station, a reader noted the contribution of the organization to the community, then the congregants read prayers or sang songs – in Spanish, English and French – reflecting on the last hours of Jesus, as he carried the cross on which he was to be crucified to Golgotha, the place of his physical death.

"The Neighborhood Way of the Cross," a tradition in Mexico, has been part of St. Nicholas's Easter celebration for the past several years.

The solemn group walked under the morning sky with its intermittent clouds and sunshine, marking the 14 events in the last hours of Jesus, from the time he was condemned to death to his being laid in the tomb. Persons of all ages, from babes in strollers to white-haired adults, joined the walk, prayers and song.

Police escorted the walkers but without sirens blaring. Father Robert Oldershaw of St. Nicholas Parish headed the procession, and Police Chief Frank Kaminski shepherded the people at the rear.

The procession began and ended at St. Nicholas Church. Neighborhood stops on the "Neighborhood Way of the Cross" were the Rice Child and Family Center, Washington School, the Evanston RoundTable, Old Ascension Church, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Penny Park, Cherry Preschool, the Evanston Ecumenical Action Council Hospitality Center at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, the Unitarian Church of Evanston and Albany Care.

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Compromise on Darrow Corners

The Darrow Corners proposal from the Housing Opportunity Development Corp. calls for building 27 rent-to-own affordable-housing units in a four-story building on the northwest corner of Church Street and Darrow Avenue.

Aldermen Bernstein, Hansen, Rainey and Tisdahl said last week they were not willing to vote for the project in its current form. Aldermen Holmes, Jean-Baptiste, Moran and Wollin voiced support for the existing plan. Alderman Wynne was absent from the meeting.

Opponents have said they believe the project should provide immediate opportunities for home ownership. They have also objected to the lack of ground-floor retail space and voiced concerns about further concentrating low-income residents in the area.

Supporters say the project will provided much-needed housing for working professionals in the community, including teachers and police officers.

In other development activity, the full City Council
• Gave final approval to the Church Street Village planned development of 40 townhomes at the former Hines lumberyard at 1613 Church St. The property will be rezoned R4 residential from its current industrial zoning.
• Gave preliminary approval to a planned four-story, 13-unit condominium development at 2607-2617 Prairie Ave., just north of the Prairie Joe's restaurant building at the corner of Prairie and Central Street.
• Gave preliminary approval to a redevelopment agreement that will provide property tax rebates to Bristol Chicago LLC, the developer of a planned 17-story rental apartment project at 415 Howard St.
• Established a 120-day moratorium on the issuance of building permits for new construction in the west side Tax Increment Financing district and industrial areas immediately north of the district boundary. The moratorium is designed to provide time to develop revised zoning for the area that has finally started to draw interest from developers.
• Adopted amendments to an ordinance that adds a $10,000 fee to demolition permits with the revenue to be used for affordable housing. The revision eliminates an exemption for replacement homes selling for less than $500,000 to avoid a possible legal challenge to the ordinance on equal protection grounds.

The Planning and Development Committee postponed discussion of an inclusionary housing ordinance until its next meeting.

First meeting of the Church/Darrow subcommittee
There are some tentative points of agreement from the the first meeting of the subcommittee for the Church/Darrow project.

Both sides said they would welcome a library in one of the ground-floor spaces. "It wouldn't be a full branch library but maybe more specialized," Ald. Holmes suggested.

She and others noted that the building will be fully wired for Internet access.

Richard Koenig of Housing Opportunities Development Corporation also said he would look into finding a way to incorporating language about "intent to own" into the rental agreements for the project.

The subcommittee will meet next at 7:30 p.m. on April 27 at the Civic Center.

Evanston Hospital: Uniting Research, Academics and Patient Care

Evanston Hospital has been part of the Evanston Community since its founding in 1891. Now operated by Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, Evanston Hospital has moved beyond being a community hospital. This series takes a look at Evanston Hospital, the Evanston community and ENH.

By Mary Helt Gavin

Part 1: A Shining Star
One of the country's top hospitals sits atop the natural ridge at Central Street, its four-acre site housing – in addition to its medical-surgical units, pediatric and infant special care units, psychiatry and behavior sciences units – the Kellogg Cancer Care Center, the Cardiovascular Care Center and Evanston Women's Hospital.

The hospital also offers transitional care, with rehabilitative services and nursing care to help patients return to their homes or long-term care facilities. Finally, it has its own home health and hospice agency for patients with chronic or terminal conditions.

The emergency room is a local drop-off for sports sprains, breaks and concussions, as well as complex level-2 trauma injuries. Outpatient treatments and procedures include cancer screenings, radiation therapy, diagnostics and minor surgery. Support centers, hotlines, pastoral care and outreach programs extend to Evanston and beyond.

Perhaps the least known part of the hospital is its clinic, located on the ground floor, which offers free or sliding-scale care to income-qualified patients.

Evanston Hospital, founded by Evanstonians, was incorporated in December 1891 as the Evanston Emergency Hospital in the wake of local typhoid and smallpox epidemics (though "epidemics" in those days did not necessarily involve a large population). Its first facility was at 806 (now renumbered as 1107) Emerson St., an eight-room house bought in 1892 and opened for business in 1893. Its "new" facility, its present location at 2650 Central St., opened in 1898.

Evanston Hospital's highly specialized care, together with technology that allows it to perform complicated open heart surgery and neurosurgery, makes it a tertiary care hospital, said Mark Schroeder of the public relations department of Evanston Hospital. The 476-bed hospital is now operated by ENH, Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, which also owns and operates Highland Park Hospital and Glenbrook Hospital. The core mission of ENH, it says, is "to preserve and improve human life."

Evanston Hospital is a teaching hospital, with academic ties to Northwestern University dating back to the 1930s. Many of its doctors are on staff at Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine, and ENH hospitals are primary teaching sites for the medical school. In addition, doctors and other staff at ENH conduct research at Evanston Hospital. "Clinical research plays a critically important role at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare," says Mark Neaman, President and CEO of ENH.

ENH Research Institute, the main research arm of ENH, conducts most of its clinical trials. One focus of such research is clinical and "translational" research — research that converts laboratory findings directly into advancements in patient care, according to ENH officials.

Dr. Leo Selker, head of the Research Institute, said it has more than $100 million in research support and nearly 1,000 active research studies. "The priority areas of the Research Institute are cancer, cardio-vascular, peri-neonatal, neuroscience,  outcomes research and advanced imaging," he told the RoundTable. 

Although the Research Institute is only 9 years old, significant research at Evanston Hospital has been conducted since the 1920s, said Dr. Selker. "Louis Sauer developed the vaccine for whooping cough then. At that time whooping cough killed more children than mumps and measles."

For 11 of the past 12 years, including 2005 and 2006, Evanston Hospital has been ranked one of the top 100 hospitals in the nation by Solucient, an information products company serving the health care industry. Solucient's benchmarks include "superior clinical, operational and financial performance."

Solucient found that at Evanston Hospital, as at other top hospitals, a higher percentage of patients required more complex treatment. It also found that Evanston Hospital had better patient safety and fewer medical injuries (that is, injuries resulting from an event within the hospital). Its operations were also more financially efficient.

Ray Grady, president of Evanston Hospital, said Evanston Hospital deserves its national ranking. "All the employees and doctors work very hard to deliver high-quality patient care," he told the RoundTable.

But health care has become big business, and ENH, like most other hospital operators across the United States, has adopted the business model for health care. Doctors, nurses, hospitals and clinics are "health care providers" and they provide care to "clients" or "consumers" rather than patients.

The overall shift in patient care may be mirrored by Evanston Hospital's transformation into an ENH hospital. While Evanston Hospital always drew patients from the North Shore area, the ENH group attracts many more patients from an even greater area.

"The days of a community hospital are gone," Jay Terry, director of health and human services for the City of Evanston, told the RoundTable. "Regional hospitals are what we have and will continue to have. The old Evanston Hospital – where people came to give birth and to die, where doctors and nurses knew patients, not just their charts – is gone."

Yet Mr. Grady appears to believe in both worlds. He says ENH provides "excellent care from a world-class hospital to the ENH community as well as to the Evanston community."

Next parts: "Evanston Hospital, ENH and the Evanston Community" and "The Business of Health Care, ENH and Evanston Hospital"

Council to Revisit Tear-Down Rules

By Bill Smith

Evanston aldermen have pledged to reexamine rules for construction of new single family homes after a local architect described the situation she faces with much larger houses being build on either side of her home this year.

Architect Elizabeth Beckman of 2127 Forestview Road urged the aldermen last week to adopt a rule they rejected two years ago that would restrict new homes to being no more than 20 percent taller than the average of houses in the neighborhood.

She also said that recently adopted rules requiring extra protection for neighboring properties when a deep foundation is dug have led developers to use shallow foundations that raise the height of the basement above ground level.

Alderman Ann Rainey, 8th Ward, said, "This flies in the face of everything I thought I voted on. Nobody ever mentioned that a single family home could be 48 feet tall."

Community Development Director James Wolinski said the city adopted rules over a year ago that set maximum building height in such zones at 35 feet – but, to avoid ending up with flat-roofed buildings, the rule uses the middle of a pitched roof as the measuring point for the height limit.

The larger of the two new buildings on Forestview Road "has two or three gables and gives the appearance of being a taller structure," Mr. Wolinski said, "but we've reviewed the building permits for both properties and they do comply with the zoning ordinance as it currently stands."

Alderman Edward Moran, 6th Ward, said, "Liz's situation is the poster child for the chaos that can be visited on a property owner with these huge houses in inappropriate settings. I want to ask the council to try again sometime this year to get some contextual limitations on the construction of new houses."

"I have a tear-down going up next door to me. It's now up to the first floor and I'm literally looking up at their first floor. It's a monstrosity," Ald. Moran said.

City's New Red Fire Station May Be Green

By Mary Helt Gavin

The City plans to replace Fire Station #5, at 2830 Central St., with an energy-efficient LEED-certified, two-story, mostly glass-front structure. At a meeting at the Civic Center last week, Terry Sullivan of Muller and Muller Architects described plans for the new $4 million fire station.

"This will be the first City-owned LEED-certified building," Mr. Sullivan said. LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a voluntary rating with nationally accepted standards.

Among the aspects that will make this building "green" are an efficient heating and cooling system and the use of permeable pavers for the walkways. There is also the possibility of a rooftop garden over part of the building, he said.

The new building would have more space than the present one, in part from its second story and full basement and in part from a narrower setback from Central Street than the present station, said Mr. Sullivan. It would also have better locker rooms and changing areas for both male and female firefighters, two front bays for fire equipment and one rear bay for reserve equipment. The kitchen and the day room would be on the ground floor, with sleeping quarters above, he said.

The bay for the reserve equipment at the rear of the building would be only one story, which might allow a roof garden there. Parking for the firefighters would be in the rear. This will be a kind of "drive-through" fire station, with ingress to the station from the alley and egress onto Central Street.

"The traffic on Central Street just won't stop for firefighters trying to back the trucks into the present station," said Fire Chief Alan Berkowsky. Noting that the station abuts a residential area, both he and Mr. Sullivan said they did not think this plan would add a lot of noise to the alley during the evening hours. Another improvement along the alley would be a covered area for garbage cans and plantings where possible. In addition, said Mr. Sullivan, the roof will slope and the building taper toward the alley, so that the higher part is along Central Street.

Mr. Sullivan said the architects had to add the second floor for more space because the adjoining ComEd station "makes the site very tight."

Alderman Edmund Moran, who convened the meeting and in whose Sixth Ward the fire station lies, said the City had approached ComEd about purchasing that site but ComEd said it needed to remain there. He also said the City's policy is to spend about 1 percent of the cost of the project on public art.

Fire Station #5 is critical to the City, said Chief Berkowsky. "It's the City's oldest station, built in 1954," he said, adding, "We've gotten our money's worth."

The City hopes to begin work on the year-long project next February, and in the meantime the Fire Department is still looking for temporary quarters during the construction, said Chief Berkowsky.

Rep. Schakowsky's Husband Receives 5- Month Prison Term

Robert Creamer, husband of U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, was sentenced on April 5 to five months in prison, after pleading guilty to bank fraud and a failure to pay withholding taxes. The prison term will be followed by 11 months home confinement with electronic monitoring.

In a plea agreement filed with the court last August, Mr. Creamer acknowledged that he devised and participated in a "check-kiting" scheme to defraud three banks. Mr. Creamer admitted he directed employees to deposit insufficiently funded checks in various bank accounts to temporarily generate funds to prop up a nonprofit organization that he ran. When the scheme unraveled, one of the banks had a negative balance of about $2.3 million, and the other two banks had positive balances.

On the tax withholding issue, Mr. Creamer admitted he failed to pay to the IRS $1,892 in federal withholding taxes on wages that were paid to him by a company he owned.

By the time of his plea agreement, Mr. Creamer had satisfied all restitution obligations. At sentencing his attorneys argued he should not serve prison time because he did not take any money for his personal use, he satisfied all restitution obligations, and he led an exemplary life devoted to social activism.

The government sought a three-year prison term, arguing the check-kiting scheme was conducted on a massive scale.

U.S. District Court Judge James Moran entered a sentence below the sentencing guidelines finding that Mr. Creamer was not motivated to personally profit from the check-kiting scheme, but to keep his nonprofit organization afloat, and that neither the banks nor the government were out of pocket any money.

Judge Moran said he had a potential conflict of interest because his son-in-law had worked with Mr. Creamer and Ms. Schakowsky and had sat on the Board of one of Mr. Creamer's organizations. Neither the government nor Mr. Creamer's attorneys voiced concerns about the connections. Judge Moran did not recuse himself.

Twiggs Park to be Expanded to Green Bay Road

By Bill Smith

Twiggs Park along the canal will expand as the result of an agreement the City has reached with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District.

The City Council last week approved leasing the land on the south side of the canal from Ashland Avenue southeast to the existing park at Dewey Avenue.

The site once was the location of Evanston's vehicle testing station and part of it more recently was used by the landscaping firm Permalawn.

Public Works Director David Jennings said a portion of the land will be used this year to recycle pavement from the McCormick Boulevard resurfacing project.

Parks Director Doug Gaynor said once the resurfacing work is done, the land will be used to expand the park and provide parking for up to 40 cars of park users.

The space will become the trail head for the Green Bay Trail bike bath that runs along the canal into Chicago.

Mr. Gaynor said the City plans to take steps to make sure the lot is not used for commuter parking or other non-park-related uses.

The 30-year lease will cost the City $10 per year. Eighty percent of the $250,000 cost of developing the expanded park is to be provided by a federal grant.

Dueling Power Points

Neighbors Counter Developer's Claims about New Optima Project on Chicago Ave.

By Bill Smith

Neighbors voiced a host of fears about the proposed Optima Promenade development at 1515 Chicago Ave. at this month's Plan Commission hearing on the project.

Diane Lequar, 1516 Hinman Ave., and Kristine Westerberg, 525 Grove St., countered the developer's PowerPoint presentation with one of their own.

They said the development would cause a loss of light and views for neighboring buildings to the east and south of the site and the new development would hurt resale prices for units in the neighboring buildings.

Optima  wants to construct a 185-foot-tall building, the maximum height permitted under planned development zoning in property's D4 downtown transitional zone.

Mary Linberger, the developer's real estate consultant, said the average selling price of existing condos in Evanston has risen 35 percent over the past five years, despite the construction of several new high-rise buildings during that time.

She said there is no basis for concluding that development in downtown Evanston has diminished property values.

The neighbors also argued that the 20-foot-wide alley behind the site is too narrow to handle all the traffic in and out of the proposed building's parking garage.

Community Development Director James Wolinski responded that there are no current plans to widen the alley. "That's not to say it couldn't be done," Mr. Wolinski said, "but widening alleys in Evanston is very difficult unless someone is willing to give up some real estate."

The neighbors also voiced concern about the noise produced by mechanical units in the new building.

Mr. Wolinski said that in response to neighbors' complaints he checked the Optima building at 800 Elgin Road and found what he considered a violation of noise regulations there. The City mechanical code requires that sound from mechanical devices mounted on the exterior of a building not exceed 55 decibels at the property line.

He said existing codes do not specify noise limits for mechanicals housed inside a building, but that reasonable restrictions could be imposed as part of the planned development process.

The Plan Commission will continue its review of the Optima project on May 10.