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Evanstonians Support Chicago Rally

Miles of demonstrators walked through Chicago’s Loop on May 1. In Evanston, many businesses allowed their employees to attend

St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church, which has a large number of Mexicans as well as other immigrant groups in its congregation, sent "quite a large number of parishioners to the rally," said church member Joan McPherson. She also said the pastor, Father Robert Oldershaw, and one sister attended. She said the rally is "something we want to support."

Also sympathetic was Joel Fondell, manger of LePeep, who said he allowed five employees to attend the rally. "I support them, and I support their cause," he told the RoundTable. He said he worked "short-staffed" and had to pay personnel extra money to work. But he added, "I was able to stay open, unlike a lot of businesses around here."

Zigmil Construction allowed employees to attend the rally, and 80 percent of them did so, said Janet Freise, one of the owners. And Kelvin Cement also gave the day off to employees who requested it.

For others, it was business as usual. Many restaurants reported a brisk lunch business. John Reedy, Wolfgang Puck supervisor, said they had a "very busy lunch, and no one called in sick." Asked whether the rally affected their business, Giovanni at Gio said, "Not at all." Manager Kevin Olson said Chili’s was "pretty busy, and [he] hadn’t noticed any effect." Only Portofino’s claimed to have a smaller lunch crowd, attributing that to the rally.

Other employers told a similar story. Manager Chris Javens at the Dominick’s Food Store on Green Bay Road said a few more Hispanic employees than normal requested the day off. He was able to honor their requests, in part because the store is undergoing remodeling. A spokesperson for the Jewel Food Store on Chicago Avenue estimated the impact of the rally on store operations as "zero."

St. Francis Hospital felt "no effect at all" from the rally, said spokesperson Christine Rybicki – "no slowdown."

Evanston Township High School saw no exceptional absences. One ETHS student said, "Most of the Mexicans I know were in school today."

But at District 65, Chief Information Officer Paul Brinson reported a dramatic increase in absences on May 1, as compared to the previous Monday. On April 24 there were 293 absences; on May 1, there were 464. While only 44 Hispanic students missed school on April 24, 233 were absent on May 1, he said.

Jay Terry, director of health and human services for the City, said everything was "normal" at the Health Department and at City Hall. Assistant City Manager Judith Aiello said as far as she knew, there was not even a "ripple effect" in Evanston, either at the City or on major City projects, such as Sherman Plaza.

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Board Elects Erickson

Jerome Summers said, "I personally can’t think of anyone more deserving than Mary Erickson."

Before looking to the future, Ms. Erickson reflected on the Board’s April 24 meeting. "In my almost nine years on the Board, last week’s meeting had to go down as one of the least civil, most mean-spirited meetings which I have ever sat through," she said. "It seemed like everyone wanted to get into the act of disrespecting the Board. I was particularly disappointed by some remarks made by our staff and by a statement read by several former Board members." (See story on page 28.)

Ms. Erickson listed some things she would attempt to do as president of the Board: ensure that the Board and the administration have a close and productive working relationship; ensure the Board has sufficient time and adequate information to make well thought out decisions; make sure the Board gives the administration clear direction on how to proceed, and leave it to the administration to implement the Board’s direction without dictating the details; and conduct meetings as efficiently as possible, including reminding everyone – including the public – that rhetoric is usually self-indulgent.

Ms. Erickson said, "I want to say I have the greatest respect for the Superintendent and his abilities and dedication. We’ve had a good working relationship for the last almost seven years. I will continue to be an encouraging critic in our discussions. I want to state very clearly that the senior staff has my trust and respect."

Ms. Erickson added, "We’ve had a number of rough moments over the last year, and I am afraid we are going to face more this year. I will do my best to head off these moments when I can. I value the contributions every Board member makes to our Board. …"

In other action, the Board approved the appointment of Mary Brown as the District’s new Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Brown holds a doctorate in education administration from Northern Illinois University. For the past seven years Ms. Brown served as the Business Manager of Rivertrails School District 26 in Mount Prospect.

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Inclusionary Zoning

The staff proposal requires developers to make at least 10 percent ofhomes in projects with 25 or more units affordable or pay a fee to an affordable housing fund.

Alderman Edmund Moran, 6th Ward, said the staff proposal would not really be inclusionary, because developers could meet their affordablity burden by paying a fee, rather than including affordable units in their projects.

Alderman Cheryl Wollin, 1st Ward, said the staff’s proposed $63,000 fee in lieu of building an affordable unit was far too low.

Sue Cooney of the North Shore Barrington Association of Realtors said the Council should offer developers incentives, such as density bonuses or a reduction in parking requirements, if they are going to impose the affordable-housing requirement.

But Alderman Steve Bernstein, 4th Ward, said, "We’re already giving away height and density. Now is the time we can say to the developers to provide something in return. As long as we let the developers figure out a definite number for what their projects will cost, they’ll make a determination about whether to come or not based on that bottom line."

Several aldermen said they believe the 15-year affordability control period in the staff proposal was far too short, and that the Council should consider requiring the units to be kept affordable in perpetuity.

However, some aldermen said some aspects of the staff proposal go too far.

Alderman Ann Rainey, 8th Ward, said she could not support the ordinance if, as the staff proposed, it applied to rental housing. She said construction of new rental housing is already too challenging financially to place additional burdens on it.

And she said adopting an ordinance that covered condo conversions, as staff has suggested for a companion measure, "is the biggest mistake we could make."

Alderman Elizabeth Tisdahl, 7th Ward, said that would increase costs for the buyers of converted condos, "and those are exactly the people we should be trying to help."

The City’s legal staff has argued that including new rental construction and condo conversions, as well as new condo projects, is needed to avoid challenges to the ordinance on equal protection grounds.

Ald. Rainey proposed that the Council consider asking voters to raise the real estate transfer tax by $1 from its current $5 per $1000 of sale-price level as an additional way to fund affordable housing.

"It would be very interesting to see if the community at large supports affordable housing with the same verve and energy that the people who come to our meetings do," she said.

Rules Committee Considers RE Transfer Tax Referendum

By Bill Smith

The City Council Rules CommitteeMonday moved toward asking voters this fall to increase the real estate transfer tax to fund affordable housing in Evanston. The committee told the City’s legal staff to draft a resolution that would ask voters to raise the tax by $1 – from $5 to $6 per $1,000 of a property’s sale price.

The measure must have a public hearing and be approved by the full Council, perhaps as early as August, if it is to appear on the ballot in November.

Alderman Ann Rainey, 8th Ward, said, "This will be a referendum on the community’s position on affordable housing. It speaks a lot to the community’s desire for it, and in the long run will generate significant funds for it." Depending on the value of property sales in a given year, she said the increase could generate $500,000 or more a year.

Ald. Rainey, who first suggested the referendum, said proposals the Council is now considering, such as requiring developers to include affordable units in condominium conversion projects, "will put an absolute stop to any new development in my ward."

"I’m looking for a way to see if the community supports affordable housing," she said. "This makes a lot more sense than fining developers."

A survey of nearly 100 metro area communities by First American Title Insurance Company shows only six have transfer taxes higher than Evanston’s current $5 level. The highest were $10 per $1,000 in Berwyn, Cicero and Harwood Heights, followed by an $8 rate in Calumet City and Oak Park.

Fifteen other communities are at the $5 level. The rest either have a lower rate, or impose no transfer tax at all.

The Ordinance on Apiaries Was Ready, But It Was Not to Bee

By Claire Bryant

The Human Services Committee asked for more time Monday night before making a recommendation about an ordinance that would prohibiting residents from keeping bees in Evanston.

Jay Terry, director of health and human services for the City, made the recommendation to ban the bees.

"Oak Park and Berwyn both prohibit beekeeping," he told the RoundTable, "and communities that allow it have distance requirements that most Evanston lots can’t accommodate."

The issue arose when resident Susan Dickson and her son, Gabriel Jacobs, began building a hive in their back yard in the 1500 block of Madison Street.

Once aware of their plans, Dolan McMillan, a neighbor, brought to the City his concerns about the safety of his family, pets and visitors. He outlined these in a Power Point presentation at the May 1 meeting, saying having the bees would be an "intrusion of privacy" and a liability.

"I don’t want to have to assume any risk or responsibility," he said.

Ms. Dickson and her son defended their desire to keep bees and attempted to dispel the common fears associated with bees.

"Honeybees are docile and they rarely sting people," she said. "I am a teacher and a mother and would not do anything without reading and investigating."

She said the hive, which will hold 60,000-80,000 bees, is beneficial to the environment and will be used to help further her son’s interest in honeybees.

When Ms. Dickson asked for supporters of beekeeping to stand, about 15 people from both Evanston and the Illinois Beekeepers Association (ISBA) rose. The list of 17 speakers continued to make their case for or against the ordinance.

John Hanson of the Cook/DuPage County Beekeepers Association works with the bees at the Lincoln Park Zoo. "When I am with the bees I have no protection on and I never get stung. I wouldn’t do it if there was a high risk," he said.

Alderman Ann Rainey, 8th Ward, who attended the meeting, also spoke in support of beekeeping saying "I support every statement pro-beekeeping made."

Yet the aldermen on the Committee were indecisive. Alderman Edmund Moran, 6th Ward, said he could see why people were fascinated with bees and suggested the committee find a community space within the City for residents to keep hives.

Both Aldermen Lionel Jean-Baptiste, 2nd Ward, and Steve Bernstein, 4th Ward, asked to take a field trip to the home of an Evanston resident who currently keeps bees and has had no problems.

"I just don’t know enough right now to make a decision," said Ald. Berstein.

The committee agreed to discuss and voted on the issue at the June 5 Human Service Committee meeting.

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 Councillast weekapproved 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.

Evanston Hospital and What It Gives to the Community

By Mary Gavin

Part 2 of a series
The 476-bed Evanston Hospital, at the corner of Ridge Avenue and Central Street, has been named one of the top 100 hospitals in the country by Solucient for 11 of the past 12 years. As Evanston Hospital, it always drew patients from the North Shore area, but now as a regional hospital it has an even-wider geographical patient base. Operating now as one of the three ENH hospitals, Evanston Hospital is not just for Evanston anymore. ENH makes contributions to the communities where its hospitals are located: Evanston; Highland Park (Highland Park Hospital); and Glenview and Northbrook (Glenbrook Hospital).

The team from Haven Middle School won the Health Bowl, one of the outreach programs sponsored by ENH. Pictured left to right are Kathryn Abendroth, Catherine Fisher, Felix Kombua and Sanghyun Chung.

ENH figures show that in 2005 the organization contributed more than $110 million to the area it considers its community. These contributions are a combination of charity care, write-offs, direct services, reduced-fee services and pass-along grants, said Mark Schroeder of the public relations department of ENH. In addition, many ENH employees volunteer in the communities where they live or work, and ENH counts their volunteer time as part of its contribution to a community. "These contributions are how hospitals live up to their tax-exempt status," he added.

Within the last few years the hospital built a new parking garage, reconfiguring the entrance to minimize the disruption to the neighborhood, and revamped the inside entrance to include a two-story atrium, waterfall, island of bamboo plants and player piano. It has opened its Women’s Hospital and neonatal care unit and constructed a new building in the downtown research park area. While expanding some services, it closed its level-1 trauma unit, leaving St. Francis Hospital the only level-1 trauma unit between Chicago and the Wisconsin border along the North Shore.

Benefits
The way community residents view these changes, as well as their expectations from a top-ranked hospital, may differ from the perceptions of the authorities who run it. Hospital officials may look at the large-scale and long-term benefits of such things as education and research, while residents, whose property taxes absorb the hospital’s obligations, may expect more. And some elected officials at the state and county level who live in Evanston criticize ENH for failing to provide enough health care to indigent and uninsured persons to make a difference in the community.

Ray Grady, president of Evanston Hospital, believes that the research and teaching that go on in the ENH hospitals are benefits to the community and should be valued as such.

"When most people hear ‘community benefit,’" said Mr. Grady, "they think of the free medical care that we provide to people who are unable to pay. That is one important component of community benefit, but the definition is so much broader – encompassing the spectrum of health programs and medical services that improve the health of our communities, but for which we receive little or no payment. We offer these services, such as trauma centers, mental health care, community clinics and educational programs, simply because our community needs them."

Though relatively unknown in its home town, ENH also has a research arm, the Research Institute. Leo Selker, head of the ENH Research Institute, said that institute is like "Evanston’s own Mayo Clinic." He also said the research conducted at ENH’s three hospitals, at the institute itself and the Pancoe Building at Northwestern University lead to better health care practices, thus benefiting – albeit indirectly and not exclusively – the Evanston community.

Terra Levin, regional director of the American Cancer Society, said many employees of both St. Francis Hospital and Evanston Hospital volunteer as speakers on various health topics and serve on the ACS board of directors. She says both hospitals offer cancer screenings. For example, at the Relay for Life (a fundraiser for breast cancer research) ENH offered skin cancer screenings as well as other information.

"Doctors who speak Spanish also come to our Latino health fairs," said Ms. Levin. "Even if they are asked to speak on a certain topic, they’re open to talking about any health issues, to keep the conversation about health going."

Ms. Levin says both hospitals provide an invaluable service to ACS, because their nurses alert cancer patients to ACS support services. "We couldn’t do our patient services without St. Francis and Evanston Hospital nurses. They advise patients of what we offer – such as transportation to radiation and chemotherapy treatments – so patients know of them even before they leave the hospital.

Among the indirect benefits that Evanston Hospital provides is its collaboration with the City of Evanston. Officials from Evanston Hospital meet regularly with the City to plan for emergencies. "The collaboration is going well, and we find them more than cooperative," said Jay Terry, director of health and human services for the City. In the process of setting up a medical reserve corps, Max Rubin, director of facilities management and emergency management for the City, said hospital officials have been "nothing but cooperative."

Several organizations, including Evanston’s two school districts, received a total of $270,000 from ENH last year: the Evanston Community Foundation, the 4th of July Association, Evanston Inventure, Connections for the Homeless, Dr. Martin Luther King Dinner, Family Focus, Fellowship of Afro-American Males, First Night Evanston, Housing Options, King Lab Magnet School PTA, Ricky Byrdsong Memorial 5K Race Against Hate, the Ted Fund, the Cradle Foundation, YWCA Evanston/Northshore (for its domestic violence services) and Youth Organization Umbrella and the Youth Job Center.

ENH has been the main funder of the Evanston Township High School school-based health center since its inception nearly a decade ago; the other sponsors are ETHS and the City’s health department, with additional funding from the Illinois Department of Human Services. The health center has physicians, a nurse practitioner, social workers and a public health nurse "to provide primary health care and psychosocial services to all students who have a parental consent form completed and on file," according to ETHS.

Through the ETHS health center, School District 65 received a grant from the Visiting Nurses Association to fund a nurse practitioner for eight hours each week. ENH officials secured the one-year grant and have reapplied for it for next year.

Terra Levin of the American Cancer Society says, "We couldn’t do our patient services without St. Francis and Evanston Hospital nurses."

Mary Larson, who coordinates the school nurses at District 65 schools, said, "The nurse practitioner gives out information at the schools or meets with families," she said. ENH is "a pleasure to work with." Not only did Mr. Schroeder initiate a grant to the McGaw YMCA to help defray expenses for the District’s sports programs, but he "also helped in getting employee health information out and helped with a last-minute flu-shot clinic when the one I’d arranged fell through. …Especially this year ENH has really been there for us." The high school has reapplied for the grant, she said.

Another community benefit that Evanston Hospital points to is its leadership in making all its patient information electronic. This allows all of a patient’s caregivers access to the same information, which can be updated even daily. "This is very important, because it can speed up care to patients, minimize mistakes," said Mr. Grady.

Mr. Terry said, "Evanston Hospital’s computerization of patient information is one of the best innovations for us."

State Representative Julie Hamos agrees on its importance. "I am proud to say that Evanston Hospital is one of the state leaders in computerization of its information system. I have appreciated its leadership." However she cautioned, "It’s going to be very challenging for the big hospitals to share this kind of information – which should go with the patient. The big hospitals make a big investment in the system and don’t want to share."

Community perception
While many City officials and Evanston organizations have nothing but praise for Evanston Hospital and the largess of ENH, other sectors of the community feel differently. Some critics feel these contributions are, by any standards, insufficient for a top-ranked hospital in a community with a significant low-income population. Others, more skeptical, feel the recent increase in donations and visibility stems from a fear that ENH and other hospitals may be held accountable by State authorities to justify their tax-exempt status.

Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin said it was clear to him several years ago, when Evanston Hospital tried to purchase the former Community Hospital [the historically African-American Hospital] on Brown Avenue, "that in the African-American community Evanston Hospital’s reputation was not very good." He also said Evanston Hospital invited him and several other politicians as well as community representatives to a breakfast last November, "and I think they were stunned at how badly people thought of them."

Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin said Evanston Hospital officials were "stunned at how badly people thought of them."

That clinic, which offers services on a sliding-fee scale to low-income and uninsured patients, has been around since 1980, but critics have accused the hospital of deliberately keeping it quiet. "It’s been criticized as being one of Evanston’s best-kept secrets," said Mr. Terry.

Yet ENH says that over the past four years the clinic averaged 17,110 visits per year. The clinic offers 14 different clinical specialties, with more than 100 physicians, nine nurses and one technician staffing the clinic over the course of a year, Mr. Grady said. "Patients are assigned a primary care physician who arranges referrals for any services not provided in the clinic. Most often these physicians are on staff at ENH and offer their services at a reduced cost."

The City’s Mr. Terry agrees only in part. "I think anyone can get a good physical exam in this community for free or for not a lot of money." However, he said, follow-up treatment is more difficult to come by: "Getting a physician to follow up and treat a low-income or uninsured patient with, say, cancer, is very difficult." he said.

In fact, it was only this spring that ENH began a visible aggressive promotion. Asked why the hospital was promoting its clinic now, after 26 years, Mr. Schroeder said, "It’s the right thing to do, to make people aware of it."

He said the hospital "collaborated with the City and the McGaw YMCA, and now our outreach notices are at 39 locations in Evanston where people who would use the clinic will see them." He added, "In the first month we saw an increase of 71 patients."

Evanston Hospital President Ray Grady says, "Our charity care policies are grounded in providing financial assistance and counseling for uninsured people of limited means without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, religion or national origin..."

Commissioner Suffredin said he has heard that Evanston Hospital has also eased up on the myriad red tape and paperwork potential patients had to confront to prove they qualified for services. "Now we’ve referred some people to them," he said.

Care for the poor
ENH feels that providing direct care for low-income and uninsured patients is only one aspect of the benefits they offer to their community. However, Representative Hamos feels it is a major obligation and one which ENH fails to meet.

Data from the Illinois Health Planning Board show that in 2004 Evanston Hospital had 36,000 emergency room cases, a total of 19,000 admissions to the hospital and 86,000 outpatient cases. Of these, 4,842 were Medicare patients; 1,035 were Medicaid patients and 329 were reported as "charity care."

"We care for patients in government-sponsored programs such as Medicare, but the payments we receive don’t cover the cost of providing the care. We absorb the difference as a form of community benefit," he said.

"Our unreimbursed costs for Medicare and Medicaid went up $10 million in the last fiscal year," said Mr. Schroeder. Yet, say Mr. Grady and Mr. Schroeder, anyone who needs health care will be treated at Evanston Hospital.

"We don’t turn anyone away," said Mr. Schroeder. "We have signs posted that tell everyone who comes in that they will be treated regardless of their ability to pay.

Mr. Grady said the hospital has counselors that will then help patients figure out how to pay their bills. He said bills are not turned over to a collection agency as long as the person continues to cooperate with ENH.

"Our charity care policies are grounded in these guiding principles: providing financial assistance and counseling for uninsured people of limited means without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, religion or national origin; offering charity care to patients and families who have incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, once they demonstrate the need; making information about the hospital’s financial assistance policy easily available to the public in English and Spanish with notices posted (approximately 17"x17" posters) in our Emergency and Outpatient Departments and on all patient invoices."

Attorney General Lisa Madigan last year urged the State legislature to pass legislation mandating that tax-exempt hospitals provide free health care to low-income persons in order to retain their tax-exempt status.

Although Rep. Hamos did not support the proposed bill, she said hospitals, including Evanston Hospital, need to give more health care to the poor. "I would like to see Evanston Hospital do more. ...Evanston Hospital is not really part of the Medicaid program. Both [State] Senator [Jeff] Schoenberg and I were disappointed that they dropped their level-1 trauma obligation. ...When it comes to low-income people and people who have traumas, they have really opted out," she says.

Rep. Hamos said that when Ms. Madigan proposed the mandatory contributions by hospitals, she received a letter from Mr. Grady saying that the costs would be too steep for them and would "wipe out their bottom line." Rep. Hamos added that Mr. Grady referred to the mandatory contributions as a "tax." Asked what she would call it, Rep. Hamos said, "I would call charity care an investment in our needy population that cannot afford health care."

State Representative Julie Hamos says, "When it comes to low-income people and people who have traumas [Evanston Hospital has] really opted out."

Mr. Grady said, however, "There is really no such thing as "free" medical care – someone, whether a hospital or the taxpayers, must bear the cost. Without non-profit hospitals, state and local government would have to step in to directly meet the community’s health care needs. Because hospitals are here to care for the sick, they serve the public good, and thus earn their tax-exempt status."

He said that teaching and research are other parts of ENH’s charitable mission. "Teaching hospitals like ours subsidize these programs because of their obvious importance to the future of medicine. It’s important to understand that hospitals are granted nonprofit status because they serve the public good and relieve the burden of government."

Yet Rep. Hamos said the issue of tax-exemption for hospitals that do not give sufficient charity care should be considered further. "We’ve never really looked at any hospital in the way that the Attorney General is asking us to look. I think we have to quantify it somewhat and push hospitals harder than they want to be pushed. It’s a responsibility that’s upon us," she said, adding, "This issue is not going away."

No "Mower" Pollution

Everyone is invited to drop off old gas-powered lawn equipment and old gas cans at the City of Evanston’s "No ‘Mower’ Pollution Recycling/Rebate Event," to be held 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. on May 20 at the Recycling Center, 2222 Oakton St.

For each piece of hand-held gasoline-powered lawn-care equipment recycled, community members are eligible for up to a $50 rebate toward the purchase of the non-gasoline-powered replacement. For each gas lawn mower turned in, community members are eligible for up to a $150 rebate toward the purchase of a non-gas-powered mower. Proof of purchase by June 30 is required. Commercial lawn service companies are not eligible to participate.

Community members turning in old gas cans will receive free gas cans that minimize emission losses. The gasoline and oil will be safely removed and disposed of by Clean Harbors Environmental Services.
The event is designed to improve air quality by lowering the amount of smog-forming pollutants and energy consumption caused by gas-powered lawn equipment. Call 847-866-2947.

Energy Commission Sees Improvements in ComEd Service

By Mary Helt Gavin

It seems that the light bulb has finally gone on in the head of corporate Commonwealth Edison.

In late March the members of the City’s Energy Commission presented a report about service provided by ComEd over the past year and a half. The report, positive overall, came at the mid-point in the three-year extension of the City’s franchise with ComEd. Within the next several months, the City will decide whether and on what terms to negotiate another franchise with ComEd, this one, like the previous one, for about 35 years.

When the franchise was up for renewal, ComEd’s service to the City was poor, prompting the City to demand a three-year extension on the franchise. During that time ComEd was to improve service and reduce outages and blackouts.

Of particular concern to the Energy Commission and the Technical Review group – composed of representatives from the Energy Commission, the City and ComEd – were the number and frequency of power outages and the overloading of feeders.

Now, according to the March 30 Energy Commission report, "reliability has improved dramatically since the 1980s and 1990s, when outages were frequent in number and extended in duration. This improvement has occurred strikingly since the mid-1990s and continues today."

ComEd’s average number of failures per customer at the end of December 2005 was 1.2 per year for its system, 1.12 for the North Shore area and 0.63 for Evanston, according to the report. In duration of outages – of particular concern to the Committee – Evanston is "superior to the region and the North Shore," the report said.

The average length of power failure per customer system wide is 103 minutes; in the North Shore it is 111 minutes but only 88 minutes in Evanston. In 2004 the average number of failures per customer system wide was 1.24 and .67 in Evanston; the average length of power failure per customer was 128 minutes system wide and 95 minutes in Evanston.

The Commission said, however, it had "less comfort" in the areas of feeder loading and back-up capacity. In January 18 feeders were listed as loaded over 90 percent, with three of those loaded over 100 percent, according to the report, which added, "No remedial work was listed as planned, although two feeders previously loaded to 90 percent were no longer on the list."

These numbers are higher than those from the previous year, when 11 feeders were listed as loaded more than 90 percent and two were over 100 percent, with work planned for those two, the report stated.

ComEd is also looking at ways to serve the new developments in Evanston, according to the report. They will have a new feeder to serve Evanston Hospital by the summer of 2007. This will free up capacity for the new construction in Sherman Plaza, some of which will come on line this year.

ComEd provided a list of its Evanston customers with large service demands, so the City could look at the possibility of correlating circuit loads with specific customers. The hope was to convince the largest users of electricity – Northwestern University, the City’s water pumping station, the hospitals, Evanston Township High School and Robert Crown Center – to conserve electricity, thereby reducing loads on feeders, saving energy and increasing reliability, the report said.

It concluded, "ComEd is not currently promoting any conservation programs; however, if the Technical Review Group and the Energy Commission can convince large users to conserve energy and thereby reduce loads on feeders, reliability will have been joined with conservation and consequently reducing feeder load, lowering costs and increasing reliability."

The Energy Commission’s goals for next year include monitoring reliability; developing and implementing energy alternatives and conservation; identifying goals and priorities for the upcoming franchise agreement negotiations; and keeping tabs on construction in Evanston.