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A Tour of the Tax Bill

Fifteen taxing bodies take a bite out of the property tax bill of Evanston residents - 16 for those who reside in the Ridgeville Park District. Of these, School District 65 gets the lion's share, nearly 39 percent, followed by School District 202 with 27 percent, down to the suburban tuberculosis sanitarium, which receives .04 percent of the bill.

The two school districts take about two-thirds of the property tax revenues.

School District 65: 39 percent
Evanston/Skokie Community Consolidated School District 65 encompasses all of Evanston and parts of eastern Skokie. While Evanston's population is about 73,000, the population of District 65 (and District 202, which is coterminous with District 65) is about 78,000. District 65 operates 10 elementary schools, three middle schools, two magnet schools and one special services school, serving a total of about 6,700 students. It receives 75 percent of its annual operating revenues from property taxes. District 65 is budgeting a total of $86 million in operating revenues for 2006-07.

School District 202: 27 percent
Like District 65, District 202, the district for Evanston Township High School, receives the bulk of its annual operating revenues from property taxes. 

With a projected budget of nearly $65 million for the upcoming school year, the District serves approximately 3,200 students in its day and evening classes.

School districts in Illinois can increase their property-tax levy only a certain amount each year. That amount, known as the tax cap, is tied to the consumer price index, and it applies to all property in the school district except new construction.

Some school districts, including Districts 65 and 202, charge student fees for certain school programs.

The City of Evanston gets 19 percent
The City of Evanston has a city-manager form of government. The nine aldermen, together with the mayor, are members of the City Council, which makes policy and hires the city manager.

City services are funded for the most part through property taxes. The City may also raise funds through other forms of taxes, such as sales and parking taxes, and fees, such as those for vehicle stickers.

The bulk of the City's operating expenses goes toward salaries - for police, fire, parks/forestry, streets and sanitation workers, for example. Property-tax revenues also pay debt service on City loans and bonds and contribute to police and fire pension funds.

As with the school districts, capital projects for the City are funded separately.

County of Cook, Cook County Public Safety, Cook County Health Facilities and the Cook County Forest Preserve District: 7.69 percent
The County of Cook has an annual budget of $3.1 billion and employs 26,400 persons. The County operates health services; the circuit court and juvenile systems, including the offices of State's Attorney, public guardian and public defender; and recreational areas such as the forest preserves and the Brookfield Zoo.

Stroger Hospital is the primary health-care facility for the underinsured in Cook County, and there are other County health clinics. The Forest Preserve District oversees 67,000 acres of forest in Cook County, including Dwight Perkins Woods in northwest Evanston.

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago: 4.03 percent
The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRDGC) serves an area of 883 square miles, which includes the City of Chicago and 125 suburban communities.

The District serves an equivalent population of 10.35 million people: 5.25 million real people, a commercial and industrial equivalent of 4.5 million people, and a combined sewer-overflow equivalent of 0.6 million people.

The nine MWRDGC Commissioners are elected to four-year terms. The MWRDGC's budget for 2006 was $1 billion, and it employed more than 2,100 persons in 2005.

The MWRD owns the land through which the North Shore Channel ("the canal") flows. The Ladd Arboretum, Peter Jans Golf Course, the Skokie-North Shore Sculpture Park and Pooch Park and its adjacent soccer fields are located on the MWRDGC right-of-way.

According to its website, the MWRDGC was originally organized "in direct response to a typhoid and cholera epidemic which killed thousands of City residents.

The District reversed the flow of the Chicago and Calumet river systems to divert contaminated water from Lake Michigan, [so] it could be diluted as it flowed into the Des Plaines River and eventually the Mississippi River."

The Tunnel and Reservoir Project ("Deep Tunnel") is one of the country's largest public works projects for pollution and flood control.

In addition the MWRDGC owns and operates one of the world's largest water reclamation plants in Stickney, in addition to six other plants and 23 pumping stations.

It treats an average of 1.5 billion gallons of waste-water each day, and its total waste-water treatment capacity is more than two billion gallons per day, according to the website.

The MWRDGC controls approximately 76 miles of navigable waterways, which are part of a national system connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes with the Gulf of Mexico.

Oakton College District: 2.08 percent
Oakton Community College District 535 serves 450,000 residents in the communities of Evanston, Glencoe, Glenview, Golf, Kenilworth, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Northfield, Park Ridge, Skokie, Wilmette and Winnetka, as well as parts of Des Plaines and Rosemont. 

There are two campuses, one at 1600 Golf Road in Des Plaines and the other at 7701 N. Lincoln Ave. in Skokie.

On average Oakton has 11,000 students taking courses for credit each semester, and 10,000 non-credit students. It has 152 full-time and 466 part-time faculty members. Evanston resident Emory Williams is one of the eight trustees of Oakton Community College. Trustees are elected to six-year terms.

Town[ship] of Evanston: .73 percent
The Township of Evanston levies taxes in two separate funds: General Assistance and the Town Fund. Evanston aldermen are trustees of the township, and the township supervisor (at present, Patricia Vance) is elected. General Assistance is provided to clients who may not qualify for other types of government assistance - including a monthly stipend, access to medical care, job preparation and training, etc. The Township Assessor (at present, Sharon Eckersall) offers assistance to residents who wish to appeal their property tax bills.

Consolidated Elections: .32 percent
Before 1979, municipalities levied funds on their own to pay for local elections. Now that elections are consolidated - that is, local, state and national elections are held on the same day - funds are levied through the county.

Funds from Cook County Consolidated Elections help pay for the costs of these consolidated elections, said Kelly Quinn of the County Clerk's office. The levy on the current tax bill is part of the levy for 2005, to pay for the 2005 consolidated municipal elections (school board, mayoral and aldermanic elections in Evanston, for example), generally held the first Tuesday in April. There is no levy in even-numbered years, Ms. Quinn added.

North Shore Mosquito Abatement District: .10 percent
The North Shore Mosquito Abatement District (NSMAD) is responsible for keeping down the mosquito population though adulticide and larvicide. With a budget of $1 million and nine full-time employees, NSMAD serves 13 communities.

Suburban TB Sanitarium: .04 percent
Although the Suburban Cook County Tuberculosis Sanitarium is at the top of the list of taxing bodies, it may be the entity least recognized by taxpayers, and next year may be the last time it appears on the tax bill.

The sanitarium, which was established by referendum in 1947 and began operations in 1949 in suburban Forest Park, has been dissolved by the State legislature, effective next year. The Cook County Department of Public Health Board is charged with assuming responsibility for the care and treatment of its tuberculosis patients.

At present the sanitarium has one mobile unit that generally serves Cook County residents but is now on loan to New Orleans to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

In addition to its Forest Park facility, the Sanitarium rents space adjacent to the City's Health Department, on the ground floor of the Civic Center. Carla Bush of the Health Department said the sanitarium performs chest X-rays on Mondays and conducts tuberculosis screenings at least once a month.

According to information on its website, www.suburbantb.org, last year the District reported 82,776 clinic visits at which care was provided on an ongoing basis.  In addition, new active tuberculosis cases totaled 120, a 32-percent increase over the previous year. Last year 2,519 patients were treated for latent tuberculosis infection.

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Resilience and Grace: PomKits Return in Style

Recently their press has been local: Having lost their fall season in the budget squeeze last year, they appeared before the School Board to request that funding be restored and explain to the Board the importance of their group. Although they did not recieve the funds, the squad bounced back this summer, thanks to volunteer coaches Nicole Eason and Casey Scherrer.

Not missing a beat, the girls triumphed twice in state competition at Dekalb this summer and were asked to compete in the nationals: Not only did their routines win honors, they were chosen as the group that showed the most leadership among the group of 25 competing teams. 

But there also are victories are closer to home: Coaches Eason and Casey Scherrer,  former PomKits themselves, are volunteering their time over the summer and the upcoming year. "I'll be here for the football season and Nicole will take basketball," Ms. Scherrer told the RoundTable.

The squad decided to decline the invitation to compete in the nationals, only partly because of funding. "Only the eight girls who performed that routine would go, and one of them couldn't make it." explained PomKit Torrie Davis. At home in Evanston for the remainder of the summer, they are practicing at least three afternoons a week. "We're going to stay here and get our reputation back," said Ms. Scherrer.

Congresswoman Defends Her Stance on Middle-East Conflict

By Mary Helt Gavin

About two weeks before the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, more than 100 peace activists confronted Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky at her regular community meeting, asking her to reconsider her stance on that conflict. Most supported a call for an immediate cease-fire, because of the mounting civilian casualties, particularly in Lebanon, where supplies and means of escape were cut off by Israeli bombs.

During the two-hour meeting, which she immediately converted to a town-hall style, the congresswoman reiterated her position: that Israel had a right to defend itself from the militia Hezbollah, whose stated mission is the destruction of Israel, and that she favored a sustainable peace, which she believed would come about only with a multinational agreement.  Yet most of her constituents who showed up that night emphasized the devastation of the bombings and requested that she join the call for an immediate cease-fire.

 "As a Jew, I feel sickened by what Israel is doing," said Lynn Pollack of Not in My Name. "Israel is in more danger now. I would lift up the voices in Israel, in Lebanon and in Palestine."

Said Jevoid Simmons of Evanston, "You and your colleagues [in Congress] have blood on your hands.... Somebody has to take [a] leadership [position]."

Anya Cordell of the Campaign for Collateral Compassion read a letter from Kathy Kelly of Voices in the Wilderness, asking the congresswomen to consider the innocent civilians, particularly the women and children in Lebanon left homeless and without resources by this conflict.

Ms. Schakowsky was on more comfortable turf when she criticized the present administration and the war in Iraq. Asked whether she would support a petition or a question on the November ballot to get the United States out of the Iraq war, she responded, "The way we can build pressure to get out of Iraq is to support [such petitions]. The Congress of the United States has ceded way too much power to this president.... I think after three years the American people are seeing with pretty clear eyes that this is a war based on lies. Those of us who were around [during the Vietnam conflict] know that popular action will help get us out."

In a statement released July 20, Ms. Schakowsky said. "As a Jew, as someone who loves Israel, and as a member of Congress, I stand in solidarity with the people of Israel.... It is long past due for the international community to implement fully U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559, adopted in September 2004, which calls for the Lebanese army to secure southern Lebanon's border and for Hezbollah to be disarmed and disbanded. "

A few days after the cease-fire, Ms. Schakowsky told the RoundTable she felt the Lebanese and United Nations forces "will have more authority in enforcing the cease-fire....What's unclear is the role of Hezbollah. The U.N. agreement calls for its disarmament." She added that she was "never against a cease-fire but wanted to support one that was sustainable, not one that would create space for Hezbollah to re-arm."

In a separate interview, Ms. Fonda said she gave the congresswoman credit for listening to her constituents. "When she saw all of us there, she said, ‘I'm making this a town-hall meeting.'  She loves Israel and she supports their right to defend themselves against Hezbollah," said Ms. Fonda. "We wanted her to stand for peace throughout the Middle East."

Evanstonian Bikes Half a Continent in Support of Cancer Research

By Chris Cascarano

Harvey Dershin coasts on an empty road in the western United States during his 2,300-mile bike trip.

As a test of his own strength and a means to raise money for charity, a 69-year-old man rode his bicycle from Washington State to his home in Evanston. Pedaling 50 to 70 miles a day, Harvey Dershin crossed 2,300 miles of the western United States and raised money to be contributed to cancer research.

Mr. Dershin, a management consultant and engineer, has been an Evanston resident for more than 30 years and a cyclist all his life, he told the RoundTable.

During the trip Mr. Dershin's wife, Barbara,  followed along in an SUV for support, and for the first 1000 miles Mr. Dershin's son David accompanied him also on a bicycle.  

Planning and training for the trip began in January for the June 15 push off. Most of Mr. Dershin's training took place in a gym on an exer-cycle for distances of 20 to 40 miles -- mainly on weekends because of his busy work schedule and frequent business trips, he said.

To find routes, Mr. Dershin used trip-planners and maps from cycling organizations. These maps navigate riders through state routes and country roads with minimal traffic to keep riders safe.

Beginning in Anacortes, Wash., Mr. Dershin meandered through the mountains to Idaho, then through Montana - following the edge of Glacier National Park - and on to North Dakota and Minnesota.

"As the trip went on, I just kept getting stronger," said Mr. Dershin.

Between Stillwater, Minn. and Milwaukee, Wis., Mr. Dershin joined his wife in the car to rest for his homecoming ride on July 29.

Unknown to Mr. Dershin, his daughter, Sharon Dershin, alerted local police, neighbors, friends and City officials of his arrival. Just north of his home, Mr. Dershin was met by Evanston police officers on bicycles and escorted to his house, where he was greeted by Mayor Lorraine Morton, family and friends with champagne and cake to celebrate his 70th birthday. 

"We thought fundraising would be useful to make the trip more productive," said Mr. Dershin, who arranged for donations for his trip to be contributed to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Mr. Dershin said he raised more than $5,000 in donations from friends and relatives.

Referendum to Seek Increase in Real-Estate Transfer Tax

By Bill Smith 

Evanston aldermen have voted to place a referendum on the November ballot seeking approval of a 20-percent increase in the real-estate transfer tax to fund affordable housing programs. The referendum would increase the tax rate from $5 to $6 per $1,000 of a property's selling price.

Alderman Ann Rainey, 8th Ward, said at the City Council's Aug. 14 meeting, "For years we have been entertaining advocates who say we do not have enough affordable housing.

"They've said we should charge developers a fee or make them put affordable units in brand-new high-rise condos. They have all sorts of plans for other people's money," she added.

The referendum, she said, "would be the most reasonable way to get people in the community to put their money where their mouth is. Instead of just focusing on the developer, this would be a way the whole community could contribute."

Realtor Don Schollenberger of 1864 Sherman Ave. criticized the transfer-tax increase, saying it would severely hurt the elderly who are selling their homes to move into a retirement community.

"These are often $300,000-and-under homes, and the owners need every penny from the sale to cover their costs," Mr. Schollenberger said. "This is a repressive tax against these people in particular."

He suggested that, given increasing property values, the City should be able to take a portion of existing transfer-tax revenues and use that for affordable housing.

The City last year raised just over $4 million from the transfer tax and has anticipated the same amount in this year's budget. So a 20-percent increase in the tax could be expected to generate about $800,000 a year for affordable housing.

Evanston's real-estate transfer tax is already among the highest in the region, although a few Cook County communities impose a transfer tax as high as $10 per $1,000.

Corrections and Clarification

The article "New Mural at Great Harvest" in the Aug. 9 issue of the RoundTable stated that the Evanston Arts Council was involved with approving the mural. Mural requests are considered by the City of Evanston's Public Art Committee, not the Evanston Arts Council.

In that same issue, an article about lake and beach pollution stated that if lake water is found to be polluted, the beaches are closed "that day." Because the testing takes 24 hours, the day on which beaches are closed is the day on which the results are obtained, which is one day later than when the water is tested. 

Also, Sarah Brackett, assisted by Anne Purdy and Hannah London, not Penelope Whiteside, wrote "Evanston Can Now Breathe Cleaner Air," which appeared in the July 26 edition of the RoundTable.
The RoundTable regrets the errors.

Central Street Moratorium Proposed

The City Council next month is scheduled to adopt an ordinance that would block issuance of building permits for 180 days on Central Street from 2200 Central east to Ashland Avenue.  The proposal was approved 8-0 for introduction, on a motion by Alderman Elizabeth Tisdahl, 7th Ward.

It would not apply to projects that are already under review, such as the condo development at the Evanston Theater site, or to projects submitted before the ordinance is given final approval, which is expected at the Council's Sept. 11 meeting.

The moratorium is intended to give the City time to conduct a study that will recommend streetscape improvements and possible zoning changes for the area near the Central Street Metra station. The study would cover a broader area than the moratorium, running along Central Street from Crawford Avenue east to Ridge Avenue and on Green Bay Road from Livingston Street south to Lincoln Street.

Conflict Arises Over Central Street  Development Plans

By Bill Smith 

Neighbors have given mixed reviews to a proposed condominium development on the Evanston Theater site at 1700-1722 Central St.

At a Plan Commission hearing Aug. 9, Michael Horvich, 2635 Poplar Ave., called the five-story, 55-unit project "a huge elephant on the streetscape."

"I like circuses," Mr. Horvich told the Plan Commission, "but this project will tower over and invade the privacy of nearby single-family homes, worsen serious parking, traffic and safety problems and will degrade a pedestrian-friendly shopping area."

But Tim McGuire, 1708 Harrison St., said the project "is a great design  that will improve a really rundown section of Central Street.

"Something like this will bring in additional tax dollars and improve the quality of the neighborhood. It will increase the value of homes and make the area a better place to live," Mr. McGuire said.

The developers offered new renderings of their design at the meeting.

One showed a setback of the façade above the third-story level at the northwest corner of the building, which the developers said was a response to neighbors' concerns about the bulk of the project.

Plan Commission Chairman Albert Hunter said, "This is one of the sticking points I had about the first design -- what's the visual impact on people moving down Central Street? This reduces that impact dramatically."

Another rendering was intended to compare the scale of the proposed new building to that of older apartment buildings nearby, although some neighbors disputed the accuracy of the comparison. The proposed building would be 57 feet tall, the maximum permitted with planned development allowances in the property's B2 zoning district.

City Transportation Director John Burke, in a memo presented at the hearing, reported that the project is expected to more than triple traffic in the alley behind the site -- from 17 to 60 vehicles per hour at the peak afternoon rush hour.

He said the alley is narrow -- about 13 feet, 8 inches wide -- but that with garage aprons and parking areas along the alley cars can pass each other safely.

Utility poles also reduce the alley's width, and developer John Crocker said he plans to work with Commonwealth Edison to get the utility service placed underground.

Mr. Burke said the planned 1.5-foot setback of the new building from the alley property line would also help with traffic access. He said the alley could also be made one-way, but that is a decision usually made in consultation with neighbors. He also said that reducing the extent of the walls screening the loading dock would make access there easier and reduce the likelihood that trucks would block the alley while loading and unloading.

Although several neighbors voiced fears that the project would create parking problems in the neighborhood, Mr. Burke said a City parking study indicates there is enough parking capacity for both shoppers and residents in the area.

John Enright, owner of the Bluestone restaurant at 1932 Central St., said he favors the project and hopes to be able to lease space in the proposed building to open another restaurant, which would serve Mexican food.

Chris Carey, 2739 Girard Ave., who chairs the City's Preservation Commission, said he believes the project has been sensitively designed by people who care about Evanston and care about historic preservation.

He noted that the Preservation Commission has already approved the developers' plans to restore a Victorian cottage on the west end of the site.

But retired architect Gregory Mayer, 2635 Poplar Ave., said the design "manipulates and takes advantage of the site to serve the developers' purposes."

The Plan Commission is scheduled to hear more testimony on the project at its Sept. 13 meeting.