Editorial

How Will We Fund Affordable Housing?

The affordable-townhome development at 1710-12 Dodge Ave. opened last month for potential buyers. Those two townhomes, which will sell for roughly $185,000 each, were developed, designed and built by some of Evanston's best at a cost of more than half a million dollars for the two, excluding land costs. Overall the City provided subsidies of more than $300,000 for the land purchase and the development.

The rent-to-own development proposed for Church Street and Darrow Avenue - voted down by the City Council earlier this year - would have used nearly $6 million in low-income tax credits, a federal subsidy program for affordable rental housing.

If these two developments show nothing else, they make it clear that public funding is necessary to develop affordable housing in Evanston. Evanstonians now have two different creative options on the table, which are not mutually exclusive.

One option, an inclusionary zoning ordinance, would mandate set-asides for affordable housing units in certain planned developments: Ten percent of the units in planned developments with more than 25 units would be set aside as affordable. A developer could meet this requirement by building only half of the units on site and paying the difference into an affordable-housing fund. City Council recently narrowed the scope of this ordinance and sent it back to its Planning and Development Committee for further discussion and tailoring.

The other option, a 20-percent increase in the real estate transfer tax rate - from $5 to $6 per thousand dollars of value transferred - will appear as a referendum question on the Nov. 7 ballot. (See wording on page 3 of this issue.)

The inclusionary zoning ordinance has languished in committee for more than two years, and not all Council members are behind it even now. Council members are not allowed to advocate for or lobby against the referendum, but other voices have criticized the wording as being self-defeating.

A present alderman, who appears not to support the inclusionary zoning ordinance, advocated putting the referendum on the ballot as a challenge to the community of Evanston as to whether it supports affordable housing. A former alderman and long-time advocate for affordable housing recently wrote to this paper that she cares too deeply about affordable housing to submit a funding mechanism to the voters without first having had "community input and strong consensus" for the mechanism proposed.

Clearly, there are different views, and rival camps are forming over an issue that should be creating allies. Both measures are creative and creditable plans.

Yet more is needed. The City needs to have a comprehensive plan to address the issue of affordable housing on both a Citywide and long-term basis. The referendum and the inclusionary zoning ordinance, should they pass, will be at most building blocks in such a plan, not solutions to this knotty problem. We need to be open to innovative ways to create and maintain affordable housing: develop public-private partnerships, for example, and take full advantage of state and federal funding.

Affordable housing is one of the critical needs in our City. The character of Evanston in five or 10 years will be reflective of the steps we take in the next few months toward keeping Evanston an open, tolerant and economically diverse community.

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Savor Arts Week

Arts Week Evanston begins on Friday. This year's event kicks off in downtown Evanston at 6 p.m. in the plaza at Church Street and Maple Avenue with drumming by S.O.U.L. Creations.

Stop by the many venues that will be displaying local art work - including some studios - meet artists, appreciate their work and creativity. Drop in at the Library to view and comment on the final models for the public art piece that will adorn the corner of Davis Street and Sherman Avenue; attend the dedication of Silver Wings, the sculpture that will be installed in the Arboretum. Take part in one of the participatory activities - make a family totem or contribute your artwork in chalk, paint or sand. Arts Week Evanston is richer and more joyous each year.

It is a feast for the eyes, the mind and the soul. To see what will be going on around town, visit cityofevanston.org.

Stories

By Charles Wilkinson

Were I to ask, "Where does one go to find a good story?" the answers I would get would predictably include one or more of the following:
- the New York Times best-seller list
- Borders, Barnes & Noble, the paperback rack at my neighborhood drug store
- "I have this friend who keeps me informed about really great reads."
- magazines, newspapers, movies and TV

Fact is, stories of every kind are all around us, even in places we seldom think to look, such as within oneself or in a significant other, or in friends and co-workers and sometimes even in passing strangers. Most everyone is drawn to stories, especially when they are different, believable and rich with mind-catching insight.

As a therapist I have learned over many years about the power of sharing one's story with a caring other who, in turn, shares something of self as well. And I have learned that the power lies not in the therapist's hearing and response, but in the telling itself, as long as it is honest, and in how the teller allows himself or herself to hear it. But sharing one's story does not have to be about therapy.

For more than 15 years I have been part of a men's group that has helped me immeasurably to be accountable to my self and the turnings of my life. Not that I have always been honest with them. They have helped me realize that honesty with self is essential to being honest with others, especially with those most important to me.

Something powerful usually happens when one fleshes self out with truth-telling words, especially painful and humbling ones. Others always find pieces of themselves in other's stories, sensing an unspoken invitation to risk telling their own. More often than not, a special growth happens in the process. Looking back over the years of our group's life, acknowledging the still deepening trust we share, I am left in awe of the power of community and friendship.

Every self's story belongs to no one but the person living it. That does not mean that most of it cannot be shared with caring others. Anyone who chooses never to put words to self shortchanges those who love them. Worse, they shortchange self as well.

Afterthought: Should any reader like to know more about how to form a sharing group and/or how such groups get off the ground, please feel free to contact me at the RoundTable. I do not know why, but fall seems the ideal start-up time.

Grandparents Day

By Peggy Tarr

Grandparent's Day was on Sept. 10 this year, a day set aside to show appreciation of grandparents. I was not fortunate enough to have grandparents around during my lifetime, but I remember friends with grandparents in their households or living nearby. Grandparents seemed magical. Some of the "baddest" kids I knew assumed a kind, respectful attitude around their grandparents. Before writing this article on grandparents, I thought I should survey adults who had grandparents while growing up. One woman talked a lot about her grandparents' house, its location, their garden, her grandfather's infinite abilities (construction, research, etc.). "But … how about your feelings about them?" I asked. Her response, summarily, was that they were wonderful.

Another person told me he had had several grandparents and would have to talk about them individually, as each of them was very different. He didn't elaborate, but he made his point: Grandparents are individuals. Another person's appreciation of grandparents was that they are a link to the past, a source of history. Several other people said that their grandparents were simply wonderful; they let them do whatever they wanted to do. They gave them freedom. As a child, I thought of grandparents as being senior citizens - old. I suppose that's why some people would rather not be called "grandmom" or "grandpa."

Need it be said that grandparents come in all ages, colors, shapes, ethnicities, etc? Hope you remember to honor grandparents on Grandparent's Day and throughout the year. Belated but truly heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to grandparents, wherever you are.

"Blessed is the influence of one true, loving soul on another."

-George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans), 1819-80; English novelist.

Letters

Cultural Bridge Needed Between Old and New Evanstonians
Editor:

One can think of Evanston as an intentional retirement community. It has always had more than its share of facilities whose name identified the common interest: Presbyterian, Lutheran and Mather. More than that, Evanston has always had people who chose to stay here as they aged because it had a university and a theater and one's friends were here.

The City Council has now given us many new immigrants who do not know much about Evanston and who came here because the buildings were new rather than because they were old. So perhaps Evanston needs to do some cultural building, in hopes that the newcomers will be able to sense who we are and how good life here can be.

Evanston has a strong preservationist tradition, but it concentrates on houses, not people. The newcomers have just left houses; seeing more old houses is unlikely to help them understand their new home.

The real shortage in Evanston is of memory: The place has turned upside down in only 50 years, and only those who remember Margarette Stitt Church understand how large the change has been. So I think the task is to document the change, beginning with the closing of the Emerson Y and the School Board election of the 60s. It is, on the whole, a good-will story.

A modest beginning could be to remember a sampling of the individuals who made it possible. Ed Vanneman comes immediately to mind, but I didn't know him.

Larry Fitzsimmons and Gene Lavengood, whom I did know, belong in the group. Larry had a memorial tree on the grounds of District 65 as a sort of monument to integration, but no one thought to move it before the developers cleared the site.

Losing an existing symbol of our recent past is not the way to start an exercise in cultural building, so I propose a fund to remedy that, perhaps by planting trees at City Hall.

I will send the Forestry Department a check to start that as soon as I can figure out how to persuade them that this is a step in the right direction.
--Dan Feldman

Let This Bee Over
Editor:

On Monday, Sep. 25 the Health and Human Services Committee will again discuss beekeeping in Evanston. Having twice voted down a ban, some aldermen are now trying to effectively ban beekeeping anyway by requiring a 25-foot setback from neighbors, even though the Council publicly agreed last month that the idea of a setback is meaningless. Aldermen Tisdahl's and Bernstein's sensible suggestion of a neighbor-waiver clause for neighbors who are not bothered by the idea of a hive was nixed. Additionally, the Council agreed that regulating beekeeping is about public perception. The thinking goes like this: Let's effectively ban honeybees, because the citizens of Evanston are too frightened to understand that they really don't pose a threat to them.

How patronizing and cynical. Legal activities, such as beekeeping, do not require City or neighbor permission. The hive in my yard has not injured anyone. Neighbors on the block were unaware that it was there, and most have no problem with it. Three opposing neighbors grow fruits, vegetables and flowers; has anyone thought to wonder about the audacity of cultivating flowers and yet demanding that insects not enter one's yard? Is that logical or reasonable? Do those allergic to bees actually believe that they will be safe from yellow jackets and wasps because honeybees are outlawed?

Evanston has become a laughingstock. Densely populated Chicago encourages beekeeping. The Lawndale Cooperative on the South Side recently won a MacArthur Genius Grant for its work teaching beekeeping to ex-cons. Meanwhile, our Councilmen, listening to the catastrophic cries of a few, treat beekeeping like a crime.

I find many neighborhood activities dangerous or objectionable: The motorcycle across the alley might crash into my yard, and its engine pollutes my air; weed killers dumped on neighbors' lawns make my air and water toxic; dogs bark at 5 a.m., and some look dangerous and might attack if I enter their yards and kick them.

All over Evanston, people are complaining about this waste of time and money. In a City with real problems - failing schools and rising crime - the focus on honeybees is an embarrassment.

--Susan Dickman, Beekeeper

Migration Notation
October honkers pass through the sky
Like autumnal clockwork, they fly by
With perfect vee-shaped form
Headed south where it's warm
Maybe they're smarter than you and I.
--Robert Bagby

Let's Fight Global Warming
Editor:

The famous Serenity Prayer asks God to "grant me the courage to change the things I can" and to have the wisdom to know the difference between what we can and what we cannot change. Global warming is one of the things wisdom tells us we can change, if only now we would have the courage. For those lacking either this wisdom or this courage, this letter is for them.

Here are simple steps recommended by a prominent environmental group to combat global warming. When we think of global warming "globally," it is easy to feel overwhelmed and hopeless. But we have control over our individual contributions and the global picture is made up of these individual pieces. Even when the day dawns that we will have federal and state legislation for global warming (and it will) we will still be required to practice sound environmental practices for our individual lives. The government can't do everything by itself -- it needs our cooperation -- and the government can't legislate us into turning off the lights or buying earth-friendly goods.

Here are a few simple things each of us can do to combat global warming that do make a difference:

1.Right now an unprecedented, bi-partisan bill is being considered in the Congress which will require all major sectors of the U.S. economy to limit greenhouse gas pollution to year-2000 levels by the year 2010. This is vitally important,t as we have only an 8-10 year window of opportunity to significantly bring down greenhouse gas levels to avoid irreversible catastrophic consequences to the environment. We can write to Senators Durbin and Obama and ask them to co-sponsor this vital bill.

2.Fundamentally, decreasing global warming means conserving energy. Almost all of our energy comes from fossil fuels, which create global warming. Here's a simple practice: Make it a strict practice to turn off all lights when exiting a room. It will also reduce electricity bills, which will be going up soon.

3. Make those light bulbs "compact bulbs" special energy-saving bulbs available at standard hardware stores. They last for five years and, according to General Electric Co., can save about $60 in energy costs and last 10 times longer than a standard bulb. Replacing 10 standard bulbs with compact bulbs would net a savings of $600 over the life of the bulbs. A 100-watt bulb will cost just $7.99 -- a good investment for you and the environment. Consider changing all bulbs to compact bulbs. If every household in the United States substituted a compact bulb for even one conventional bulb, it would have the same effect on pollution levels as removing a million cars from the road.

4.Have an energy audit for your home and find money-wasting energy "leaks." Find companies that specialize in this (see for example, www.energydetectives.com) or use the informative do-it-yourself audit at www.energyguide.com. At the very least see that your home is well-insulated, and caulk and weather-strip around doors and windows.

5.Ride a bike, walk or use mass transit whenever possible. Consider, too, the opportunity mass transit gives for reading, reflecting or just resting - impossible while driving.

6.Recycle regularly.

7.Join an environmental group or donate to one.

8. Stay informed.

These are just a few from a long list of possible actions. For more information consult the Internet or books such Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." It lists 35 measures and is an excellent read. Calculate your impact in terms of the greenhouse gases you produce, visit www.climatecrisis.net. The point is to reflect on our lifestyle and see the ways we are environmentally unfriendly and contribute to global warming, and make it a point to change. Together we can make, yes, even a global difference. Thanks for doing your part.
--Michael Zucker

Why I Support United Way
Editor:

Is United Way a charity? What does it do? - United Way does not directly provide services. What we do is support and fund local agencies that do a superior job of helping people in need. The Evanston United Way currently supports 24 local agencies, including the Child Care Center and Child Care Network, Youth Organizations Umbrella, the McGaw YMCA, the YWCA's Domestic Violence program, Connections for the Homeless, The Mental Health Association, Family Focus, the Youth Job Center, the Community Defender Program and Peer Service Substance Abuse program.

How does United Way decide which programs to support?

Every few years, United Way does a community assessment. We interview community leaders in the schools, the health-care system, the faith community, law enforcement and local government. We look at demographics. We then establish funding priorities based on community needs.

United Way scrutinizes its agencies carefully. United Way board members do site visits with each agency. We look at the agencies' financial statements and service goals to be sure that the money spent is having a visible impact on the lives of community members.

But isn't United Way a huge national program? If I contribute, where does my money go?

All money raised by the local Evanston United Way goes to Evanston programs. Although the local United Ways are affiliated with United Way of America, each local United Way decides independently which agencies to support. Money raised in Evanston stays in Evanston.

But didn't I hear that all the local United Ways have merged?

Yes, the Evanston United Way recently merged its operations with the United Way of the North Shore, which includes Glencoe, Wilmette, Barrington, Winnetka and Lake Forest. However, each community still has an independent chapter board and still raises and allocates money in its own home town.

There are lots of good organizations out there. What's so special about United Way?

When you contribute to United Way you are not just helping with one problem, say homelessness or substance abuse. You are helping solve a wide array of social problems because your money goes to a wide variety of programs.

United Way money supports ongoing operations, not just start-ups or special projects. A chronic problem for nonprofits is securing reliable funding for their everyday services. Foundations such as the Evanston Community Foundation give seed money for new programs, but not basic operating grants. United Way is one of the few organizations that does this.

Over the past few years, support from Evanston citizens has been critical to the success of the Evanston United Way campaign. You have funded respite care for seniors, legal counseling for battered women, after-school programs and tutoring for kids, and high- quality preschools that give working parents peace of mind. I hope you will continue to support United Way in the future. It makes an enormous difference in the lives of the people we serve.
--Lesley Williams, Board member, Evanston Chapter - United Way