4 April 2007
Volume X Number 6

EVANSTON
ELECTION SECTION > > >

School board candidate forum/interviews will be held every night through next Monday on the ETHS Cable Channel 18.

The D202 Candidates' Forum organized by the League of Women Voters of Evanston will run at 6:30pm each night, followed by the D202 and D65 interviews conducted by the Candidate Nominating Committee.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE > >

Traffic Guy

The Traffic Guy Hears...

Traffic Guy
... that Howard Street east of Ridge continues to be one lane in each direction as the Bristol high-rise rises. Speaking of Howard Street, TG hears that ENH is moving its facility at 815 Howard Street, the North Shore Same Day Surgery Center, over to Touhy Avenue in Lincolnwood. But back in town, Evanston Hospital is looking to expand its lobby.

... that a few eateries have already applied for sidewalk café licenses: Chipotle Mexican Grill and Dixie Kitchen downtown and Trattoria D.O.C. on Main Street.

... that, despite what TG reported before, the traffic light at Dempster Street and the Evanston Plaza parking lot is still the plaything of the Traffic Light Imp. Sometimes the light is green overly long for the Dempster drivers, and sometimes they just have to wait out a long red light for the shoppers (even when there aren't any), backing up traffic to Dodge or worse. Sometimes it flashes yellow and sometimes red. At one point, TG hears, the lights were flashing yellow along Dodge, but someone still rolled out the stop signs there - giving everyone an interesting choice. No one has been hurt there yet, but that may be dumb luck rather than sound traffic planning.

... that we all have to watch for these "guerilla" holes that are appearing for a few days' worth of digging here and there around the City. Just little surprises on the road of life.

... that street cleaning and yard-waste pickup began this week. Speaking of surprises, though, isn't it great to have daytime street cleaning in the residential areas? You can check out the exact cleaning schedule at www.cityofevanston.org or by calling the Division of Streets and Sanitation, 847-866-2940.

Don't forget that there are a few changes with yard waste: no drop-offs, for one, chiefly because of the emerald ash borer; and mandated separation of yard waste from the rest of the trash. Put the yard waste in a City yard-waste cart or a paper bag or spread it as mulch on the garden or yard. And, remember, friends don't let friends use leaf blowers.

... that, speaking of trash, TG has noted by unscientific observation that in the fast-food haven near Dempster and Dodge, fast-food wrappers start appearing in the gutters about a block and a half away from the store. TG has two thoughts about the reason for this: Either the fast-food munchers do follow the law and pick up their trash within the mandated 150-foot radius, or it takes the average fast-food gulper a block and a half to consume the purchase and shed the cups and wrappers. TG notices more Mickey D's trash in streets and gutters on Dodge heading north and more of the Colonel's trash south of Dempster.

mctrash
McTrash along Dodge

... that there are strong rumors that the Focus Development folks are thinking about putting a high-rise in the 700 block of Church Street. The Focus folks are being cagey about it, of course, but TG hears that some aspect of the project was the subject of a closed-session City Council meeting last week. The Illinois Open Meetings Act allows Council to discuss the purchase and sale of real estate in closed session meetings. The only real estate the City owns in that block is Fountain Square. What's up?

development
The developers of Sherman Plaza may have plans for this block of Church Street.

From our readers: TG: I recently wrote a letter to the CTA, stating that the area along Chicago Avenue near the Main Street Station is now the home to many condominiums that look out onto the CTA property. We as residents do our best to pick up litter along the CTA property, but we need the CTA to take an interest in our community and clean the embankment. Mr. Mike Wojcik responded in one day to my request and had a crew on the site on March 24 and March 30. A big thank you to Mr. Wojcik, Tom Vasquez and the entire crew who worked hard to help beautify this area of Chicago Avenue. -- Gloria Wildenradt

tom
Tom Vasquez (center) and Mike Wojcik responded to a request by Gloria Wildenradt (left) to clean up trash from the CTA embankment.

... that it was just short of a mircle that no one was on the sidewalk when a truck jumped the curb and headed down the south sidewalk on the 600 block of Church Street about 10 days ago, grazing some of the restaurants there.

... that having the CTA cut its rail capacity by 25 percent on the Red and Purple lines at the same time major repairs were started on the Dan Ryan Expressway is the stuff commuting nightmares are made of.
Hope everyone has a great spring break and a happy Easter and Passover.

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RTA Head Explains Request for Funding

By Mary Helt Gavin

CTA officials are considering adding Evanston stops to the Yellow Line Service. Some have suggested the Levy Center as a potential stop.

Only about two weeks before the CTA began its latest nightmare of el-track repairs, which reduced track capacity on the Evanston lines by 25 percent, the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) came to town to explain the need for greatly increased funding: The RTA is running on emptyLearn More > > >

Oakton School WPA Mural Is Restored

By Chris Cascarano

oakton wpa mural During the Great Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt started the Works Progress Administration to employ millions of out-of-work Americans for civic improvements. In Evanston, artists were hired to create works for the public schools. Some of these works have stood up well to the test of time; others began to decay and were destroyed.

One piece, a mural at Oakton School titled "Knights and Damsels," was very close to being scraped off the wall and painted white. "People were getting a bad impression of the school from the decaying mural," said Mark Cleveland, a former member of Oakton's PTA.

Driven to bring a clean look back to Oakton's auditorium and reluctant to destroy the mural, Mr. Cleveland, joined by a team of community members, began to "knock on a lot of doors" seeking help. On March 23 the restored mural was unveiled, 13 years after the project began.

"There are more than paintings in these rooms," said Mr. Cleveland. "We wanted to send the message [with the rehabbed auditorium] that the kids here are important."MORE...

Voting Information for April 17 Election

The consolidated election is scheduled for April 17. Residents will have the opportunity to vote for three candidates for School Board for Districts 65 and three for District 202. In addition there will be candidates to serve on the boards of the Ridgeville Park District, Skokie Park District and Oakton Community College. Two referendum questions about the Evanston Civic Center will be on the ballot.

Early voting will continue through April 12 in room 2401 of the Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave., from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 7. Early voting will also be available at the Cook County Circuit Court Building during that time.
Individuals who plan to be out of town for early voting and on Election Day can request an absentee application and have a ballot sent to them. April 12 is the last day the County Clerk's office can receive an absentee application and mail out absentee ballots. For further information, call the Evanston City Clerk's Office, 847- 866-2925.

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Two Referendum Questions on April 17 Ballot

Because the representatives of the ad-hoc group Friends of the Civic Center have lost their lawsuit to have the City's referendum question about the Civic Center removed from the April 17 ballot, voters will now have the option of voting on one or both of the following questions.

The question placed by the Friends of the Civic Center asks, "Shall the Evanston City government remain in the current Civic Center, located at 2100 Ridge Ave.?" The Friends group gatheredmore than 2,000 petition signatures to place their question on the ballot.

The question placed by the City Council asks, "Shall the City of Evanston fund the rehabilitation of the Evanston Civic Center, located at 2100 Ridge by the issuance of not less than $31 million in general obligation bonds?"

Both questions are advisory only. The Friends say the result of their question will give Council a snapshot of the community's view of where it would like the City's headquarters to be located.

Critics of the Council's question say said the Council's question is misleading, because voters who would like to see the City remain at the Ridge Avenue property but think the rehab could be completed for less than $31 million will be confused about how to answer the question.

The Friends of the Civic Center say they believe the $31 million rehab cost is overstated. In addition, some aldermen have backpedaled on that amount, conceding that the rehab could be completed for less money.

In addition to disagreeing about the cost of the rehab of the present building, the City and the Friends disagree about the cost of a new building.

U.S. Equities, the City's consultant on several development projects, compiled five scenarios for rehabbing the existing Civic Center or building a new one. The new construction scenarios all envision a construction cost of about $250 per square foot for a 90,000-square-foot building, excluding the cost of land. It is not clear whether and to what extent the City has included the costs of providing parking in their projections. It has been suggested that, with a downtown site, the City would use one or more of the downtown garages for parking for employees and visitors, thereby reducing construction costs but perhaps adding to the parking headaches of downtown business owners and their patrons.

John Kennedy, an organizer of the Friends group, has argued actual construction costs would be much higher. He says a just-completed new city hall in Arlington Heights cost $400 per square foot.

As voters go to the polls on April 17, lacking concrete facts and figures, they may have to vote according to their hearts.

Text of the Referendum Questions:
Friends' question:
Shall the Evanston City government remain in the current Civic Center, located at 2100 Ridge Ave.?"

City question: Shall the City of Evanston fund the rehabilitation of the Evanston Civic Center, located at 2100 Ridge by the issuance of not less than $31 million in general obligation bonds?