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Township Assessor Fires Assistant in Response to Budget Cuts

Ms. Benjamin's firing comes in the wake of a dispute between Ms. Eckersall and Evanston aldermen, who also serve as township trustees, who were dissatisfied with the response of the assessor to their calls for spending reductions in her office. The aldermen voted 7-0 to approve the cuts.

In the midst of a discussion about budget line items, the assessor reminded the aldermen that as an elected official she has the authority to determine how her budget is spent and that the aldermen, sitting as township trustees, only have power to determine her overall budget amount.

With that, Alderman Ann Rainey, 8th Ward, proposed that cuts be in the amount of $54,800, the amount of the deputy assessor's salary. The cuts leave the assessor with a budget of $112,447 for the new fiscal year, including her own part-time salary of $6,000.

Alderman Steve Bernstein, 4th Ward, seconded the motion for deeper cuts. A former township assessor, he told Ms. Eckersall, "If I had my druthers, I would cut funding to the statutory allowance for your salary. I'm so frustrated by the answers you've given us for years and years."

Ald. Rainey said, "I think [cutting the budget] is the only way to force reform, and I can assure you the assessor's office is ready for reform, regardless of what the assessor says."

Alderman Delores Holmes, 5th Ward, told the RoundTable that no positions or line items were specifically designated in the budget cuts to the assessor's office. "It was just a cut to the overall budget," she said.

This story will be updated as the RoundTable obtains more information.

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System of Supports to provide more teacher access for all ETHS students

One question: Is it okay for students to fail?
This plan, called System of Supports, has been in the works, in one form or another, for about two years, but has received concentrated focus and effort in the last few months.
Chemistry teacher Steven Speight and history teacher Matthew Walsh, who coordinated the planning and development, say they spent "over 500 hours" working with groups within the school building and across the community to incorporate a broad range of ideas and priorities into the proposal.

"Given the fact that we have the same building, the same people, the same money, the same time during the day and year, how can we do school better?" asked Mr. Speight at a May 31 presentation to parents at ETHS. "How do we engage those students who are already doing well, to push them harder and higher, but also those students who are not experiencing success at the high school, how do we help them?"

The two teachers outlined three "guiding questions" that formed the basis of their approach:

"Is it okay for students to fail?"

"Why are students who are involved in extracurriculars given academic support while others are not?"

"Is the culture of isolation for both students and teachers acceptable?"

"We want to eliminate the ‘dance'," said Mr. Walsh, describing the intricate and frustrating measures students and teachers take to set a date for academic support.
The System of Support has two major components, designed to provide better academic assistance and access to resources for all students: changes in daily schedule and more intense support in core subjects.

Significant changes to the school schedule

Monday
Beginning next fall, Mondays will stay the same as they have been this past year. That is, school will begin for all students at 8:45 a.m. with 39-minute class periods and homebase for 14 minutes during third period. Between 8 and 8:40 a.m. teachers will meet, as in the past, in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to discuss best practices in the classroom. Students can also come to school early on Mondays and can use study areas or cafeterias from 8 to 8:40 a.m.

Tuesday through Friday
Next year there will be changes in the Tuesday-Friday schedule. The school building will be open at 8 a.m., as in the past. Students receiving a grade lower than C- in any class will be required to meet with the teacher of that class from 8:00 am until 8:30 a.m.

Teachers of students receiving below-average grades in two classes will work together to determine how many morning sessions their student will spend with each teacher. Students with three or more Ds or who are not on track to graduate will meet with a Student Support Team, consisting of a counselor, teachers, dean and parents.

School officials say approximately 900 students per semester receive a grade of D in at least one class. This represents 30 percent of ETHS students.

Students who have grades in all classes of C or higher may come to school at 8 a.m. to study in a variety of locations, eat breakfast in the cafeteria or visit with friends; however, classes will not begin until 8:35 a.m. Tuesday through Friday class periods will be 42 minutes long, one minute shorter than before, and there will be no more Homebase on these days.

To provide earlier intervention for students receiving below-average grades, teachers will provide progress reports more frequently, possibly every three weeks or up to five times a semester.

Departmental study centers will be open more often.
The second major change will be that departmental study centers in the core curricular areas of English, history, mathematics, science and world languages will be open during all periods and will be staffed by teachers. Students who wish to get help can visit the study centers during any of their free time. There will be at least three teachers in each study center at all times. According to Mr. Walsh and Mr. Speight, the Science study center will have a physics teacher, a biology teacher and a chemistry teacher present at all times, if possible. World languages will also make a similar effort to have a diverse teacher presence.

"The math department has a high functioning resource center," said Mr. Speight. "There is an academic teacher in there for most of the day. Students who need a little bit of help or a lot of help [can be in] touch with a teacher outside of their classroom. We are using that as a model. With this new system, students who want to go from a B to an A- can get help in other subject areas. It's difficult now."

Mr. Walsh cited an additional advantage to the study centers. "I need more time with my own students, but I also need to open myself up to other students in the building. If a student is having a difficult time with their own teacher, he or she will now know that there is another teacher to get help from."

Consequences and accountability
Consequences are built into the System of Supports, if students who are mandated to meet with their teachers fail to do so. According to the most recent version of the proposal presented to the District 202 School Board on June 4, freshmen and sophomores with mandated study time who do not attend will be required to have lunch in a "quiet room." Juniors and seniors will not be allowed in the student center and will not have the privilege of open campus for lunch.

In addition, after-school detentions and social probation measures have been proposed as consequences for all students for not attending mandated study sessions. To monitor student status, ID cards will be coded with information as to whether students are fulfilling their obligations. Mr. Walsh and Mr. Speight said the details of this aspect of the system will be worked out over the summer.

Reactions
At a May 31 District 202 PTSA meeting, parents expressed a number of concerns. Several people requested that there be more emphasis on students, particularly boys, who are in "the quiet middle, doing okay but not great." Others worried that students with full schedules would not be able to find time to go to the study centers during the day. Some mourned the loss of daily Homebase, saying that although it might not have accomplished all of its stated goals, it provided a valuable respite during the day and also facilitated a broad connection between students.

Mr. Walsh and Mr. Speight said that they believed that the expanded study-center time would provide more opportunity for average students who wanted to do better to get help and that once failing students had been helped by mandated study time, more resources could be devoted to average students. They said that students who could not find time in their schedule could still meet with teachers before 8 a.m. or after school. They acknowledged the value of Homebase, but said that time constraints were a reality. They said that a greater emphasis would be placed on focusing homebase activities on the one day that it does meet and that hopefully "the promise of homebase" would be maintained.

Student Input
Students have also had their say about the new effort. Bruce Munro, director of student services, said about 120 students were brought together for a presentation about System of Support and many volunteered to continue working on it. A few of them shared their thoughts in emails with the RoundTable.

Many students liked the idea of study centers which would be open all day.

You aren't constantly getting study hall passes and signing out," said sophomore Erin Szarnych. "That's such an annoyance to kids."

"I was really impressed by the diverse group of students and the feedback that everyone gave (at the student presentation meeting). I think it shows that everyone at ETHS really cares about the school and each student's success," said senior Margaret Hutchinson, who will be vice president of Student Council next year and serves as a member of the School Improvement Team.

Several students commented that they felt it would be difficult to enforce the mandated study time.

"Most of the students with the below average and failing grades are already not going to class and I don't get how the school is going to mandate them to come to school earlier than everyone else if they aren't already going to class at all," said senior Vanessa Sauk.

"The committee needs to make sure that the punishments they hand out are severe enough to get students on support to actually come or it will be a wasted effort," commented Aon Hussain, student representative to the School Board.

Some students said that they were glad that homebase would be reduced to one day a week. "All we do in mine is watch movies," said sophomore Maddie Corydon. "We only fill out a survey maybe once a month, so the rest of the days we just sit around not doing anything."

Others felt that homebase was a very important and valuable part of life at ETHS. Homebase "makes a huge school smaller," said Aon Hussain. He said would be "hypocritical" to cut it if administrators were trying to make ETHS more personalized.

Two other students, Jackie Newsome and Talia Shambee told the School Board during public comment on June 4 that they also were concerned about the loss of homebase. They cited "honest conversations" and "connecting to many other students" as the benefits.

Some School Board members had similar concerns as the students with regard to whether or not students would attend the mandated sessions. "I wonder if loss of privilege is enough," said Jane Colleton.

"I know you're focusing on the academics," said Mary Wilkerson, "but I think you're going to have to deal with the social and emotional skills as well."

Marilyn Madden, assistant superintendent/principal, said a group of teachers would be working over the summer to address the issue of social and emotional barriers to student achievement. "We have to make it clear to students that failure is not an option at ETHS.

It's going to be bumpy at first. This approach offers an opportunity for every student who's not doing well to be successful," she said

"This feels really negative," said Missy Fleming. "I'd like to hear more about the positive. How do we celebrate more of the successes?" She also asked how the new system would be evaluated.

Mr. Walsh acknowledged that others reviewing the system had had the same response about its negative qualities. "But the system is designed to create a positive atmosphere," he said. He also said that the planning team would be working over the summer with Dr. Judith Levinson, director of research, evaluation and assessment, to develop a way to evaluate how the system was working.

Board member Omar Khuri wanted to know if a cost analysis of the new system had been performed.

"We've incorporated as many of the costs as we've been able to identify," said William Stafford, the District's chief financial officer. "We will have a learning curve and I can't say that we've crossed all the t's and dotted all the i's but we have gotten most of it so far."

"I think it's going to become a more personalized environment," said Superintendent Eric Witherspoon. "Some of the students who have the most trouble succeeding are the one who are the most hesitant about approaching the teacher inside or outside of class." He said that the new system would provide both the mandated and the optional opportunities for students to be encouraged to get help.

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New Farmers' Markets Make Eating Healthier A Snap (Pea)

"All the farmers are committed to Evanston, and they do well here," said Ann Covode, who is on the Board of Commissioners for the Ridgeville Park District.  "There was a feeling of loyalty from the farmers, which is cool," she said. 

The market will also feature live music and will encourage green habits with prizes donated by local businesses for shoppers who consistently walk or ride their bicycles, said Alison Witt-Janssen, program director for the Ridgeville Park District.

"It will be great to have a neighborhood farmers' market," said Ms. Covode.  "South Evanston lacks grocery stores, and it lends a nice atmosphere to the neighborhood."

Another Wednesday farmers' market will cover downtown and the north side.  Beginning July 11, a fruit-and-vegetable vendor and a flower vendor will set up outside the McGaw YMCA, 1000 Grove St., from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.  The same vendors will be at the Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center, 1655 Foster St., from 3 to 6:30 p.m.  While both markets are open to the public, they are strategically located in order to introduce healthier food options to people who use the facilities, especially children attending the summer camps and other youth programs and their parents.

"We are trying to get their mindset so that when [the children] do return to school, they will eat something that is healthy as opposed to something that is not," said Betsy Jenkins, program manager at Fleetwood-Jourdain.  She also added that teaching children to eat healthier will have a positive effect on their parents too.  "Like when parents smoke and their kids tell them to quit," she said.

The farmers' market fits neatly into the "Activate America" initiative at the McGaw YMCA, which is a national campaign to create "a system supporting health-seekers in their journey to create a healthy lifestyle," said Monique Parsons, vice president of programs at McGaw.  In addition to promoting healthy living, the farmers' market is also part of the YMCA's effort to collaborate with public and private organizations in the community to create a model that celebrates healthy living, she said. 

Jean Speyer-Scruggs, the farmers' market coordinator for the City, agreed that farmers' markets promote good eating habits.  "When you have fresh fruits and vegetables, people are going to come," she said.  And when they are available on weekends and midweek; mornings and evenings; and on the north side, the south side, and downtown; Evanston residents have few excuses to avoid eating healthier. 

Meeting Kicks Off Next Phase Of Downtown Planning Process

By Mary Helt Gavin

Something that comes around in Evanston even less often than the periodic cicadas is the opportunity to participate in the re-visioning of the downtown area. Last revised in 1989, the City's plan for downtown is now under review. "We're looking at it from the ‘concept side'  - ‘what should downtown look like?' -  and the zoning side -  ‘how do we get there?' -  said Dennis Marino, assistant director of community development for the City.

A joint meeting of the Plan Commission and the City Council held on June 7 signified the kickoff for the hands-on public process.

The City has hired four consultants - KLOA, Duncan Associates, the Lakota Group, 180º Designand GWG - to conduct studies and to solicit and compile citizen input.  Inviting public participation in the upcoming stages, Assistant City Manager Judith Aiello said at the June 7 meeting, "This is the process for everyone's downtown."

Although the meeting came almost on the heels of two separate proposals for high-rise retail-residential complexes on the Fountain Square block in the heart of downtown Evanston, the downtown planning subcommittee of the Plan Commission has been meeting for several months. They had already delineated certain areas as "core" or "traditional" or "transitional" and had identified certain buildings they wished to see preserved.

The core area is the heart of downtown, said James Woods, chair of the Plan Commission. "Traditional" area are those downtown areas with three- or four-story buildings, whose low height and pedestrian experience give Evanston the feel of a village, he said. Examples of the traditional areas can be found on Davis Street between the Metra tracks and the post office, and along Sherman Avenue north of Church Street, said Mr. Marino.

Guiding principles, stages of the process
Mr. Woods also outlined the guiding principles: physical planning and policy; public participation and outreach to stakeholders; access and management of public transit and parking; and consideration of public spaces.

The "physical planning and policy" stage will incorporate feedback from private businesses, the City, retailers, residents and property owners to help determine the new look of downtown, said Mr. Woods.

Outreach includes finding ways to "retain and attract employers, recruit Evanston residents for Evanston jobs, and provide enhanced employment opportunities, he added. (Results of two surveys that were part of this process appeared in the May 16 issue of the RoundTable.)

Encouraging the use of public transit and studying the parking needs of the new developments form the third principle, he said. Finally, the planning process must include a study of the public spaces of downtown Evanston, with an eye to enhancing those spaces and creating additional ones.

Kirk Bishop of Duncan Associates said the "key phases" to this process include the "background context, which began tonight; the downtown plan [as it is formed]; a design charette [a hands-on design "brainstorm" session with community participation] and zoning implementation that would be critical to implementing the plan."

The "zoning implementation" could include the use of form-based zoning, which would be new to Evanston. With form-based zoning, approval of a project is contingent upon how it fits into the site rather than how well it fits the already-set zoning. Designers and planners - including some in Evanston - who support form-based zoning say it allows a project to be tailored more precisely to its site and results in more creative and attractive buildings.

At present, proposed development projects containing more than 24 units are reviewed as planned developments. Since most planned developments require zoning variances, some have suggested that the case-by-case process leads to unpredicatability. 

"The unpredictability and the incoherent nature of the planned-development process have allowed some buildings of a height not imaginable before to be built. A form-based code will be predictable and establish some coherence in downtown," said Dave Galloway of Design Evanston, who sits on the Plan Commission. Aldermen Anjana Hansen, 9th Ward, and Edmund Moran, 6th Ward, also expressed support for "predictability" in the zoning code and its review process.

Zoning and height
Allusions to the high-rises already in the downtown area and the two proposed towers for Fountain Square focused some discussion on height and the zoning process. Height itself is not the problem, said Mr. Galloway. "We need to pay attention to the nature, the character and the proportion."

One way of looking at height, said John LaMotte of the Lakota Group, is to consider the average height of all the buildings in a specific area or development. For example, he said, "Sherman Plaza has an average height of seven-and-one-half stories, not counting the garage. If you add in the garage, it's nine-and-one-half stories. ... You can have height, but not all over the development."

Recommendations
Mr. Woods said the Plan Commission had some conceptual height limits for the downtown areas: 42 feet or about four stories for the traditiondal areas, with one more story and additional lot coverage allowed if parking were put below ground; 85 feet or eight stories feet for the transitional areas, which would match the present R6 zoning; and an average height of 10 stories for the core area.

"These are conceptual plans only," said Mr. Marino.

Reactions
Council members at the meeting said they were supportive of the process. Most had some specific ideas. Both Alderman Lionel Jean-Baptiste, 2nd Ward, and Alderman Delores Holmes, 5th Ward, said they wanted the youth of Evanston to be included in the planning process. "There has to be something for them to do - even the pre-adolescents."

Ald. Rainey said, "We've got to have a bowling alley in this town, but [we] can't get the bowling alley people to return our calls."

Other aldermen agreed.

Alderman Elizabeth Tisdahl, 7th Ward, said she would like to know "how many condos are too many condos for Evanston. I think we may need more office space and more rental property." She said she would also like to see an assessment of the need for rental property.

Ald. Hansen also expressed concern about the number of condominiums in downtown Evanston and questioned whether the infrastructure would be overloaded.

Alderman Cheryl Wollin, 1st Ward, said she would like to see "ways we can develop workforce housing."

Alderman Edmund Moran, 6th Ward, said he was encouraged by the development in Evanston so far and excited by the potential in designing a new downtown.

Next steps
Kevin Klinkenberg of 180º Design invited the community to participate in the July design charette, saying it is "community therapy. ...You have a wonderful community and much to be proud of. You have a good downtown. How do we make it great? When you have a chance like this, take a look at the bigger picture. Look at the complete pedestrian experience, from street to street, from block to block. "
He added, "An excellent street is one you feel comfortable and safe jaywalking on."

________________________

Summer Schedule for Downtown Planning

• June 21, 7 p.m. Meeting with full citizen participation. Parasol Room of the Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave.
• July 12, 7 p.m. Two community meetings, one at the Levy Senior Center, 300 Dodge Ave., and the other at Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center, 1655 Foster St.
• July 17-20. Design charette, location to be determined.
• July 21, Preliminary summary of the results will be presented on July 21.

The committee hopes to have joint workshops on the downtown plan in October and have the plan approved with zoning recommendations in November.

Civilian Police Review Board Getting Closer

By Bill Smith

The City's Human Services Committee recently voted to hold a special meeting on June 19 to consider creating a new citizen review board to examine complaints against City police officers. The vote came after Police Chief Richard Eddington said he was open to the idea.

"I want to be transparent about this," Chief Eddington said, "and get down to the bottom line and see what issues are not being addressed by our existing process. We need to see what the community concerns are and how we can deal with these complaints."

The City already has a civilian review panel that receives a summary of the results of investigations conducted by the department's Office of Professional Standards after those results have been reviewed by top departmental officials and after any discipline of the officer is imposed by the police chief.

Alderman Delores Holmes, 5th Ward, said she is concerned that the citizen panel does not see the complaint "until it's gone through all of that process. They're the last step. I sort of wonder what would be wrong with having them get it as soon as the investigation is done, so they'd be first in line."

"Ultimately it's about objectivity," Alderman Lionel Jean-Baptiste, 2nd Ward, responded. "When the police department reviews itself, the tendency is to assume that it will not be objective."

The chief said, "My concern in this area is consistency." He said the City would need to deal with such issues as how long citizens would be expected to serve on the board, how they would be trained, whether they would conduct interviews and what limits there might be on questioning by the citizen panel. He also said the City is constrained by state law regarding the process it can use in handling complaints against police officers, but added, "I'd invite this discussion so we can produce a consistent product all the time," he said.

Several residents spoke in favor of strengthening civilian review of the department. Bennett Johnson said, "Everybody in the room wants a police force that preserves order and enforces the law," but he said the department needs better oversight, "to make sure that we have fewer complaints and fewer lawsuits against the police than we do at present."

Patricia Gregory said, "We need to add another entity, and not have the police being the ones investigating the police. I know Evanston has some great police officers, because I've interacted with them. But on the other hand there are a few that, if they think you're a nobody, that's how they'll treat you."

The committee and the chief agreed immediately to one suggestion from residents: that complaint forms be available at the Civic Center and other locations beside the police department. The residents said some people in the community feel intimidated having to go to the police department to file a complaint against the police.

Council Wrap

By Bill Smith

At the June 11 City Council meeting, aldermen voted to impose a six-month moratorium on approval of new construction projects downtown. They also trimmed the budget for Evanston Township and directed City staff to clean up Fountain Square.

Moratorium
The moratorium is designed to give consultants hired by the City time to prepare a new master plan for downtown.

The exemption would cover two tower projects recently announced for the Fountain Square block and a new proposal for 1515 Chicago Ave., which reportedly involves a 12-story mixed-use building.

Township
Sitting as trustees of Evanston Township and dissatisfied with the response of Township Assessor Sharon Eckersall to their calls for spending reductions in her office, the aldermen voted to make even deeper cuts in the assessor's budget.  Ms. Eckersall said that, as an elected official she has the authority to determine how her budget is spent and that the aldermen, sitting as township trustees, have power only to determine her overall budget amount.

Alderman Ann Rainey, 8th Ward, then proposed a cut of $54,800, the amount of the deputy assessor's salary. Alderman Steve Bernstein, 4th Ward, a former township assessor, seconded the motion for deeper cuts.

The cuts leave the assessor with a budget of $112,447 for the new fiscal year, including her own part-time salary of $6,000.
Ald. Rainey said she believed the assessor's office "needs to be revised" and the only way to do so is with budget cuts. The aldermen voted 7-0 to make the cuts and adopt the rest of the township budget.

Tuesday morning, Ms. Eckersall fired her assistant, Diane Benjamin.

Fountain Square
Council also directed City staff to take immediate steps to improve maintenance at Evanston's Fountain Square. 

Mayor Lorraine Morton said she was "immensely embarrassed" that no flag was flying in the square on Memorial Day, and she read a letter from a veteran's group complaining about that oversight and the overall condition of the downtown plaza, which holds plaques commemorating 351 Evanstonians who died in the nation's wars.
She said that she walked through the square again on Sunday and "almost had a fit" about the conditions.

City Manager Julia Carroll said she would  have the staff take immediate steps to clean up the square and prepare a report on the cost of fixing the fountain and the decaying concrete plaza structure.

At Monday's meeting Council also
• Approved a second extension of a moratorium along Central Street. With the latest extension the Central Street moratorium, originally scheduled to last six months, will end up running a minimum of 13 months.
• Voted to postpone until their next meeting a final decision on the proposed 14-story retail and rental apartment development proposed for 1890 Maple Ave.