Pay No Attention to Those Two Tower Proposals: Get Involved in the Downtown Planning Process

This is the message from the downtown planners: Become involved in creating the new plan for downtown. A subcommittee of the City's Plan Commission has been working on the framework for several months, and in the midst of the planning for the comprehensive plan came two proposals for seemingly inordinate height in the heart of downtown.

It is important to distinguish the proposals from the plan. The proposals are just that: ideas that the developers would like to see become reality. Either would violate the current zoning ordinance, and neither has received even preliminary formal approval.

They are both a long way from obtaining the approval from City Council that would allow them to become a reality.

The downtown plan, however, is a collaborative work in progress. The City has hired outside consultants, and the consultants as well as City officials emphasize repeatedly the need for citizen input.

The next few weeks provide a chance for everyone in Evanston to cast a critical eye on the downtown. Walk around at several different times - in the early morning, when the coffee shops are abuzz with folks about to go to work; at lunchtime when shoppers and downtown employees (other than restaurant workers) take a break; at night, when the movies attract even more to the area.

Pay attention to how it feels to walk along Sherman Avenue, for example, from Clark Street to Davis Street or Grove Street, or along Church Street from Oak Avenue to Orrington Avenue. How do the different heights of the buildings affect what urban planners term the "pedestrian experience"? Are the sidewalks wide enough? How is the traffic flow - can pedestrians cross the street safely? Is there sufficient parking? Are there enough bike racks?

Last week one of the City's consultants characterized an "excellent" street as "one you feel safe and comfortable jaywalking in." How do we Evanstonians feel about that as a litmus test for our downtown?

Looking only from eye-level to ground level, what is pleasing to the eye? Do the buildings have proper scale, attractive windows or other details? How does our public art fit into downtown? Where are good places for additional art? Are our public spaces used wisely? How could they be enhanced? Are there places where additional public space could be created?

But also consider, at some point, the height and mass we now have in downtown Evanston. What can be done to offset the parts that may seem overbearing? How can we allocate height, mass and density so as not to overwhelm the entire downtown area?

Re-visioning the downtown area is an exciting process. For a few weeks we all get to be critics and urban planners. The meetings scheduled for the next few weeks and the design charette in July should give an extra sizzle to the summer.

The City has essentially invited us to a downtown block party. Everyone should accept the invitation.

Outside/Inside

By Charles Wilkinson

A few weeks back, I wrote a vignette about living from the inside out versus from the outside in. I liked the distinction but I was left with the feeling of something unfinished. At first I thought it had to do with balance and the fact that even for those who are proficient at living from the inside out, that is, knowing and taking care of the truth of self, there is both a need and a responsibility to respect, if not to care for, the truth of others.

But that was not it. I wrote presuming that anyone who goes inside and turns on the light bulb of self-awareness encounters this wonderful person who cares so much for others they neglect self. That is sometimes true. But there are other factors that need to be recognized as well.

First, all anyone meets when turning on the inner light is a human being with a unique story, nothing more, nothing less. When that happens, what they encounter can be anything from the world's worst sinner to a saint-in-waiting with every variation in between, which is why so many never choose to go inside to discover where healthy living begins.

Second, one's self-image usually has its origins outside of self: i.e., from messages - subtle and blaring - picked up from others along the way, especially in one's formative years, which find their way into the psyche's deepest parts.

That is why, third, the journey inward is never simple, if only because one's truth is usually difficult to come by.

To name and embrace it requires an uncompromising honesty which, predictably, is easier said than done. Oddly enough it is sometimes more difficult to be honest with self than with others. Anyone can be too close to the truth to see it. That is why what is also needed is the love, the ears and the eyes of an other. I am not thinking about therapy as much as I am the presence of someone significant enough to hold one accountable to one's story; not by judging, but by simply asking caring questions. Spouses can be that, but often they are also too close to the truth to be of much help. Perhaps that is why friends are so priceless.

Journaling can also help. Putting words about self on paper can make the truth tangible as long as they are not hiding places. But even if they are, they can be confronted eventually.

When one lives from the outside in for most of one's life, learning how to live from the inside out can be a graduate course in adulthood. And that takes work.

Fathers

By Peggy Tarr

June 17 is Father's Day, the third Sunday in June. The concept of a day to celebrate fathers was conceived by Sondra Smart Dodd in 1910 while attending church on Mother's Day in Spokane, Wash. The sermon praised mothers, but in Ms. Dodd's case, it was her father who had raised her and her five siblings after her mother died in childbirth. Ms. Dodd received strong local support for a day to honor fathers. Father's Day was celebrated on June 19 in order to allow ministers adequate time to prepare sermons on the subject of fathers.

Newspapers across the country wrote about and supported the Spokane celebration, but a national Father's Day did not gain permanence and official recognition until 1972. Recently, I had the pleasure of hearing the Temptations at a program sponsored by Rainbow Push. One of the songs they sang from years gone by was "Papa was a Rolling Stone."

As the title suggests, the lyrics are about a father who has spread his genes around but did not assume the role and responsibilities of parenting. This man's children lament this absentee father, who was absent physically and emotionally:

"Papa was a rolling stone, Wherever he laid his hat was his home. And when he died, All he left us was alone."

As my mother liked to say, "It doesn't take much to become a [parent], but it takes a lot to be a [parent]." Gametes (eggs and sperm) have one goal - reproduction. Gametes are not given the task of raising children; they're just there just there to make children. Humans, "the ones with the brains" (as Smokey the Bear ads say), are the ones who need to give serious thought to having babies and making the sacrifices to raise children to become physically and mentally healthy, self-sufficient adults.

Raising children is a full-time job, not just for mothers, but also for fathers. So, hey, Dad. Let your kids appreciate you as an invested parent. Being there for your children - not just making them - is the endpoint.

Happy Father's Day to those biological fathers who, we hope, will become true fathers in spirit and actions. Happy Father's Day, too, to those who already are.

Letters to the Editor

No Need to Make Evanston an Extension of Chicago
Editor:

I am writing as a 16-year resident of Evanstonwhohas a business and lives here as well. When I read about the proposed developments for Fountain Square I become both frightened and appalled. What is happening to our fine City?

As a nation, we already have big problems with corporate power bulldozing the people, fromwiping out small businesses to making choices for our personal health-care. Knowing all of this, living in Evanston has provided that welcomed sense of community we seem to be losing so quickly. Here in Evanston we have the benefits of one of the largest cities in the nation as our neighbor, yet we come home to oursmaller City of low-rise buildings and familiar shops and faces.

To allow two developers to come into Evanston and bring a money-first attitude of skyscrapers in the middle of our beautiful downtown does not feel like it is in the best interest of its residents, but more in the best interest of their pocketbooks.

They say they want to tone down the potential problem with a wind tunnel? Well, if they don't build the high-rise, that will improve the problem greatly.

There is no need to make Evanston an extension of Chicago. If I wanted to live in downtown Chicago, I would have moved there.

I'm speaking out because I'm hoping there are others as concerned as me. There is power in our voices, even if it is only through a letter to the editor.

Please keep us abreast on any town hall meetings and/or votes around this proposed project. The only way to stop something we don't want is to use our voices and our votes.
Thanks for such a great newspaper.
-Alyse Rynor, L.C.S.W.,
CHC Authentic Wellness

Fountain Square: A Stairway to What?
Editor:

On May 28, after a prolonged discussion, the Planning and Development Committee of the City Council rejected the suggestion of a committee member to declare an executive session. Had an executive session been declared, Room 2204 at the Civic Center would have been cleared of a large number of citizens, who then would have had to wait in the hall at the pleasure of the Committee.

Granted, the excuse or reason for an executive session was based on the matter of the sale of City property, albeit underground. However, at that point other Committee members did not seem ready - or was it willing? - to discuss money: the actual sale of the underground ground.

Ergo, the presentation of the latest metamorphosis of Fountain Square was allowed to proceed, thus permitting the public to look at, listen to and later comment on the presentation. The comments were limited by the press of time and the remaining agenda, but they generally were not enthusiastic.

One of the ideas expressed by the developer was to bring more activity into the area (as if Fountain Square lacked traffic). I can understand the idea that there may be a lack of traffic and activity, because west of the tracks the activity and traffic are eating Fountain Square's cake.

The present Fountain Square is just plain ugly. It was so from the beginning in the 1950s and is even worse now, owing to neglect.

A glimpse at the proposed design raises a few questions: narrowing of Sherman Avenue between Davis and Church streets; traffic patterns for entry into and exit from the underground parking; the sheer overwhelming, thrusting effect of the residential portion with its glass, glass and more glass; and that outside curving staircase from the commercial/ business stories to the square or plaza at ground level.

An outside, lengthy staircase in this climate? In this town? Liability?

As I studied this mod-Baroque-Rococo effect, I thought, "Stairway to Heaven? To the Stars? Shades of Busby Berkley and Flo Ziegfeld? A Pretty Girl …" Voila - lights, camera, action … Hollywood. Or even an event that would really bring 'em to Fountain Square: a Miss Illinois beauty contest, the girls lining the stairs. The possibilities seem endless on an endlessly inappropriate stairway.

That wedding-cake top [the City's zoning model for downtown, with the buildings in the center of the City having the greatest height] - what a travesty on what was originally promulgated when the Citi Bank building was erected and was to be the Last Word in Evanston's skyline; from it everything else was to be tapered down in scale.

And do we need another restaurant?

The placement of the war memorials seemed kind of an afterthought in the rest of the design. Yet there are residents of this City who can recall their fallen classmates. Even were Evanston without generations with such recollection, these commemorations and memorials still would merit a distinguished place of traditional honor in our town and in our Fountain Square.
Ann Dienner, Fellow of the Royal Society

Downtown Towers Would Displace Healthy Businesses, Needed Professionals
Editor:

The new condo/business tower proposed for Evanston will indeed be a landmark. In addition to its height, it will displace more active businesses than any redevelopment in Evanston for at least 40 years. The 708 Church St. building has 14 retail stores at street level. They include all of the shoe stores in Evanston (except athletic clothing stores), Uncle Dan's, Ben & Jerry's, Radio Shack and stores carrying a variety of other products. All but one store was leased before notification of redevelopment. 57th St. Bookcases has already re-located to a smaller site in Evanston. Scott Opticians has moved to Wilmette. It will be truly difficult for all of the others to find profitable spaces in Evanston.

On the fully occupied second floor of this property are the offices of more than 70 psychotherapists (both full time and part-time at this location), three dentists, a chiropractor, at least five massage therapists and others. These professionals need specialized space of good quality at moderate prices that is currently in very short supply in Evanston. Typically we need elevator buildings that are clean and nicely decorated, that provide a safe environment where people are not afraid to walk after dark, and are near to adequate parking and public transportation. We need modest-sized office suites where therapist lease-holders are allowed to sublet some office hours to other professionals.

708 Church is not likely to be the last downtown building to fall to high-rise redevelopment. At least one other building, where many professionals have offices, could soon come into developers' sights. Availability of the kind of spaces professionals need could be substantially improved in at least three ways. One would be for zoning and zoning appeals boards to encourage developers to include this type of space. A second would be zoning allowing condo developers to designate certain floors where condos would be leased to groups of therapists, as is done in Chicago. This would be a future solution since our high rises do not lack residential occupants. A third idea would be to take a building such as the one at Emerson Street and Maple Avenue, which, according to press reports, is underutilized and may be torn down, and do what is necessary to re-purpose this relatively new construction for professional use.

Leases on professional offices generate less tax revenue than other businesses, but we do provide necessary services, and our clients from other towns shop in downtown Evanston because they are already here to see us.

People say that if we lobby hard enough we may get some attention to these or other ideas. I say that the City Manager and City Council of any well-run city should require their city planners to anticipate redevelopment possibilities.

Further, planners should propose zoning changes or re-purposing of facilities to prepare for positive outcomes from redevelopment for the whole community, including those who will be displaced. There are nine employees, mostly professionals, in the Evanston Planning Division. Why should residents and businesses have to mount protest movements to have this obvious and basic function performed by our City staff?
-- Lola Himrod, Ph.D., L.C.S.W.

A.A.R.P. Joins Schoenberg in Support of Senate Bill 5
Editor:

On behalf of the 1.7 million Illinois members of the Associatoin for Advancement of Retired People, I commend Senator Jeffrey Schoenberg for his commitment to passing health care reform legislation this year. Illinois faces a silent crisis, which can too often prove fatal, affecting more than one-and-a-half million Illinoisans between the ages of 19 and 64. For many of them medical care is too little, and often comes too late.

The uninsured and underinsured are often forced to forego medical care and medically necessary prescription drugs, even for life-threatening conditions, because they simply cannot afford to go to a doctor.

SB 5, the Illinois Covered plan, seeks to close the cracks in our current insurance system and provide every Illinois resident the opportunity to obtain affordable, quality health insurance.

For this reason, AARP joins with Senator Schoenberg in supporting SB 5. Many legislators have reported that there has not been a huge outcry from people in their districts. It is not that the problem does not exist. Most people are embarrassed to admit that they cannot afford to see a doctor or have a medical procedure because they do not have health insurance or cannot afford their out-of-pocket costs.

It is time to put a stop to the silent suffering and help make affordable health insurance available to every Illinoisan. Call your State Senator and State Representative and urge them to support SB 5.
-Bob Gallo, State Director, A.A.R.P.

A Civic Center for the People
Editor:

"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union …" So it begins, our freedom and democracy. As I look at our world, country, state, town today, I see detachment, disengagement, apathy, a loss of self, but mostly I see a deterioration of spirit.

This brings me to the center of our democracy - our Civic Center, a symbol representing the people and the community of Evanston. At present, it stands rusting, with paint peeling and sewers backed up, along with a myriad of other problems. Is the condition of the Civic Center how we want others to see and judge us? Is the Civic Center a reflection of us?

Some in the City have suggested it should be moved. I say no. The center of our democracy should stand tall, proud and confident. It has to be rebuilt, of the people, by the people, for the people, that helpedcreate it. As a community, we need to engage and rebuild at home, and through our actions, make our city hall a place of pride, and a place to be respected.

I propose this solution:

I see the front of the building, rehabbed, a representation of the past that has shaped us.The back of the building, steel, glass, modern and new, to signify the future before us, the two connected by the present.

The building should be designed with the environment in mind to include solar panels, windmills et cetera. I propose a library to house our archives, to always remember,and a theatre for open discussion, where ideas, views and debate can bring people together on topics like Darfur, global warming, elections, music recitals, plays and so on.

How do we do this? By engaging architects, horticulturalists, historians, fund raisers, artists, Northwestern University and the community of Evanston.The fences that divide us need to come down.

How could we as a community, help offset these costs? We could have a contest, asking architects and horticulturalists to design the building and gardens.

To raise money, we could have sponsors for the rooms and hallways, similar to hospitals. We could sell bricks that people would buy and we would engrave, to be usedon the grounds and sidewalks.

The community could help purchase trees and flowers for the gardens through donations. We could have a concrete wall, either as part of the building or separate and list the names of people that donated their time and money.

We could apply for state and federal funding for our environmental endeavors. We could issue bonds for some of the cost. We could have a wish list, similar to a wedding shower, that would list what the City needs. Individuals could then go online and purchase it for the City, as a donation.

The online wish list could have prices from $0-100 to $1,000,000, and the names of the donors and their donations would be listed in the City archives as contributors to the building fund.

We could have a slogan: Civic Center, $15 for 15. Donate $15 to help rebuild the Civic Center by 2015. The community can go online and donate. Another option: Have a phone number people call, and every call, $15 dollars would go to the Civic Center.

We could offer three design options for theCivic Center,and the one with the mosttexts is the winner - think "American Idol."

I am brainstorming, bringing up some options and, I hope, solutions.

Where do we go during the construction? Downtown, we have a modern 15-year-old building that is currently vacant, at 1890 Maple Ave., as well as several other vacantsites, that could be used to house City Halltemporarily.

Afterwards, 1890 Maple Ave. could be used as a professional building.

Let's get involved and brainstorm as a community. If you like these ideas, or have any additional thoughts, please contact your alderman at www.cityofevanston.org.
-Dr. Stamata Blanas, D.D.S.

How Safe Are Cell Phones?
Editor:

Cell phones: Are they safe for your children? Are they safe for you? These questions were addressed by world-recognized medical scientist, epidemiologist, and author, Dr. George Carlo, at the Evanston Public Library, Saturday, June 9, at 10:30 am.

Dr. Carlo, chair of the Science and Public Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., has a unique perspective - he headed the wireless industry's $28.5 million health research program from 1993-1999, one that was supposed to give cell phone radiation a clean bill of health. However, evidence from that research, along with a growing body of research since, has pointed to problems.

Dr. Carlo urges precaution with cell phones and wireless, especially regarding children and young people. He calls for change in a flawed public policy that currently prevents federal health agencies from taking steps to protect the public.

This is a subject that every parent, and anyone using wireless, cannot afford to ignore.
--Marne Glaser

Evanston Values Not Upheld By Practices at Sam's Club
Open Letter to City Council Members:

I would like to take this opportunity to share my concerns regarding certain employment practices carried out in the City of Evanston by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., doing business as Sam's Club.

Of course, the decision about whether to hose a Wal-Mart/Sam's Club is water over the dam for Evanston. The jury is still out, however, on the issue of whether their presence does our community good or harms it. We have a Sam's Club here; many people, including this writer, shop there and enjoy a wide selection of goods and services at low prices. However, not as many people work at Sam's Club as shop there, and this letter concerns both current employees and people who would like to work at Sam's Club.

I am a civil rights/employee rights attorney. I represent employees' interests and am frequently at odds with large employers like Sam's Club.

I would be less than forthright if I did not concede at the outset that I do have a personal and professional interest in the issues raised here. However, I hope after you hear my concerns you will agree they are also issues that concern the public interest and that it is in the public interest for the City to take a position on these matters.

Many persons I represent, including many Evanstonians, come from lower socio-economic backgrounds than the majority of Americans. In particular, quite a few of them are of African-American heritage. The City of Evanston, for well over 75 years, has prided itself as an American city that strived to attain the ideal of equal opportunities for all citizens, regardless of socio-economic background. Evanston has extended a helping hand to those citizens who may have been the victims of discrimination, past and present.

The personnel policies of which I complain are Sam's Club policies of 1) not hiring citizens with felony convictions, regardless of whether their convictions were for violent crimes or crimes of moral turpitude and 2) placing employees on suspension pending court proceedings and terminating them upon conviction, again, regardless of whether the offense involved violence or moral turpitude. I believe the latter violates the Illinois Human Rights Act's prohibition of discrimination based on arrest record.

While Sam's Club avers to examine employee arrest and conviction records on a case-by-case basis, in practice any employee convicted of a felony of which Sam's Club/Wal-Mart becomes aware is summarily terminated.

This means that many Evanstonians are disqualified for the rest of their lives from working for one of the major retail employers in their community.

I readily concede that these are persons who have made mistakes, and some have made serious mistakes, to be sure. But how can these individuals rectify their mistakes and become productive members of society and earn a living when large employers like Wal-Mart/Sam's Club close their doors to them?

I am not challenging Sam's Club's employer prerogatives to perform drug or polygraph tests on their employees to the extent the law allows. I believe the law affords employers sufficient protection to ensure that employees do not come to work impaired, steal from their employers, et cetera, and I do not oppose their right to protect their bona fide interest.

But the policy of excluding persons based on felony conviction, without more, is illogical, mean-spirited and discriminatory.

I am quite confident that Sam's Club's policies bar hundreds, if not thousands, of Evanstonians - those most in need of employment and all its rehabilitative influences - from obtaining jobs.

Because of a growing reluctance by the federal government to add to the already exiting civil rights and employment laws, regulation has become more and more localized. …

As Evanston has had a unique history, even within its northeastern Illinois neighbors, of being a caring and inclusive community, it behooves both the City Council and all Evanstonians to take a long, hard look at what is going on in our community.

Sometimes it is tempting to overlook persistent problems like the integration of ex-offenders into the mainstream community, or to pretend they are someone else's problem.

In Evanston it should be everyone's concern that all Evanstonians have the opportunity to be employed at a level commensurate with their ability and a chance to correct past mistakes.

Otherwise those mistakes will be repeated ad infinitum as these citizens serve out a life sentence of unequal opportunity and preemptive condemnation.
- Christopher Krueger