EDITORIALS

We Were Good

While a lot of Evanston came out of the Aug. 23 storm smelling like a soggy basement carpet, for the most part the City and the community shone in the aftermath. Crews from the Parks/Forestry division had the streets cleaned within 24 hours, which allowed Commonwealth Edison's local and out-of-state crews access to downed power lines and damaged feeders. Neighbors pitched in to share electricity and refrigerator space as well as labor to clean out flooded basements.

Fortunately, there have been no reports of harm or injury to anyone - resident, business owner or cleanup crew member - from this storm.

However, before the storm, a section of the City was essentially alarm-less. Several residents in northwest Evanston have said they heard no siren warning of the dangerous storm, although common sense told them to get inside. One siren was disabled by a nearby lightning strike, a City official said. Another siren - the one previously attached to the now-demolished Fire Station #5 - was just not replaced. Such a situation, particularly in a City with a newly formed department of emergency management, is unacceptable.

On the part of the community, we all need to be more attuned to the City's radio broadcasts and turn to AM 1630, particularly with the threat of severe weather.

On the part of the City, officials have said they are looking into the failure of the sirens and alternate ways to ensure that alarms sound throughout the City.

Yes, in the Aug. 23 storms, we were good. But we were also lucky.

Community Spirit

Pulling together for the common good has been the theme of Evanston over the past two weeks: Activism, advocacy and neighborliness appear on the pages of this newspaper – they are all great examples of community spirit. Activism is never dormant in Evanston. We live in one of the most activist (opinionated or determined) communities in the nation. It is dear to our hearts and part of our charm.

Advocacy came to the fore over the Labor Day – back-to-school – weekend. Candy on Wheels, working with Family Focus, offered school supplies to families who needed them. The Evanston Youth Initiative sponsored local participation in the Million Father March, asking fathers to walk their children to school as a first step in becoming more involved in their children's education.

The neighborliness brought about by the recent storm has been chronicled on these pages and elsewhere. But Evanston also saw block parties and picnics, leisurely conversations on sidewalks, porches and stoops and pick-up games or chance meetings of friends new and old at playgrounds, beaches and school yards.

A lot of us think that after Labor Day it is back to the grind. In Evanston, we shall do this with renewed energy.

Ora Et Labora

By Charles Wilkinson

It is easy for me to figure out why, every year at this time, I remember the phrase, ora et labora, "prayer and words," from my seminary days. The three-day retreats that began each school year seemed to echo the theme constantly; rightly so, since there was no clearer description to be had of the year ahead.

At age 13, I felt both challenged and intimidated by the power of the retreat master's words. I did not know much about praying back then: ora was labora! But I was willing to learn, even though my meditation time was spent on pennant races, batting averages and football scores. But the work ahead was as inescapable as my doubts regarding my abilities to handle it.

Still, I learned something back then about the power of prayer and the nature of work. It took a while, but I eventually came to realize how closely related they can be.

Labor Day ranks right up there with the Fourth of July as a pivotal holiday. It not only marks the end of summer but also, like my seminary retreats, establishes a focus on the nature and role of work in our lives. The day celebrates the laborer in all of us and recognizes the importance of work, not only to our economy but to our sense of self.

Life and work give each other meaning. One might say that life iswork, that "getting through" is a full-time job. But one's work can be life-giving as well as a way of getting through and in the process finding a meaning for it all. Labor Day gives us time to stop and think about what we are doing in and with our lives.

There is, perhaps, no more challenging statement on work than that of the Dalai Lama in his book, "Ethics for the New Millennium":

"The work of a person laboring in some humble occupation is no less relevant to the well-being of society than that of, for example, a doctor, a teacher, a monk, or a nun. All human endeavor is potentially great and noble. So long as we carry out our work with good motivation, thinking, ‘My work is for others,' it will be of benefit to the wider community." (p. 174)

The Dalai Lama's words might be paraphrased by saying that one's work is essentially a prayer for a better world. Some might think such thought is poetry rather than practicality: speaking, work of any kind is, after all, w-o-r-k. The thought, however, is not intended to make anyone's labors easier but rather to give them more of a meaning.

The phrase ora et labora has stayed with me for close to 60 years. I feel it deserves sharing.

Three Pieces

By Peggy Tarr

May belonged to a participatory church. Whenever members of her congregation liked what they heard, they stood up, waved their hands or handkerchiefs, clapped their hands, patted their feet or said, "Amen."

On one evening, May decided to take a seat at an outdoor concert. She had no idea what the orchestra's program was, but since she loved music, she anticipated enjoying it. The orchestra began to play Ravel's "Bolero" (composed in 1928 for a ballet). The very quiet beginning of this piece made May stretch her neck to see that the orchestra was actually playing, then cock her head to hear what was being played. RAT tat-a -ta TAT ta-a-ta TAT TAT TAT...

May began to move her head up and down with the beat. As more and more instruments joined in and the music became louder, May started to sway a bit in her seat. As more instruments joined in and emphasized the melody even more, May's movements became more and more animated. Her upper body moved from side to side. By the time the orchestra had reached a crescendo, May was up on her feet, swaying and waving her handkerchief and shouting, "Amen."

Members of the audience looked disapprovingly at her, but May didn't notice. She was entranced. When the piece ended, May clapped loudly and shouted, "Amen," as loudly as possible. When the clapping stopped, she sat down, smiling. "Amen!"

This man was in a foreign land. He didn't speak the native language, but this would not stop him from singing before hundreds of these "foreigners" that night in a concert. He walked onto the stage and bowed as the audience applauded his appearance. The orchestra began to play. The man started to sing. "Deeeeeep River. My home is over Jordan." His deep voice filled the concert hall. The audience stared at him, not moving, not making a sound. As this man continued singing his song, members of the audience dabbed their eyes. Muffled sobs could be heard. Language had been no barrier.

It was B.B. King, "The King of Blues," an American blues guitarist and singer, 81 years old.The crowd stood when he appeared, clapping and clapping and calling his name.As he began to play, many of those not seated in the pavilion crowded around the perimeter of the pavilion, hoping to catch a glimpse of The King.A man near me was beside himself with excitement.He danced around, clapped his hands and tossed his head back and forth in time to The King's music.A group of women stood near him talking.He shushed them.They continued to talk.He shushed them again.They continued their conversation.Finally, the man screamed at the top of his lungs, "Shut up!"

Oh my gosh!I hoped "The King" had not heard this man. Of course, he hadn't. He never missed a beat.The women shut up and moved away. The man continued his dance of ecstasy.

Letters to the Editor

Reader Questions Closing of TCC at Evanston Hospital
Editor:

I have a few further points to make in respect to the closing of the transitional care center at Evanston Hospital.

The first point would be in response to Mr. Grady's statement that "there is a greater need for oncologyservices in Evanston." Unless we are experiencing an epidemic of cancer-related illness, or the demographics and population of Evanston have changed thatsignificantly (neither of which I believe have occurred), I do not know where this increased need arises from. More likely is that the expansion of the Kellogg Care Center facilities fits well with the plans of Evanston Northwestern Healthcare to market their oncology treatment programs to the greater Chicago area. You can bet you will soon see advertising touting their appearance on the U.S. News and World Report survey list of best oncology centers accompanying the notice of the opening of the new and improved Kellogg Cancer Treatment Center.

I would not and am not questioning a need to improve their facilities, but do question the need to close the Transitional Care Center in order to complete this expansion. It is almost transparent that the real reason for the closing is that units such as the Transitional Care Center do not generate the dollars that oncology-related services do. In the business plan of Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, services that may be valuable to the community but do not generate adequate profit are discarded much in the manner that any subsidiary of a major corporation might be spun off oreliminatedif it is not producing. Despite being a nonprofit corporation whose mission is to serve the community, the hospital seems to have no interaction with or actual input from the community.

Secondly, Mr. Grady makes the statement that Evanston Hospital is maybe the only hospital to house such a unit within its campus. I would somewhat dispute this, sincemy residency training done some 30 years ago was done at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke's, which had a separate facility called the Johnston R. BowmanCenter which served as an extended care facility attached to the main hospital within the Rush Medical Complex. Of course, this argument is somewhat extraneous to whether the Transitional Care Center is maintained and supported; given that hospitals are quick to adopt new and exciting technology that they then market to the community as the "only hospital to have this new and exciting technology."Does Evanston Hospital wish to be partof the pack and only offer those services that other hospitals offer, or is it attempting to be innovative, as it leads us to believe in its advertising?The questions they should be asking, but have failed to address, are does the Transitional Care Center provide a necessary service that cannot be easily duplicated within the community, and does it improve the careandincrease the chances of a favorable outcome following hospitalization. I can only speak anecdotally to these questions, but with aresounding vote in favor of the beneficial impact of this unit.I doubt that administration at Evanston Hospital has any clue as to the answers.My strong belief is that this is an economic decision and not based on any consideration of how it will impact the patients it serves.This is very similar to their decision tolower their status from aLevel 1 Trauma Center some years back, which has since been reestablished largely due to the negative publicity this decision generated.

My third point gets back to how this decision was reached and most elucidates how decisions are made at EvanstonHospital.Mr. Grady states that"the clinical leadership and the department chairmen were all consulted with very little objection." Theclinical leadership is difficult to define in this statement, and since the department chairmen do little clinical work (that is, see and take care of patients), I do not know who this "clinical leadership" refers to. I have seen no evidence that any attempt was made to involve the physicians on staff, especially those who make use of the facility on a regular basis, in any of this decision process. There is no indication that the community was notified of this decision, either, from the comments of Ms. Flowers.My discussion with the hospital's community-liaison representative indicated he knew little of this closure's occurring and did not seem to think it warranted much discussion. The department heads are largely representative of those high-tech specialties that generate the most revenue for the hospital, and I can say with all honesty they have likely never set foot on the unitand may not even have known of its existence. It's no wonder they gave a pass on any objection to the unit's being closed. And furthermore, since the majority of them receive seven-figure salaries from the hospital, it is in their best interest not to rock the boat and block the economic interests of the hospital administration.

Having lived in Evanston for several years, I think it is time the residents of this community demanded a greater say in the oversight of this so-called non-profit hospital and demanded greater input from its administration. Otherwise, I see no reason forthe community to continue to support the lavish lifestyles of its administrators and department chairmen with exemptionfrom property and sales-tax payments. It isonly this kind of threat that will get the attention of the current leadership at Evanston Hospital. Otherwise, expect more closings and elimination of programs that may be of great value, but do not feed the bottom line.
-- Keith Sarpolis M.D.

A Harpist's Beautiful Summer
Editor:

I've lived here most of my life, and I've long known that Evanston is a wonderful place for the arts in any form. We're people who love to go to plays, dances and concerts, who appreciate a good painter or sculptor, and who encourage children and friends to explore all kinds of creative venues. In short, this is a special place.

I'm the harpist whom some of you may have seen playing outside of the Barnes & Noble in the evening, or at the Farmers' Market once or twice. It's been a new thing for me this summer, but I wish I'd hit the streets earlier. Busking has been a terrific experience for me, and I wanted to thank all of you who saw me for making it possible. What's a musician without her audience?

And I've had the most enjoyable of audiences, from the people who simply stroll by and smile, to those who bring their kids to watch for a minute or two, to the ones who've actually sat for the entire duration of an evening. I've come to know a respectable number of people, some quite well — the ones who've returned on multiple nights — and it has made me really happy to meet so many of you.

I've also been able to see some extremely cute kids.

I could go on for a while — how great it is to see people smile, to be told I've made someone's day even just a little more interesting, to find people old and young interested in my instrument and willing to take the time to talk and ask. But I'm hoping you'll all be able to fill that in yourselves.

I'm going back to college now, so it'll have to be a while before I can play for you again. Meanwhile, I just wanted to take a moment to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for taking your time and listening. It's been a beautiful summer.
--Erika Graham

Report Dog Fighting to the Humane Society
Editor:

Reading about Michael Vick and dogfighting in the papers recently, I was reminded that 22 years ago I saw a dogfight less that one block from our house in Evanston. We had lived here not more than a year when I heard a commotion and went out to the alley to see what was going on. Across the street was a yard full of men gathered around, cheering on two dogs fighting. I couldn't believe my eyes – I went back inside and called the police. Days later, I related the story to my father and his response was to call the ASPCA.

Today the Humane Society offers $5,000 for information leading to the arrest or conviction of dogfighters. For those individuals that think that watching two animals kill each other is a "sport" for gambling and human amusement, go to the Humane Society's website, hsus.org, and read about the disturbing lifestyle and culture of dog-fighting.
-Polly Hawkins

Evanston Library Thanks Donors and Community for "Room to Grow" Support
Editor:

On behalf of the 38 volunteers who worked on the Evanston Public Library's "Room to Grow" campaign, we want to thank the Evanston community for its support of the Library's remodeling project. The Library has doubled the size of the old Children's Room and created a new space, The Loft, for Evanston teens, on the 3rd floor of the Main Library. "Room to Grow: The Campaign for Evanston's New Children's Library" has raised more than $475,000 in private funds from over 550 donors for completion of the project.

This major remodeling was paid for with City of Evanston Capital Improvement funds, Library endowment and book-sale income, the proceeds from the sale of surplus City property, and a grant from the Illinois State Library. The privately raised funds from the Room to Grow campaign were used to pay for the themed environments in the children's room and The Loft. These funds provided the "wow factor" for the museum-like exhibits and interactive displays which will encourage creative exploration and learning.

There is a lot of "wow factor" in Evanston's new children's library and The Loft. We encourage all Evanston families to visit the new spaces as soon as possible, and once again we want to extend our thanks to the many generous donors who helped make it possible.
-- Michael C. Weston
Chariman, Room to Grow Campaign

End to Nursing Care Center
Editor:

The announcement by Ray Grady, president of hospitals and clinics at Evanston Hospital,announces another curious and regrettable decision by our community hospital. Beginning in February 2008, Mr. Grady has ruled, the hospital will end its nursing care center, (TCC) because of a temporary need to move the Kellogg facility during construction.

This ruling comes with no evident attempt to sample community opinion, no consultation with such community advisers as Nancy Flowers, the City's long-term care ombudsman, or any public involvement, all things which seem again beyond Mr. Grady's and Evanston Hospital's mode of operation.

Mr. Grady states he met with clinical leadership (?), notified department chairmen and sent out notices to physicians, but Dr. Keith Sarpolis states that physicians "want their patients there [in the TCC at ENH]."

You may recall that this is the same Mr. Grady who ended Level I Emergency services at the same hospital, only to later reverse himself to restore and reapply for the same certification several years later -- a lucky event for the recent Panera crash-injured victims who were taken to that restored Level I emergency facility.

This time it is a service primarilyfor elderly transitional patients who will be pushed out from the hospital into dubious and unequal nursing home facilities. The resources available as an alternative to the TCC are limited, geographically dispersed and offer significantly less than services presently available to these patients in the hospital setting. Retention of hospital-based doctors is often impossible in the new settings and services are consistently lacking and inadequate when comparedto the hospital resources.

Mr. Grady states "We aren't going to transfer anyone to a nursing home that isn't ready to go to a nursing home," and, "these skilled service providers [nursing homes] can do this better than we can." How canthis lastbe true? Is any nursing home experience superior to Evanston Hospital care? Shame on Mr. Grady for even suggesting that to be true. And if he really believes it, he should be seeking employment there instead of staying at the hospital he heads.

What is really going on here? Why is a service to a growing and medically needy population (elderly, primarily) being dumped by ENH? Mr. Grady says it all: "[Cutting costs] was not the intention of the program initially." But it evidently soon came to be. The same thing was done at ENH-owned Highland Park Hospital, making Evanston's program next on Mr. Grady's cost-chopping block.

It is another stunningly sad decision in which a community medical service of a distinctive and needed nature is withdrawn with a hollow and shallow justification to cover the truth. The quality of life available to residents is compromised and diminished for the balance sheet of ENH.

Mr. Grady said it: "A not-for-profit system, ENH is obliged to reinvest its resources to improve the quality of life in the community." How is the decision to close theTCC consistent with such a purpose?

Instead of seeing TCC as a hallmark at ENH, to Mr. Grady it is only needed space for temporary relocation of the Kellogg facility. Once a new Kellogg is in place and the space is once again available, will TCC be restored? Don't hold your breath.

Meanwhile elderly patients will be moved out to other often distant locations if such openings can be found, where the availability of their ENH-based physicians, tests and trained therapists are not available.

Mr. Grady says "there is a greater need for cancer care services," and so TCC must go. Cancer patients should get the best medically available treatment, no question, but at what cost? Should not a truly great hospital, a leadership hospital, a hospital connected to its community and in tune with its community's present and future patients' needs be able to provide for both?

The elimination of the TCC center is diminishing medical services to a medically needful population and is simply no way for a great hospital to act.
-- Donald Rogan

Singin' the (Sub)prime Blues
Editor:

When the mortgage dance came to a halt last week ... (or was it last year?), who was left sitting on a chair, in a house they still want to own, with a mortgage they still want to service? Apparently that number is a heck of a lot less than the good folks who were financing those purchases ever would have guessed, and apparently that number is getting smaller by the day. In any case, I think it's fair to say that the housing market and related industry, which have been the primary engine of this economy for the better part of the last decade, has completely ground to a halt. Further, I think I've seen this movie before, the one where bankers, brokers, appraisers, builders and developers manicure fingers, and point them at someone else: the "who to blame for the mess" dance and denouement.

So who is to blame? Well there's a lot of it to go around. Certainly the people applying for these loans are not wholly innocent. When the nicely quaffed and pressed banker, or broker, is sitting across the table from you telling you why the "interest only," or "2 yr adjustable," or "piggy back," or put-in-your-own-favorite-exotic (and by exotic, I mean stupid) loan package is right for you. That voice in the back of your head saying doesn't an interest only loan mean I'm renting this? Really, should have been louder.

Yeah, actually you were a renter, but with about 10 times a renter's responsibility. I don't care how nice that man/woman's teeth were, you should have known better.

How about the mortgage brokers and related bankers? Yup, lots of blame there too. These people were all ignoring otherwise long-held and practiced loan requirements and simple due diligence, in order to squeeze people into loans/mortgages that realistically never stood a chance in anything but the best-case scenario. In this way, the lenders in question were able to chase down the related fees, or the $1,200-$4,000 associate with putting these mortgages in place. Then they rang the bell and moved on to the next guy.

Same goes with the appraisers. They were in on the game absolutely and for the same reasons. I'm sure they were largely thinking, ‘Sir, if you want to service the debt on a piece of property that bad, at a price twice what the dirt and material to build said property is actually worth, well, you have at it ... that'll be $300-$500, please.'

Ok, so who is supervising those people? Well, now I think we're getting somewhere. As I'm sure you've read, the world is in an uproar about Chinese toys painted with lead paint. Subsequently, the regulators and watchdogs are out with sharpened spears saving our children from the relatively small possibility that our kids will actually suck the stuff right off of them.

Where are those same regulators when someone is writing "no doc" loans (essentially a loan made to someone who hasn't had to prove any credit worthiness at all), as fast as their printers can spit them out? ... where indeed? Would not having some related regulation in place prove another ... ahh ... miscalculation by the current admin? ... Hmmm, let's all think.

In any event, it's all over now, but the weight-challenged lady singing. For many of us, watching this years updated edition of, "Let's watch the bubble burst," means our houses and condos are worth a whole lot less than they looked to be last year at this time. Hopefully, we haven't been withdrawing from that particular cash machine too heavily. For the balance, I'm afraid that road is gonna prove a lot steeper and will be laid out with a lot more potholes, so Godspeed.

But do know, that if you end up getting buried and walking away from your house and mortgage, understand that you are going to become a passenger, on what I'm certain will prove a very big boat.

Furthermore, if I know one thing about this administration, and, really, about this country, it is that we need you out there buying and spending. Moreover, I'm confident that our fearless leaders will be helping you to figure out how to do exactly that -- and post-haste.
-- John O'Brien

Realtor Association Opposes Transfer Tax Increase
Open Letter to the City Council:

On behalf of our nearly 4,600 members, the North Shore-Barrington Association of Realtors (NSBAR) strongly opposes efforts to place a referendum on the Feb. 5, 2008 election ballot asking voters to raise the real estate transfer tax by 20 percent to help cover the City's pension debt.

We have several concerns:
Housing affordability
At a time when Evanston is vigorously pursuing measures to increase affordable housing within the City, a 20-percent jump in the transfer tax ironically serves to raise the costs of homeownership and price more people out of the housing market; the tax will also adversely affect the affordability of rental housing as landlords pass the costs on to renters in the form of increased rent.

According to realtors, an increase of $625 in the purchase could prevent 203,000 households across the United States from purchasing a home each year. The impact, of course, is amplified as costs rise even further.

Regressiveness
A tax is regressive when its burden relative to income is greater on lower-income people compared to higher-income people. The property transfer tax clearly falls in the regressive category because people tend to spend a decreasing share of their total income on housing as income increases.

Another important characteristic of the property transfer tax that contributes to its regressive nature is that the transfer tax discriminates against buying a home versus buying some other type of asset such as stocks or bonds or buying other large ticket consumer durable goods. Housing equity is larger than stock holdings at the lower income levels. However, as incomes rise, the stock holdings rise more quickly and for the highest income group, stock holdings are larger than housing equity. Thus any tax applied to real estate assets such as housing would be regressive relative to taxes on other assets such as stock holdings.

This discriminatory nature of the transfer tax adds to its regressivity. For the average family, a 0.5 percent property transfer tax equals 0.41 percent of the value of all assets. However, as income rises, an increasing share of income is used to purchase assets other than real estate, so the property transfer tax comprises a decreasing share of total assets.

Volatility of revenue
The real estate transfer tax can have a direct impact on the costs of transactions involving existing housing and other real estate. Increases of this magnitude are likely to impact the ability of new and current homebuyers to purchase a home.

This increased cost of purchasing a home results in a decline in mobility that is likely to create a negative spiral in tax revenues. Higher transfer taxes discourage mobility among current homeowners and discourage frequent movers from entering homeownership. With fewer households moving, the revenue generated from the transfer tax is not likely to meet expectations based on current mobility rates.

Arbitrariness
A narrowly based tax, such as this, burdens only a small percentage of residents of a jurisdiction. The burden exponentially increases for those who choose or must move more frequently. Additionally, a property transfer tax in excess of the costs associated with the administration of property-ownership records is an arbitrary levy that is not related to a household's ability to pay or to the benefits that movers derive from public services.

With this in mind, the NSBAR strongly opposes any consideration of a transfer tax increase. We look forward to continuing being a resource on this matter and positively contributing to the debate on this issue.
-- Howard Handler, Government Affairs Director, North Shore-Barrington
Association of Realtors

Bye, Bye Comcast
Editor:

The final countdown has begun and we still haven't heard any good news about the Big Ten Network and Comcast negotiations. Since the first announcement of the BTN last year, I have been really looking forward to this football season. With more Big Ten games being shown then ever before, I knew it would be a season to remember. Now that we're only weeks away, my excitement for the network has only grown. Unfortunately, it seems like I won't be able to see this exciting new network, at least not on Comcast.

As a Comcast subscriber, I have continually been subject to rising costs and extra fees without an increase in quality. Now, when Comcast has the opportunity to reconcile some of these costs by adding the Big Ten Network, the negotiations keep stalling with no prospect for a deal anytime soon. This is completely unacceptable. It looks like I have been pushed around for the last time. DirecTV, here I come.
-- Ryan Hays
University of Illinois Sophomore