AG Finds Council Violated Open Meetings Act in Meeting With Klutznick

By Mary Helt Gavin

City Council violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act by discussing the proposed 49-story high-rise in a closed-session meeting on March 27, according to the office of Attorney General Lisa Madigan. 

A letter dated Oct. 29 to Jack Siegel, the City's Corporation Counsel, from Terry Mutchler, public access counselor for the Attorney General's office, reaffirmed the opinion stated in a letter of July 18: "[T]he City Council violated the Open Meetings Act ... and we recommend that Council release to the public the portion of the closed-door session related to [the proposal for the 49-story high-rise at 708 Church St.]"

Public bodies are required to conduct their business in public, according to the Illinois Open Meetings Act. There are several limited exceptions that allow closed-session meetings, one of which is discussion of the purchase or sale of real estate.

The RoundTable obtained correspondence between the City and the Attorney General about the propriety of the closed-session meeting.

Robert Atkins, a local attorney, requested in May that the Attorney General examine whether the March 27 meeting violated the Open Meetings Act. His letter, dated May 17, said the meeting was held "for the purpose of discussing a developer's plan to building a 49-story condominium tower in downtown Evanston." Mr. Atkins' letter also said "many Evanston residents" believed that the closed-session meeting was held illegally.

The City's attorneys have said they felt the meeting - held with developers James Klutznick and Tim Anderson, who subsequently submitted a proposal for a 49-story mixed-use high rise on that property - was proper, because the discussion primarily involved discussion of the rehab of Fountain Square and the possible acquisition of a parcel in the Fountain Square block.

In a July 10 letter to the Attorney General, the City's First Assistant Corporation Counsel Herbert Hill termed the discussion of development of the property for the proposed tower "incidental discussion with the developer of a related parcel." He also stated that the purpose of the closed-session meeting "was to determine the feasibility of acquiring real estate for the enlargement and enhancement of Fountain Square." He said the discussion turned on whether to acquire the property that abuts Fountain Square – known as the Fountain Square building – and whether purchase or condemnation would be the better course of action.

"[A]t [the March 27] executive session, there was incidental discussion with a developer of a related parcel and the impact of that development on Fountain Square," the letter says, "In the event the City were to purchase the subject parcel, the area known as Fountain Square would be enlarged and extensively redesigned. The acquisition of the additional real estate for Fountain Square and the related improvements of an enlarged and enhanced Fountain Square were discussed at the Executive Session. This discussion cored in the context of whether the City should acquire the subject property," Mr. Hill's July 10 letter continued.

Ms. Mutchler's response, dated July 18, again noting the purpose of the Open Meetings Act and citing sections of the law (5 ILCS 120/2) applying to closed-session meetings, said that in the March 27 meeting, "The City of Evanston was limited to discuss the purchase of a specific piece of property and the setting of a price for sale or lease of property. No other discussion would be permitted outside those items ...An incidental discussion of the development of an unrelated piece of land is neither identified to the public as a reason for entering closed session on this date, nor is it covered under the provisions [of the subsection of the Act]"

In further correspondence to the Attorney General's office, dated Aug. 28, Corporation Counsel Jack Siegel requested that Ms. Mutchler reconsider her opinion and offered an expanded context for the closed-session meeting: that the subject of the session was the redevelopment of the entire tax-increment financing (TIF) district, which includes Fountain Square, the 708 Church parcel (the site of the proposed tower) and the Fountain Square building, which the City contemplated acquiring by purchase or condemnation.

"The basic issue," Mr. Siegel's letter said, "was the Council's consideration of the possible acquisition of a building known as the Fountain Square Building. The Building is located in the TIF district, as is a proposed development by a developer who in fact, was present at that meeting. ... the discussion in the closed meeting at which the possibility of acquiring the Fountain Square Building was considered necessarily involved the purpose for which such acquisition would take place. The City could acquire the Fountain Square Building for the purpose of implementing a redevelopment plan which included the developer's proposed project. Before the City Council could consider such acquisition as part of the redevelopment project, it was necessary to learn how the City's acquisition would fit into the proposed development."

Mr. Siegel's letter also disputes Mr. Atkins' allegations about the purpose of the meeting. He said the meeting was not held to discuss the proposal, "although ... the City Council necessarily had to understand the context in which the possible acquisition of the Fountain Square building was to be considered." Although the City has given no explanation as to why the tower proposal was not discussed publicly before the Council adjourned to a closed session, Mr. Siegel said there was "no intent by the City Council to violate the Open Meetings Act."

A request by the RoundTable to read the closed-session minutes and to listen to the tape recording of the meeting was denied by the City on Nov. 1. City Clerk Mary Morris said Council was did not have to follow the Attorney General's request to release the minutes of the closed session and she could not release them until the Council had approved the release.

This article will be updated as more information becomes available.

Consultants' Recommendations for 'Everyone's Downtown'

'Cap-Plus-Bonus' and Form-Based Zoning Are Key to Mass, Height and Density

By Mary Helt Gavin

Representatives of the five organizations the City hired as consultants to "re-vision" the downtown area gave their initial recommendations to a joint meeting of the City's Plan Commission, Planning and Development Committee and Economic Development Committee on Oct. 24. The presentation was roughly the same as the one given a week before at the downtown subcommittee of the Plan Commission, and the same one that will be presented on Nov. 6 for public comment.

See the Downtown Evanston Plan Summary , Public Review Draft, 10/19/07 (PDF)

View all of the documents for the Downtown Plan. (PDF)

For planning purposes, Downtown Evanston encompasses the area between Emerson Road and Lake Street and between Ridge and Hinman avenues. The consultants divided it into three areas based on present use and further subdivided those three areas based on potential use.

The positive and the negative - a tale of two downtowns
"Some see Evanston's downtown as the place that has doubled the number of new restaurants since the 1990s, added 25 new retail businesses in the last four years and maintains a strong office market, " said Kurt Bishop of Duncan Associates, one of the consulting groups. "Others see it as a concrete high-rise jungle with an unpredictable physical-development framework that has lost a number of local independent businesses as well as its "Main Street" character. Whatever [Evanston] is, it is the tale of two downtowns."

Among the positive aspects of the present downtown are its compact framework and its convenient public transportation.

"If there were a model for transit-oriented development, it would be Evanston," said Mr. Bishop. In addition, he said, both vintage and new buildings are "well maintained and in good shape" and there are many "activity-generators - the cinema, the businesses, the office space, the McGaw YMCA, the library and the Rotary building."

In fact," he said at one point, grinning at the audience, "we have a person on our staff who has taken it upon herself to reduce the use of the word 'vibrant' in the plan."

The challenge, he said is "to ensure that growth can be sustained and can enhance the quality of life."

Fountain Square and many of the commuter-rail viaducts he termed "rough spots," in need of rehab. But the most negative aspect the consultants said they found in the downtown is the "hodge-podge zoning."

If one considers the Fountain Square block to be the center of the downtown core, Mr. Bishop said, the zoning is more the "fallen soufflé" than the wedding-cake model, since taller buildings nearly surround the core.

John LaMotte of the Lakota Group, another of the consultants, said their recommendations were for "mixed-use [commercial and residential] in the central business district [Evanston's downtown] that is attractive, convenient, livable, sustainable and accessible."

He said Evanston's downtown already exhibits "many aspects of smart growth: access to public transportation - not just one train station, but two; activity generators like the movie theatres, and compactness - nearly everything you could want in a quarter-mile radius."

He added, "We love the quote, 'It's everybody's downtown.'"

Form-based zoning and building height
Mr. LaMotte criticized the planned-development process - which the City currently uses to review all development proposals of more than 24 units - as providing no predictable framework for the development of an area.

Instead, the consultants recommend form-based zoning, which, he said, looks at the development of the entire site from several aspects, such as the location and orientation of the proposed buildings; "build-to" zones or required setbacks; pedestrian-orientation of the design; and placement of parking within the development. The "build-to" zones, he said, create a straight commercial edge to ensure a uniform pedestrian experience, with all storefronts built to the sidewalk and having glass windows shoppers can peer into.

The consultants also recommend computing the allowable footprint of the building by a formula called floor-area ratio (FAR), which addresses the mass of a building.

In tandem with form-based zoning, the consultants would further subdivide the downtown core into its north edge (Emerson Street), its east and west edges, the Northwestern gateway (where Burger King now stands), the traditional area (west Davis Street), the west core (near the McGaw YMCA at Grove Street and Maple Avenue), the east core (the Mather buildings) and the very core (the Fountain Square block).

For each area the consultants recommend a base height, which would be as-of-right, and a bonus height, which would be capped and which a developer could obtain by providing specific public benefits.

Examples of the public benefits are constructing a silver or platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy Environmental Design) certified building; using underground rather than above-ground parking; providing green space or public art; providing affordable housing (or contributions to the City's affordable-housing fund) over and above City requirements; and adding a green roof.

Allowable height along west Davis Street, for example would be three stories as the base. By providing public benefits, a developer could receive allowances to build two additional stories. (Zoning district I on page 1 map.)

For the east and west edges of downtown (zoning districts B and C on page 1 map), the base height would be six stories, capped at 10 stories with public benefits provided. For the north edge, along Emerson Street (zoning district A on map), the base would be eight stories and the cap, 15. For both the east and the west cores (districts E and F), the base or as-of-right zoning would be 15 stories, with an 18-story maximum height.

At the center of downtown (district H) the highest building at present is 28 stories, the developers said. "To make this area a more symbolic core, we would recommend 25 stories as of right with a 50-percent bonus, up to a maximum of 42 stories," Mr. LaMotte said.

These recommendations, which would have to be approved by City Council to be binding, would apply to developments that have not yet begun the City approval process and so would exclude the Klutznick-Anderson 49-story tower proposal currently under review in the Plan Commission.

Fill-ins and open space
As they did at a public meeting this summer, the consultants identified several locations in the downtown area they thought could bear redevelopment and offered their recommendations for the size and shape of building that could replace them.

"The Burger King corner," said Mr. La Motte, "is not an attractive gateway to Northwestern." In addition, he said, the pedestrian crossings can be confusing to drivers. The consultants have several recommendations for that area: extending Orrington Avenue to Elgin Road, closing Clark Street between Orrington and Sherman avenues for an expansion of Oldberg Park, and replacing the Burger King with a three-story L-shaped building.

They propose a similar fill-in for the portion of Orrington Avenue just south of Davis Street, to expand Chandler Plaza on the southeast corner and to give a fuller sense of openness to Fountain Square.

Just west of that area, the small green space and fountain adjacent to the 800 Elgin Road development should be reworked to make it more attractive to the public, the consultants said.

Another suggestion was to replace the library parking lot along Chicago Avenue with a public plaza, either placing the parking underground or abandoning the lot altogether, if it appeared there was sufficient other parking downtown. In conjunction with the downtown revisioning, the City will embark on a multi-modal transportation study, said Mr. LaMotte, and one recommendation that could come from that is that all downtown streets be two-way.

Not yet everybody's downtown
Several members of the downtown subcommittee of the Plan Commission said they were pleased with the consultant's recommendations.

 "It seemed like they were listening," said Diane Williams, executive director of EvMark.

David Galloway said, "My sense is that since we're such an engaged community we tend to be somewhat introspective and have dug a hole as to what our community should be."

Larry Widmayer said he felt the plan should receive "widespread approval. Stuart Opdycke said he was "very impressed" with the draft plan.

Yet many community members at the Oct. 24 presentation objected to the additional height. The Klutznick-Anderson proposal for a 49-story tower, undergoing the City's present review process, has created consternation and vocal opposition to additional tall buildings in the downtown area.

While plans to expand Fountain Square addressed way to expand the plaza and the public space, there was no specific mention of the treatment of the war memorials. Similarly, the consultants suggested that the parking lot now used for the Farmers' Market might be developed but made no suggestions for relocating the market.

Dennis Merino of the City's Community Development division told the RoundTable, "The City will protect the market."

The present infrastructure - public transportation, electricity, sewer, water and storm-water - should be able to handle the proposed developments, the consultants said. He acknowledged that many of the sidewalks could benefit from being repaired and enlarged.

Finally, even though the City has built two large parking garages in the past few years, parking still seems to be a thorny issue. Several community members at the Oct. 18 meeting said they did not believe the present - and even the recommended - parking requirements are sufficient for developments already in the pipeline as well as future developments.

The consultants disagreed, saying that with the nearness of public transportation, occupants of the downtown developments do not need as many cars as the zoning ordinance now requires. They said their experts had surveyed several of the new condominium developments and found that in most cases fewer than 1.5 spaces per development were needed to accommodate the owners' needs.

The consultants also provided an assessment of the present and future of the downtown real estate market and its development potential for the next 10 years.  (See accompanying story.)

Linda Williams of the consulting group Goodman Williams presented an overview of the present and future markets for residential, commercial, hotel and office space over the next 10 years in the downtown area.

Goodman Williams sees the possibility of adding between 100,000 and 120,000 square feet of retail space, from 50,000-100,000 square feet of office space and between 1,500 and 2,000 new residential units.

 "Evanston has several competitive advantages that attract residential development, such as transit, the lake and Northwestern University," she said. "Retail attracts movie-goers to the street and into the shops," she said, but noted the competition from Old Orchard. "Our recommendation is to embrace the variety of residential opportunities here and to support the specialty shops."

Ms. Williams' organization sees a potential for additional revenue from office space. "Access to transit, Northwestern, and knowledge-based workers is positive," she said. "A big negative is the lack of easy access to O'Hare Airport."

In endorsing Goodman Williams' assessment of the potential for downtown development, Mr. LaMotte said, "We recommend that Evanston optimize - not maximize - its development potential. Development should enhance the quality of life here.

Apprehension Builds Over Future Development on Central Street

By Joe Linstroth

The stretch of Central Street from Hartrey Avenue to Prairie Avenue has been called the "Crown Jewel" business district for its mix of independently owned shops and restaurants, along with the North Branch of the Evanston Public Library and Independence Park. 

For the most part, the look and feel of the area has remain unchanged for decades. "It's got a neighborhood feel to it, always has," said Dave Schaps, owner of Great Harvest Bread Company, 2126 Central St.

"This is one of the last neighborhood shopping districts in Evanston," said Patty O'Neill-Cynkar, owner of Perennials, 2022 Central St.

But as Evanston addresses development issues citywide, from the lakefront to downtown and along the entire Central Street corridor extending from Crawford Avenue to Ridge Avenue, many residents and merchants are concerned about the effects future development might have on the area.

Jim LeTerneau, co-owner of Mindscape Adornments, 2114 Central St., said major redevelopment would drive current retail shops out of the area. "A lot of business owners would have a hard time relocating and then moving back," he said, adding that the new retail spaces would likely have much higher rents. 

"More than half of the businesses reside in a building that is one story.  I think if most people had their druthers, they would keep it that way," said Jeff Smith, president of the Central Street Neighbors Association (CSNA), an organization made up of local residents and business owners whose goal, Mr. Smith said, is "to preserve and enhance the unique characteristics of the Central Street neighborhood."

George Ritzlin, owner of George Ritzlin Antique Maps and Prints, 1937 Central St., said he witnessed firsthand the failure of mixed-use development to attract retail tenants when his shop was located in Highland Park.  "My theory is that developers are condo developers and they don't know retail development," he said. "It's basically an afterthought." 

Co-owner Mary Ritzlin said retail spaces in many new mixed-use developments are often too small for most merchants and poorly designed, with no access to alleys for deliveries. 

On Oct. 8 the City Council extended the moratorium on new construction from Ashland Avenue (near Ryan Field) to 2200 Central St. for another 120 days, until Feb. 2008.  The extension allows time for residents, merchants and City officials to review and comment on the Central Street Master Plan (CSMP), which includes zoning recommendations for new development extending the entire length of the Central Street corridor. 

For the area, the plan recommends a downzoning from the current B2 designation, which allows for a maximum height of four stories or 45 feet, to B1A, which would cap new construction at three stories or 35 feet. 

Alderman Elizabeth Tisdahl, whose 7th Ward encompasses the Green Bay/Central Street district, said she not only supports the downzoning, but requested it.  "Once upon a time, long ago, I made a reference to the Plan Commission asking that the area be rezoned from B2 to B1A.," she said in an e-mail to the RoundTable.  The zoning changes will become law if the Council agrees with them, she confirmed, adding that the final Council action on the CSMP is scheduled for Jan. 7, 2008.

While Mr. Smith said the CSNA is supportive of many of the plan's concepts, his group feels it does not go far enough in its implementation. "The concept that the Council and the community saw showed a lot of two- and three-story development and a lot of no development. 

But what is permitted will allow a lot more than that," Mr. Smith told the RoundTable. "We recognize that there will be a need for redevelopment from time to time.  To facilitate that, we adopted a compromise position, where we said we'll settle for three stories here and four stories there.

"[But] we have our feet dug in on the stretch between Hartrey and Prairie.  It's the only open area where you can see the sky - because of all the trees - and [we want to] limit the height to two-and-half stories.

It would still allow for significant development," Mr. Smith said.

It appears that some developers have already contacted property owners on Central Street. Tom Erd, owner of The Spice House, 1941 Central St., told the RoundTable that his landlord will not renew his lease, which currently lasts until 2011. 

He said he inquired about buying the property, but the landlord was asking $985,000 for the one-story building, which is approximately 1600 square feet. 

"The price that the landlord is asking is about three times what current rents would capitalize," he said, adding that only a developer could afford such a high price.

"I'm not always a fan of downzoning, but I think this is a perfect case where we need to downzone seriously," said Mr. Erd.  He referred to the condominiums currently under construction around the corner on Prairie Avenue as the type of development he fears will be built on Central Street. 

Ald. Tisdahl said she initially opposed the Prairie Avenue project, agreeing to it only after the neighbors lobbied for it in order to prevent Duxler Tire, 2620 Green Bay Rd., from using the street.  Asked whether she would support similar projects on Central Street, Ald. Tisdahl said, "I would not support more projects like that without neighbors requesting it for specific reasons." 

"We're trying to preserve a wonderfully functioning retail ecology," said Mr. Smith.  "We've got a district that is in harmony and a state of delicate balance. We want to make sure that the balance is not disrupted for thoughtless over-development."

No Parking

Another concern from business owners is how increased density would affect an area already deficient in parking. 

"It would be bad," said Jay Liberman, owner of Foodstuffs, 2106 Central St. "There's already a problem with parking now."

Tom Erd, owner of The Spice House, 1941 Central St., said, "Zoning people have to understand that the number of bedrooms or proximity to a train station no longer determines how many cars you own. The price of the condo determines how many cars you own." 

He said people who can afford $600,000 for a condo can afford two cars. With the extra cars parked on the street, he said, the area "could be like Rogers Park," referring to the scarcity of parking in the northside Chicago neighborhood.

When asked about the parking issues, Ald. Tisdahl said, "Parking at Northwestern University's stadium is not fully utilized.  If the University would lease 200 spaces to the City, parking problems for merchants and commuters would be solved." 

Midyear Budget Update

Delays at State Level Impact City Budget

By Mary Helt Gavin

By borrowing from unrestricted reserves to fund the fire and police pension funds to the actuarially mandated amount for this year and by taking out a line of credit to cover the cash-flow gap, the City should make it to the end of the fiscal year without having to amend the budget and seek a second property-tax hike. This was the report from Finance Director Matthew Grady to the members of the City's Administration and Public Works Committee on Oct. 22.

Revenues lag
Revenues from property taxes, the home-rule sales tax, the basic sales tax, licenses and permits and federal grants range from 3 percent to 11 percent below the budget targets, Mr. Grady said. Delays at the state level caused by budget squabbles over the expanded homeowner exemption in turn made Cook County officials late in sending out the second installments of property tax bills, which in turn will delay the County in remitting the revenues to the City, Mr. Grady said.

"We have a $2,500 per day loss in interest attributable to the delay," which could to amount to about $300,000 by the time the tax is collected and remitted to the City. As a result, the City wil ned to borrow against a line of credit to fund operations, he said.

County officials have said they estimate the property tax bills will be distributed between mid-November and mid-December, he said. "If the property taxes are due Dec. 1, the City will receive the revenues in late December or early January."

To fill the money gap, the City is considering taking out a line of credit, Mr. Grady said, adding that he "anticipate[s] meeting year-end budget."

Since the City budgeted a 6-percent increase in home-rule sales tax revenues for this year, a strong local holiday shopping season is needed to meet this budget projection, Mr. Grady said. Revenues from the home-rule sales tax are about 5 percent higher than last year, Mr. Grady said, but again there is a delay in receiving the revenue payments from the State.

So far this year there have been almost 200 fewer real-estate transactions than last year - 895 as compared to 1,067 - but the transactions were larger. The City has collected about $2.46 million, with $3.1 million budgeted.

Parking revenues overall are below projections, with the exception of the one-time revenue of about $7 million from spaces purchased from the City for the Sherman Plaza development, Mr. Grady said.

Most expenditures on track
Total expenditures in the General Fund at the mid-point were about 51 percent of the budget, or $45,504,182, Mr. Grady said. This is 2 percent below the expenditures at mid-point last year, but Mr. Grady said he felt expenditures were "on track for meeting the year-end budget."

Among the departments over budget are the City Manager's office at 54 percent, miscellaneous business operations at 84 percent, and the Police Department at 53 percent of budgeted expenditures, he said.

The City has implemented several cost-saving measures, he said. A recent bond refunding saved between $600,000 and $700,000. City staff members, including several department heads, have opted for early retirement, and the City is evaluating each vacancy to see whether it needs to be filled, Mr. Grady said.

This year the City offered an early retirement to certain employees, and the exit may be greater than was anticipated. Several department heads have left the City in the past two years, two more retirements - Public Works Director David Jennings and Health and Human Services Director Jay Terry - have been announced, and there are unconfirmed reports of at least two more senior administrators leaving.

Ms. Carroll told the APW Committee there may be unexpected payouts in health insurance premiums, FICA/Medicare, retirement payments. "Staff will evaluate these to see if we need a budget amendment," she said.

By transferring funds from unrestricted reserves and taking out a line of credit to fund operations, City officials say the City should make it through the year without a budget amendment.

Pensions
The fire and police pension funds are proving to be a thorn in the side of most municipalities in the state, both this year and for the foreseeable future.

The City says it has put into those funds the amount actuarially demanded by the state each year, but both pension funds remain under-funded for this year and several years out.

For the present fiscal year, the proposed contribution to the two funds was about $8.9 million, City Manager Julia Carroll told members of the APW committee on Oct. 22.

However, the City has since changed actuaries and the new actuary recommended putting another $4 million into the police and fire pension fund for the present year.

To meet these recommendations, Ms. Carroll and Mr. Grady have recommended transferring to the pension funds $4 million from a $19 million pool of unreserved fund balances.

"We're trying to monitor [the funds] and work very closely with the pension boards to make sure we respond to changes in actuarial assessments, changes in benefits and changes in economic conditions," Mr. Grady told the RoundTable.

Looking to next year
Ms. Carroll said tentative budget figures show a $2.4 million shortfall for next fiscal year. "We've gone back to department heads and asked them to trim more expenses, and we're looking at new revenues," she said.

Mr. Grady said City staff recommends an increase in parking-garage rates and in meter rates for next year - from $80 to $85 for monthly rates and from 50¢ to 75¢ per hour at meters. Alderman Ann Rainey, 8th ward, chair of the APW Committee, clarified that City Council had agreed in principle to a rate hike but had not approved specific amounts.

The Budget Committee will meet at 7 p.m. on Nov. 5 in the Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave.

How Many Evanstonians Does It Take to Bike Across the Country
And Collect Jokes? 

The answer is two, one named Simon Goldberg (left) and the other named Dan Ettinger.  On Aug. 19, the former sixth-grade locker partners at Nichols Middle School left Portland, Ore., embarking on a nearly 3,700-mile cycling trip across the country.  Along with their bicycles, a tent and a few toiletries, the longtime friends have taken with them a video camera to record jokes told by people they encounter along the way.  The two plan to turn their adventure into a book with an accompanying DVD, said Mr. Goldberg,  "so you can meet the joke teller; that's the fun of it." A couple of years removed from college, they both found themselves rethinking what they wanted to do in life, said 24-year-old Mr. Ettinger. "I feel like I'm in my senior year of real life and I'm on my study abroad program," he said.  The two plan to reach their final destination, Charleston, S.C., by the middle of November.  For trip updates and to view the jokes they have collected so far, visit their website: jokesacrossamerica.net.

Businesses and Students Cited For Liquor Law Violations

On Oct. 18 the Evanston Police Department conducted a two-faceted liquor compliance check. An underage citizen volunteer, entered retail establishments that offered packaged alcoholic beverages for sale, and, watched by a police officer, attempted to purchase alcohol with only her legitimate ID to prove her age. Of 13 establishments checked, three sold the volunteer alcoholic beverages:  Wild Oats, 1111 Chicago Ave.; Whole Foods, 1640 Chicago Ave.; Bill's Blues Bar, 1029 Davis St. Police officers also entered downtown liquor-licensed establishments and checked IDs.  Ten tickets were issued to underage drinkers in possession of false or fictitious identification: one at the Keg, 810 Grove St.; three at Prairie Moon, 1502 Sherman Ave.; and six at the 1800 Club, 1800 Sherman Ave.

Council Bytes

Police Honor Volunteer of the Year. At the Oct. 22 City Council meeting, Police Chief Richard Eddington presented Trish Barr with the police officers' Senior Citizen Volunteer of the Year Award for the State of Illinois. Ms. Barr has volunteered for seven years at the Police Department and is a charter member of its Citizens' Early Response Team. "Trish helped to redo the Police Department's lunch room. She lives by the principles of civic responsibility, generosity and having fun," said Amanda Jones, senior crime specialist.

At the Oct. 22 City Council meeting, aldermen committed to the City's "using its best effort" to establish a museum of African-American history at the 1817 Church St. property. The City will take the property back from the Westside Citizens District Council and will work with that group and other citizens' groups to establish the museum.

Two weeks ago City Council put off action that would have allowed the City to record a quit-claim deed from the Westside group back to the City. Under the original 2001 agreement between the City and the Westside group, the City exchanged the property for $1 and the deed, which was not to be recorded if the museum were opened within nine months.

Allen "Bo" Price and others spoke at the Oct. 22 Council meeting, asking that the City hold off on recording the deed and turn the future of the museum over to the Community Development Block Grant Committee, perhaps for further funding. On the motion of Alderman Lionel Jean-Baptiste, 2nd Ward, Council inserted language into the resolution that the City would "use its best efforts" to see that a black history museum is created on the site.

Aldermen also approved an extension of an ordinance - which had expired through a sunset provision - allowing minors over 18 years old to attend fundraisers held in certain types of bars or restaurants where liquor is sold.

A memo from Jay Terry, the City's director of health and human services, stated that 30 bar-night fundraisers were held under the old ordinance. Only Tommy Nevin's Pub, Prairie Moon and Bill's Blues Club were used. Neither the Police Department nor City staff reported problems with any of the fundraisers.

"Most of the money raised [at these benefits] has been plowed back into Evanston,"  said Kate Pascal of Northwestern University's student government. She added the student government prefers to have the fundraisers in bars "where they are supervised."

The City Manager will give quarterly reports on the impact of the ordinance.

Council members also

• Signed an agreement with Northwestern University to accept the installation of nine emergency call-boxes in eight locations near campus. They will dial directly to the City's 911 center. Two boxes will be located at the Davis Street CTA station, and one each at the CTA stations at Foster, Noyes and Central streets. Neighborhood boxes will be located on Sherman/Elgin, the Sherman/Hamlin, the Simpson/Maple and Noyes/Orrington corners. The installation cost, to be borne by Northwestern, is $82,000.

• Set a public hearing on the proposed expansion of the boundaries of the West Evanston TIF for 8 p.m. on Dec. 10 at the Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave.

•  Approved the reduction of the number of liquor licenses in the City, due to the closing of Wolfgang Puck's and Carne Asado, both on Church Street in downtown Evanston.

Disturbance Outside the Keg Restaurant Results in Four Arrests

Shortly after 3 a.m. on Oct. 20 a disturbance erupted on the street outside of the Keg Restaurant, 810 Grove St. 

Several fights erupted after approximately 150 to 200 patrons left the establishment, said Deputy Chief Joe Bellino of the Evanston Police Department. He said two groups were shouting at each other and demonstrating their gang affiliation.  The Wilmette Police Department and the Northwestern University Police Department were called to assist in quelling the disturbance, he said, and several persons were taken into custody and charged in the incident. 

A 22-year-old resident of the 1700 block of Grey Avenue was charged with disorderly conduct and disobedience to police; a 23-year-old Skokie resident was charged with two counts of disorderly conduct; and a 22-year-old man from Schaumburg was also charged with disorderly conduct.  After posting bond, the Evanston man was turned over to Northwestern University Police for allegedly damaging an NUPD squad car that was parked at the scene, Deputy Chief Bellino said. 

In a related incident, a 27-year-old Evanston man reported that he was struck in the face outside the bar. Based on the victim's description, police officers detained a 24-year-old resident of the 1300 block of Simpson Street. The man was taken into custody and charged with battery after the victim's positive identification.   

Deputy Chief Bellino said at the time of the incidents, the Keg Restaurant was not on the nuisance premises list.  He said any action against the establishment by the City will follow a consultation between Police Chief Richard Eddington and Liquor Commissioner, Mayor Lorraine Morton.