First Budget Workshop: Council, Citizens React Strongly to Proposed Tax Increase

By Mary Helt Gavin

Judging by reactions at the Jan. 12 budget meeting, the proposed 15-percent increase in the City's portion of the property tax apparently did not sit well with some members of City Council.

Junad Rizki held up the pink stuffed pig he has brought to Council budget meetings for several years and said, "The pig is back."

 City Manager Julia Carroll said she proposed the tax increase as a way to address the City's shortfall in the firefighters and police pension funds - which could be as high as $140 million. "Nobody wants to put in a 15-percent tax increase, but we have a responsibility to put in what is actuarially required," she said, adding, "I put this amount in the budget as a placeholder [to be paid directly through property taxes] until the Council finds another revenue stream to address it."

At the outset of the meeting, Mayor Lorraine Morton said she wished to "compliment the City Manager on the specificity of the items in the budget. By doing that, you are open to suggestions from the public and the aldermen."

Public Comment
During public comment, resident Junad Rizki said he felt the budget was too packed with tax increases and inefficient spending to be useful or palatable to taxpayers.

"The pig is back," he said, holding up the pink stuffed pig he has brought to Council budget meetings for several years, "and he [the pig] is going to come back a lot this year. Structural problems have existed for years."

Gerald Gordon said, "I do not know how you can consider the proposed budget without knowing how the present year is doing."

  "... Is downtown the heart of Evanston or are the communities? How do we distribute our resources?" -- Jessica Clark of Mason Park Neighbors

Referring to the proposal to transfer $4 million from the General Fund to cover pension obligations for the present year, he asked, "Why are you not proposing more aggressive use of fund balances for the pension funds or for taxpayer relief? ... The complacency and resignation displayed here last year was outstanding."

Two groups requested additional funding. Sue Canter, chair of the City's Mental Health Board, requested $15,000 in additional funds. Acknowledging the budget crisis, Ms. Canter said, "This would represent only the second increase in the mental health board budget in 13 years. ... Several of our clients are low-income and, with financial stress, are at the breaking point, so the need for our services has increased." The Human Services Committee has recommended the increase.

"... The complacency and resignation displayed here last year was outstanding."
                 -- Gerald Gordon

Jessica Clark of Mason Park Neighbors requested funding for after-school and summer programs for youth at the recently renovated Mason Park field house. She said she was "very discouraged by the decision of the City Manager not to fund the programs. ... Consider our priorities: Are we fulfilling our responsibilities to the youth of our community? Is downtown the heart of Evanston or are the communities? How do we distribute our resources?"

The Pension Liability
Faced with an acute and far-reaching pension-funding liability and 15-percent increase in the City's portion of the property tax as the only way, at present, to fund it, Council members appeared hard-pressed to come up with a palatable resolution.

"The rest of the budget the City Manager has handled O.K. It's the pensions we cannot ask the citizens of Evanston to bear," said Mayor Lorraine Morton. Saying that funding the pensions was an "unfunded mandate" of the State and noting that the State had increased the benefits at least three times since the process was instituted in the 1980s, Mayor Morton suggested asking the State of Illinois for help. She also said the end-date for fully funding the IMRF (Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund) fund - which manages the pensions for City workers except the sworn safety personnel - had been extended to 2044, while the pension funds for firefighters and police officers must be fully funded by 2033.

City officials say they have paid the actuarially determined amount into each of those funds for the past several years. When the finger-pointing started, at least one member of the police pension board, Timothy Schoolmaster, disputed that the City had made sufficient contributions. In fact, the City was sued in the 1990s for having failed to make sufficient contributions for several years. While the City conceded it had not made sufficient contributions however, the Appellate Court did not require the City to make up the shortfall.

On the other side, City officials highlight several things: The State legislature has three times increased pension benefits appropriating monies to fund them, instead passing the cost along to municipalities. The State allows only 55 percent of each pension fund to be invested in equities - a restriction that makes it difficult to receive a 7.5-percent return (the actuarially determined amount) on the funds. Finally, the investment return on the pension funds themselves may not have performed as expected. Although municipalities must contribute to the funds, only the pension boards have control over investments.

Alderman Lionel Jean-Baptiste, 2nd Ward, said, "The assumption is that citizens can sustain [the 15-percent increase in the City's portion of the property tax]. ... the reality is that we are a City that provides a lot of services, and I do not think the citizens can bear this increase and then have fines and [fees] go up." Addressing Ms. Carroll he said, "I'm concerned that in your effort to do your duty that some things might be more important to you than to ... continue to provide the type of services the City is used to."

Other Issues Discussed
Alderman Delores Holmes, 5th Ward, questioned the efficiency - in terms of time spent and revenues received - of the City's administrative adjudication process. "I've lost a lot of confidence in terms of what happens there - with the staff hours spent and with their showing up with overwhelming evidence and the landlords are still found not liable."

Both Aldermen Cheryl Wollin, 1st Ward, and Anjana Hansen, 9th Ward, said they supported the proposed new fees to inspect and license  rental units throughout the City. The budget projects a net of more than $400,000 in new revenues from the license and inspection fees, after offsetting the cost of hiring two new staff persons to conduct and document the inspections. 

"There is no one here who doesn't want everyone to have their pensions, but down the line, the costs rise and rise. ... This will destroy us; this will destroy the City of Evanston." -- Mayor  Lorraine Morton

Ald. Hansen asked for clarification on enforcement and sanctions of the proposed licensing and inspection program. Community Development

Director James Wolinski said, "We're not going to recommend suspension or revocation of the license on minor issues, only on properties that are detrimental to quality of life or to a neighborhood. ... You don't shut down a person's livelihood lightly, [but] the beauty of a licensing program is being able to withhold a license."

Mayor Morton, who appeared to become more distraught as the meeting progressed, said, "We are being pushed by two organizational structures. ... The complete onus of funding rests on all of us who pay taxes, and we have absolutely no control over what happens to this. ... There is no one here who doesn't want everyone to have their pensions, but down the line, the costs rise and rise. ... This will destroy us; this will destroy the City of Evanston."

Other aldermen appeared to be more resigned to the situation. Alderman Elizabeth Tisdahl, 7th Ward, told the RoundTable, "More taxes and fewer services - that's what we can promise the citizens of Evanston."

Closed Session Has Library Branches on the Block

After the Jan. 12 public meeting on the budget, Council members retired to executive session, for the purpose - according to the motion that carried - of discussing "personnel and collective bargaining."

On the days leading up to the Jan. 12 meeting, strong rumors had it that several programs and positions were on the chopping block, and morale at the Civic Center was very low.

Alderman Ann Rainey, 8th Ward, objected to the closed meeting, saying budgetary cuts involving personnel must be discussed in open meetings. She accused City Manager Julia Carroll of "adding names to the program so this would not be discussed in public." She asked that the names be stricken from the agenda and that the Council discuss the proposed cuts in public, and then she read off the proposed cuts: $60,000 from the department of health and human services; $80,000 from the library; and $100,000 additional. Sources have told the RoundTable that City staff have propose closing  both branch libraries.

"Positions involve people," Ms. Carroll responded. "I wanted to discuss this in closed session because the people have not yet been notified."

The motion to adjourn to closed session was approved 6-3, with Alderman Steve Bernstein, 4th Ward, Elizabeth Tisdahl, 7th Ward, and Ald. Rainey voting "no."

City Council Hears Opposition to Proposed Immigration Resolution

By Joe Linstroth

Residents from Evanston, Chicago and Oak Park voiced their opposition to the proposed immigration resolution at the Jan. 14 City Council meeting. The resolution, which is being held in the Human Services Committee for further discussion, calls for the humane and just treatment of undocumented persons in Evanston.

"I don't think [the resolution] encumbers us in any way in doing what we need to do to serve the community. ... If you are doing something criminal, we'll address that regardless of immigration status."  -- Police Chief Richard Eddington

Rosanna Pulido, a Chicago resident and field representative for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), was among those who raised objections to the resolution at the session. "I am bewildered when I look at the resolution," she told the RoundTable.  "They are all pretty much feel-good arguments."

Included in the specifics of the resolution is the prohibition of all City entities from disclosing information regarding citizenship status and police inquiries into a person's status where it is not required by law.  Cook County and the city of Chicago have already adopted similar resolutions.

If approved by the Council, the resolution would reaffirm Evanston's status as a "sanctuary city," which the City has held since the 1980s when it adopted a similar resolution in response to the crisis in El Salvador. The "sanctuary city" label would, Ms. Pulido says, "offer the red carpet" to undocumented persons seeking refuge from federal immigration laws.

 When asked why, as a Chicago resident, she opposes the Evanston resolution, she said, "Evanston is not in a vacuum.  What Evanston does directly affects me." 

Ms. Pulido claims the resolution is an "intimidation tactic" because the restrictions "tie the hands of the police officers."  As a former police dispatcher, she says she understands firsthand the danger posed to officers by persons without proper documentation. "The traffic stop is the most dangerous act for a police officer," she said.  If the driver lacks proper identification, she added, a police officer cannot run the proper background checks to determine if the driver or passengers pose a threat to the officer's safety.

Evanston Police Chief Richard Eddington seemed to find the argument unconvincing. 

"I don't think [the resolution] encumbers us in any way in doing what we need to do to serve the community," he told the RoundTable.  "If you are doing something criminal, we'll address that regardless of immigration status."  Chief Eddington said there are alternatives for a police officer to determine a person's identity, including fingerprints and searching the computer databases. "At the end of the day, it's no different from anyone else who doesn't have ID," he said.  

 "I am bewildered when I look at the resolution. They are all pretty much feel-good arguments." -- Rosanna Pulido of the Federation for American Immigration Reform

An additional concern is that the resolution might be more detrimental to the security of Evanston's undocumented persons by attracting undo attention from the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

Alderman Edmund Moran, 6th Ward, said he spoke with law enforcement officials about this issue as he was helping to draft the resolution. "My own sense is that is not going to be the case," he said. "Evanston demographics are such that immigrant populations would not become a target for ICE. We don't have large plants, or places where ICE can do big sweeps." 

Chief Eddington agreed that ICE posed little threat to Evanston's undocumented population. "Even if I decided we should start arresting illegal immigrants," he said, "ICE won't take them without an additional violation that they are interested in." He cited false identification as an example of such a violation.

But the main thrust of the opposition to the resolution seems to center around whether the resolution violates federal law.  Ms. Pulido said the resolution amounts to "aiding and abetting illegal immigrants."  To examine the specific legal questions, Ms. Pulido has forwarded a copy of the resolution to the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI), a Washington D.C.-based public-interest law firm which, according to its website, is "devoted exclusively to protecting the rights and interests of United States citizens in immigration-related matters." 

Bob Dane, press secretary for IRLI, told the RoundTable, "It is our argument that in the absence of the federal government enforcing the laws, and given that the harmful effects [of having undocumented persons in the community] fall on local jurisdictions, it is fundamentally unfair to make them enforce resolutions [like the one Evanston is proposing]."

Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin (13th District), who is running for Cook County State's Attorney, said, "There is no federal law here," adding that the United States Congress has not mandated that local governments address matters related to immigration. "I do not believe our [local] governments should do the work of the federal government," he told the RoundTable.

The role of local government in immigration enforcement is a legal conundrum that has yet to be resolved by the courts.  Mr. Dane cited the example of one community, Hazleton, Penn., that took immigration enforcement into its own hands as a "common-sense reaction of a city reacting to where the federal government is failing."  Hazleton passed an ordinance in July 2006 which made it illegal to rent to or hire undocumented immigrants. In July 2007 a federal judge ruled the ordinance unconstitutional because it preempted federal law.  "A lot of it is uncharted territory and we're expecting that most of the appeals [will modify the original ruling]."

When asked if a successful appeal that would clear the way for ordinances like Hazleton's would also, conversely, provide legal support for local governments to pass resolutions similar to Evanston's,  Mr. Dane said, "The court may intervene on that, but I think the will of the people will ultimately prevail."

The Human Services Committee plans to resume discussion on the proposal at its Feb. 8 meeting.  

Preservation Included As Part of Downtown Plan

By Mary Helt Gavin

Public testimony on the strategic update of the 1989 comprehensive plan for downtown Evanston is now closed, and members of the Plan Commission will begin their work in earnest next month, modifying and fine-tuning the plan.

Preservation and height were the main topics during the final public comment session, held on Jan. 16. Several members, former members and associate members of the City's Preservation Commission presented their views on how to encourage preservation and adaptive re-use of buildings in the downtown area.

Preservation
Jordan Cramer, chair of the Preservation Commission, said that commission had three recommendations for the Plan Commission as they craft the downtown plan: "Identify the existing landmarks - where they are clustered and where they fit in," he said. He gave them a list of 10 buildings in the downtown area Preservation Commission members had identified as being worthy of landmark status. The final suggestion was to create a pool of funds which owners of potential landmark buildings could use to improve their buildings. The funds, he said, could come from developers as one of their public benefits.

Davis Street
Mary McWilliams suggested creating a conservation area in the "traditional" zone of low-rise buildings with differing façades and large windows along Davis Street west of the CTA and Metra tracks. "It would help preserve the sense of place and character," she said, adding, "We should identify the critical features and say, ‘We have to preserve these if we want to preserve the character of the place.'"

Ann Dienner described that area as a "low-key, tempering area for the excitement of downtown Evanston." She also said, as did historian Ann Earle, that the apartment houses on Ridge Avenue to the north and south of Davis Street should not be included in the transitional or "edge" area of downtown and perhaps should not be considered part of the downtown at all. 

Height
Mary Brugliera said she felt the "recommended height in the core area should be 32 stories, not 42 stories." She said that, beginning in May, the Chicago Architecture Foundation will have a walking tour of downtown Evanston. "I hope we have a lot of downtown left to tour," she added.

Jeff Smith said he felt the base heights in the proposed plan "should all be lower" and that buildings should be described in feet, not in stories, as is now the case. He added some recommendations on sustainability: "Any building in downtown Evanston should be green as a requirement. ... [The plan] needs [also] an emphasis on adaptive re-use." He also said of the downtown area, "It would be regrettable if the downtown plan were driven by or keyed to" a developer or development.

Jack Weiss and James Torvik of Design Evanston - a group of design professionals in Evanston - said they supported the height and density in the plan. He referred to an ongoing question of whether the relatively small showing of residents who attended Plan Commission hearings to say they favored the proposed 49-story tower or the added height in the downtown plan indicates tacit support of them or lack of support and said, "I believe that people who support some causes do not [always] speak up."

Laura Saviano said she hoped the result of the plan would be to create more cultural attractions as well as more housing or studio space for artists.

Form-based Zoning
Consultants Kirk Bishop of Duncan Associates and John LaMotte of the Lakota Group said some of their height recommendations are shorter than the present zoning allows. "You'll find many of our recommendations do not increase height in large areas," said Mr. Bishop. He also said form-based zoning, which is the centerpiece of the downtown plan as proposed, would address many of the height concerns.

 "Form-based zoning allows definite base heights with specific caps on the maximum height tied to specific, defined public benefits. ... You'll find that with the exceptions in the current zoning law there are no limits to building heights in downtown. They can be fairly compared with infinity."

Council Bytes

At the Jan. 14 City Council meeting, aldermen approved the expansion of the West Evanston TIF and an overhaul of the City's waterworks system but delayed votes on the lakefront master plan and the implementation of the Central Street zoning changes. They also approved a 13-month extension for the proposed development at 1700-1722 Central St., the former Central Street movie theaters.

West Side TIF
The West Side tax-increment financing (TIF) district, roughly a parallelogram with Dodge Avenue as its axis, now includes certain properties as far north as Simpson Street and as far south as Dempster Street. During public comment, Betty Ester, who said she spoke for several West Side neighbors, asked Council to include a policy that "all new businesses and existing businesses [in the TIF district employ] 10-25 percent employees who live in Evanston."

The Council unanimously approved the extension of the TIF but did not add the proposed policy.

Waterworks Overhaul
An overhaul of the waterworks system ordinance was introduced at the Jan. 14 meeting, to be considered at the Jan. 28 meeting. The revised ordinance is intended to ensure "consistent standards and set fair and equitable charges or services." The ordinance includes new fees, increases some fees and clarifies certain requirements. The new fees cover water usage during construction prior to the installation of a water meter; fees for backflow-prevention devices in the water system and the associated monitoring of compliance with state and federal regulations; unauthorized water turn-ons; shut-off fees for  vacant properties and a penalty for obstruction of access to a water meter. Connection fees are proposed to increase from $50 to $100 per inch; meter installation permit fees from $10 to $50; water turn-on fees from $15 to $20 during business hours and from $25 to $75 after hours.

Lakefront Plan
The lakefront master plan was presented and discussed at a special Planning and Development Committee meeting last night. The plan could be on the City Council's Jan. 28 agenda. The plan, presented to the public several times last fall, is a comprehensive plan for the City's entire lakefront. Among its highlights are creating landings for a water (kayak and canoe) trail, improving and enhancing the dune ecology and other plantings to attract birds, making more of the beaches ADA-accessible and replacing or lowering the rip-rap (piles of rocks) that lines most of the shoreline.

1700-22 Central St.
The Council also granted developers John Crocker and Bob Horn a 13-month extension on their mixed-use planned development of 1700-22 Central St., the site of the former Evanston theaters. Mr. Horn said their ability to complete the project depended on presales of condominium units, which have been slow. The deadline for obtaining a building permit is now April 5, 2009, and the deadline for completion of the project is now April 5, 2010. To obtain the extension, the developers promised to remove the construction fence and to grade the site and seed it with grass by May 15 and mow it regularly. In addition, the Council granted authority to the director of community development to extend the grading/seeding deadline by 30 days, should the developer require it.

Ministers Ponder Role of Church In Light of King Legacy

In this photo, Evanston resident Paul Wilson reads Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream speech at the celebration.

Four African-American ministers described what they believed the role of the church should be at a Saturday forum at Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center. With Dr. Larry Murphy of Garrett-Evangelical Seminary on the Northwestern campus serving as moderator, the panelists told their experiences leading parishioners in Evanston. Carliss Moody of Faith Temple Church of God in Christ, Brenda Little of Bethany Baptist Church, Gessell Berry of Sherman Avenue United Methodist Church, and Kamasi Hill - a doctoral student at Garrett - agreed that the mission of a church can be expanded within its walls and extended beyond them.

Bishop Moody said, "If you just stay inside the walls of a church, you're just making noise."

Dr. Little agreed, saying, "A church is not an institution that exists unto itself; it has a mandate and a mission to affect the community, the state and even the world. The pastor's job is to equip the saints
[the faithful] to affect the world."

Rev. Berry said he felt the mission "of my church is hope, and, as John Wesley [the founder of Methodism] said, ‘The world is my parish.'... The black pulpit can be the freest place in the world."

The ministers also agreed that today's youth, particularly African-American males, are in danger of being lost.

Mr. Hill, who teaches at Evanston Township High School, said, "ETHS still does not know what to do with African-American males. It has no clue how to address the issues of this generation, and that's been going on for years."

Mr. Hill continued, "We can give these children a sense of vocation. ... If we invest in our young people so they understand who they are, they will be connected to the transcendent reality of who they should become. ... I tell my students, ‘You are competing against everybody else in the world. You have to understand who you are and whose you are."

Bishop Moody said, "We have to get the parents back to being really involved in their children's lives.

... You have to demand that [involvement] by the way you live. ... At home you have to live the way you want your children to live. Your children will respect rules, respect authority. If you have none, they will have nothing to respect." 

From the audience, Second Ward Alderman Lionel Jean-Baptiste, added, "I think we have to walk the talk. ... Dr. King talked to power, asking the church to come out of the church and help the community fight the fight."

Dr. Murphy said, "The challenge is there, and the church is strong enough to receive the challenge."

Corrections

In the Jan. 9 article on the immigration resolution the name of the pastor of Hemenway United Methodist Church was given erroneously as Robert Moseley; his name is Richard Moseley.
In the Dec. 26 article on the Bill of Rights contest, Fayana Gayle, Justin Bishop, David McDonald, Alex Outlaw, Marcus Hampton, Henry Smith and Violet LaBrosse were listed as teachers who received special recognition for their efforts in the contest, instead they are students whose teachers nominated them for special recognition. The RoundTable regrets the errors.

Voting in the Feb. 5 Election

Through Jan. 31, voters in suburban Cook County can cast their ballots from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, as well as from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday morning, Jan. 26,  at the Evanston Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave.

Voters must provide a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver's license, State ID or passport to vote.

From Feb. 1 through Feb. 4, voters may vote in-person absentee only at the Cook County Clerk's office, 69 W. Washington St. in Chicago, and at the five suburban courthouses.

Grace-period registration and voting is through Jan. 22 only at the Cook County Clerk's main office.

Polls for the Feb. 5 presidential primary election are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Evanston residents can find their polling places by visiting www.cityofevanston.org/aboutmyplace or by calling the City Clerk's Office, 847- 866-2925.

Voters may see virtual ballots for all major parties, which includes a Cook County referendum question about funding the Department of Veterian Affairs, by visiting voterinfonet.com