EDITORIAL

More Thoughts on the Pension Mess

The Rules Committee of the City Council may, at its next meeting, consider a resolution to ask the legislature for help with funding the firefighters and police pension funds.

We applaud the Council's efforts in the past few months to try to address the City's massive unfunded liability to these funds, which was $140 million as of a year ago. There is no doubt that we are in trouble, as are many communities throughout Illinois who are struggling under these unfunded liabilities. The solution, we believe, lies only partially with Springfield. The City and the unions, perhaps with guidance from the legislature, must collaborate in order to keep both the pension funds and the City solvent for the long term.

These pension funds - which must be fully funded by 2033 - are mandated by the state but funded by the local communities: The community that benefits from a public servant's dedication to public safety contributes to the retirement, disability or death benefits of that person or his or her family. The concept is a good one: local to local.

The resolution at issue is based on a model drafted by the Northwest Municipal Conference (NWMC). It calls for reform of several aspects of the legislation governing the pension funds, closer oversight and accountability of the pension boards that invest the funds, and a halt to increases and expansions of pension benefits.

Some of these reforms are clearly overdue. Communities, which will have contributed hundreds of millions of dollars by 2033, have no control over how their contributions are invested. Pension boards invest the funds, but they in turn are limited by a state statute that restricts the percentage of the funds that can be invested in equities.

A third aspect of the legislation calls for a halt to the expansion of benefits for firefighters, police officers and their families. Having spoken with our state representative, Julie Hamos, we believe that this step should not be taken solely as a legislative action but only after negotiations with the unions for a long-term plan that both sides can accept.

The City of Evanston may not have contributed as much as it should have in the past. There is no doubt that we, as a community, have a greater struggle ahead of us than will some other communities to find a way to address our huge unfunded liability.

Safety personnel are vital to any community. Those who use their services least on a personal level owe just as great a debt as those who use them most.

As firefighters and police officers provide a safety net for society during their careers, local communities owe them and their families a safety net in their retirement, disability or death. The state of Illinois, which set up the pensions and their funding mechanisms, likewise owes it to these men and women to protect their pensions by enacting responsible legislation that will help ensure the viability of these funds.

The Speech

By Charles Wilkinson

I regret to admit I did not hear Senator Obama's speech on race when he gave it. But what I heard of it on the news channels afterwards gave me a sense of its impact, even though, as I learned later, the sound bytes did it no justice. Reading the entire speech the next day, and re-reading it, has left me wondering what politician out there - black, white, brown or green with envy - would not wish he or she had given it? And who in America could miss the message, the challenge, the soul it envelops?

Unfortunately the earlier remarks of the Senator's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, a close friend and mentor, provided a maddening kind of static in the minds of many in Obama's audience. Maddening more than frightening because that static has been with us a long time and will continue to be; it is just that the volume had been upped.

Though it is difficult to say that Pastor Wright's rhetoric, based on the excerpts I have heard, has a valid place in our nation's dialogue on racial issues, I believe it does. And I believe it underlines the core issues in Senator Obama's speech. Let me explain.

Barack Obama's rhetoric is generally lofty and idealistic, speaking of faith in our country, a "more perfect union," hope and change - a "Yes, we can!" rallying cry for his run to the White House. Jeremiah Wright's voice grounds him and all of us to the realities of the anger and frustrations that define the static mentioned above. His voice is a voice that needs hearing, even as some cringe at its excesses.

Fortunately, Pastor Wright's is an in-house rhetoric - or has been until now. I find it comfortable to believe - without knowing the man though knowing his role - that his business is healing, not wounding or warring. He is a pastor, not a politician. By giving voice to the feelings of his people, in the context of his church, person and faith, he seeks to bind the wounds of prejudice and history.

I may be wrong, but I am willing to take that chance. Here is why. Senator Obama has stood by Pastor Wright throughout this controversy. He has known him as friend for more than 20 years. Some believe that as a politician, the Senator should have distanced himself from his pastor years ago. He did not, and has not. Reading his speech, even with the static at full volume, I find credibility and a quality of character that tells me why.

November is eight months distant. The dialogue ahead will concern other complex issues: the economy, the war, health care, immigration. Hopefully, for the moment, The Speech and its static have solidified a place for the racial problems among us in both parties' platforms.

Our Future!

By Peggy Tarr

The God Was sat shaking its head,
distressed by hearing what was said
by humans who lied and distorted facts
and unconscionably committed barbaric acts.
Compassion and ethics! Where now were they?
Why were they so lacking in life today?
It seemed that for humans a major new creed
now embraced selfishness, cruelty and greed
and the worship of humans who weren't very smart,
who'd destroy the world or at least play a part.
God Was looked down at some rivers below,
so filled with trash they could just barely flow.
God Was saw countries with too much to eat
but feeding the starving was too hard a feat.
Good brains humans had originally had.
Were they now stupid or had they gone mad?
God Was was saddened and let out a sigh,
its breath rushed down to the earth from the sky.
Then a sound reached God Was that made the god smile.
It was the voices of children, who, innocently, while
many things in the world were undoubtedly wrong,
were loudly and happily singing a song:
"Earth Day! Earth Day! Happy, happy Earth Day!
We'll pick up papers and bottles, too,
recycle cans just as you can do.
We'll not pollute our rivers and streams.
We'll save our earth working as a team.
We'll save our earth for its future years,
Making each day an Earth Day from now on!"
God Was' mood was greatly heightened
To see that children were enlightened.
This also meant that there were others -
teachers, environmentalists, fathers and mothers,
Who cared enough about the earth
To fill these children with such mirth
About the need to work each day
To keep the destruction of earth at bay.
The God Was repeated the children's song,
Echoing theirhope that earth care would last long.

Is Vertical Sprawl The Answer To Metropolitan Sprawl?

Evanston, like many cities, has adopted the mantra of building near transit. This plays out in patterns of argument seen elsewhere around the nation. Recognizing that most residents oppose congestion and canyonization of neighborhood business districts, development advocates playing the "green" card, as well as many well-meaning environmentalists otherwise wary of development, say that by such construction, we're limiting metropolitan sprawl, and thus reducing greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions from auto use.

All other things being equal, densityshould, indeed, be near mass transit. A greener planet absolutely requires more rail service, from light rail to regional high-speed, and better buses, in urbanized places. But that doesn't mean that everything near transit should be as dense, or as tall, as possible. Equating proximity to transit with energy-efficiency, or characterizing development of such density as automatically "green," doesn't fully take in the bigger picture.

The Transit-Oriented Density Argument is a Regional One
Most studies urging transit-oriented-density ("TOD") study smaller metropolises who face choices between "greenfield" development (on existing farmland at the town's perimeter) or in the town's older center. It's a leap, however, to apply the lessons from Madison to a metropolitan area 50-100 miles in diameter such as Chicago, where fringe and core development are non-competing markets. Even if such analysis applies, it is a regional one, because specific mature towns within the region, such as Evanston, no longer face such choices, and many embodied TOD long before it became chic. Evanston is already pointed to as a TOD success.

Adding units, population, and autos to a town increases its energy footprint. Even the most aggressive reduced-parking-requirement studies show that condo owners own and use cars. More cars per square mile increases traffic. New residents also use electricity and natural gas (big contributors to GHG emissions), and increase demand on City sewer, water, police, fire and paramedic services, City staff, and every other City or private resource. Add enough new residents, even if relatively childless, and you also need more classrooms. Thus the argument for the "greenness" of adding height to a mature inner-ring suburb is regional, not local.

As to regional impact, I'm unaware of any exurban subdivision having been razed or even delayed due to a highrise being built 40 miles nearer the Loop. And with every housing unit built, whether in high-rise or subdivision, northeastern Illinois's total GHG footprint only increases. The argument for density thus (a) presupposes growth, and (b) rests on a per-capita rather than total-carbon measure. Whether anything, net, regionally, is being saved by locating new residences next to transit depends on who buys, in what market.

Who's Buying Affects How We're Driving
Builders, brokers, and planners know that the market for lakefront condominiums has little overlap with the market for Kane County subdivisions. Building here does not target buyers torn between a condo near transit v. a McMansion in what was recently farmland; rather, we are competing with Lincoln Park, Wicker Park, or the Loop, and as many as half of our condo buyers were already living in Evanston or another suburb with transit.

Why does who buys matter? Because if an Evanston mid-to-high-rise condo unit is bought by a couple from Arlington Heights or Ravenswood, one of whom was already taking Metra to the Loop while the other was driving to Northbrook, moving to Evanston doesn't change that. In the Ravenswood example, the auto commute is slightly shorter, but in the Arlington Heights case, the spouse commuting to Northbrook may have even a longer drive, while Evanston and Wilmette gain traffic. Meanwhile, someone else moves into the space the condo buyers vacated, and so on. One can argue that, ultimately, the domino effect of the Evanston condo stems demand for some new house in Oswego, but I've not seen that verified anywhere.

Even if good for a region, developing density near transit can have localized adverse effects on the neighborhood in which development occurs. If traffic is already at or near capacity, shifting drivers from suburban to urban areas, without decrease in vehicular miles traveled ("VMT"), may increase pollution and GHG output. Although cars are more efficient at lower speeds, city MPG for your car are still way lower than highway MPG. Why? Because emissions from congested driving are many times greater than from relatively unimpeded traffic. Thus, although far-suburbanites drive far more, Evanstonians emit more GHG per mile than those in St. Charles.

Development Must Decrease Driving to Be Transit-Oriented
For development near transit to reduce net auto emissions, that development must actually change driving habits of those buying newly-developed units, or some buyer down the aforementioned chain – i.e., but for the new unit, that buyer or some other would be out in the hinterlands, using more gasoline. Evidence is that this hoped-for effect is not as strong as desired. Thousands of units of residential units have been built near rail lines in Chicago in the past 25 years, without commensurate increase in CTA ridership. I don't see a lot of owners of million-dollar condos riding the L.

Overall, Chicago area mass transit ridership has dropped since the 1970s. The only significant area increase in mass transit has been on the commuter rail lines, and in Chicago as elsewhere around the country, the greatest increase in ridership is coming from those who live 25-40 miles outside of the city core. In other words, those in the much-maligned suburban sprawl, while obviously driving a lot, are riding trains more. Those in the city are not; because jobs moved to the suburbs, many dwelling in new urban condos are now just "reverse-commuting," on the expressways. Any morning on the Edens shows that.

In Evanston, the Davis Street stations have seen increase in ridership, but offset by decreases at other stations. Without further, detailed study, it's hard to tell why, but factors include the Century Theater development, and the far greater parking availability near Davis Street (while parking is difficult, and discouraged, in the neighborhoods near other stations such as Main and Dempster). Complicating study is the tragedy of decreased service on the CTA. For people to use transit, it must be fast and reliable.

Assuredly, density near transit is positively correlated with transit use and negatively correlated with VMT. However, correlation is not causation; lower per-capita VMT in cities does not mean that density causes less VMT. Without deeper analysis of who is driving, who is riding, and who is walking, correlation is meaningless. In part there are fewer VMT per capita in cities because people without cars (poor people, students, elderly and institutionalized persons), or with fewer driving needs, choose to (or have to) live there. Studies confirm a complex interrelationship between density, transit, attitudes toward driving, choice of vehicle type, and wise urban design. Yes, intelligent, coordinated planning can impact transportation choices, and we ought to enable decisions to live car-free. But without smart planning that includes local destinations, jobs creation, an active street life, and transit that people will actually use, residential density, by itself, does not seem to cause more than a marginal decrease in VMT.

****

Urban Development Impacts More Than Commuting
Regional energy impact also consists of more than commuting. Evanston condo buyers may end up closer to a Loop job, but farther from resources they consume. Every pound of coffee an Evanston resident brews probably arrived via rail/truck industrial complexes out by O'Hare or south of Chicago, and when that coffee bag becomes garbage, it’s trucked back out south or west to a landfill. Unless Evanston becomes a lake port or rail freight depot again, every condo and resident added to Evanston necessarily increases regional, and primarily suburban, truck traffic load. Realize that, despite focus on individuals' cars, most transportation-sector GHG emissions are from commercial vehicles.

In the developing world, urbanization spurs consumption, if for no other reason than facilitating wealth, and thus overall environmental degradation. This is obvious everywhere from China to Brazil. Currently, half the world's population lives in cities, and we city-dwellers consume a disproportionate 80% of the world's energy and emit 75% of the world's GHG.

Horizontal Impact of Denser Development
Vertical sprawl is a legitimate concern because construction in any direction, whether upward or outward, is still growth. New vertical construction also has ripple effect, principally on land values, depending on zoning. Except for towns or counties that expressly ban sprawl, such as Bozeman, Montana, increased urban structural density is accompanied by sprawl outside that city, like a pile of sand that grows wider even as it grows taller. During the frenzy of new construction in Chicago over the past decade, suburban sprawl continued unabated. Illinois is 5th nationally in farmland loss. Evidence thus suggests that density, while facilitating use of transit nearby, and more pedestrian trips if local goods and services are integrated into the neighborhood, may be, overall, a driver of regional growth, and thus of consumption, total VMT, and GHG emissions.

This may occur for several reasons. One is the ripple effect of higher land value. Unless new transit is being built, property near transit sells at an increasing premium. With development often comes gentrification; Chicago's Wicker Park and other neighborhoods offer numerous dramatic examples of new development that pushes poorer, larger-family households further and further away from the valuable, dense urban core.

A related factor is that residential-oriented development often prices out the factory or warehouse, and thus the manufacturing or other jobs formerly sited in the neighborhood, that allowed people to live near their work. A former factory may make a great loft environment for young urbanites, and the adaptive reuse is preferable to new construction, but that's small consolation to the neighboring working families who used to be able to walk or ride the bus to jobs there, and who, to find comparable employment, must now drive or move to a far-flung suburb.

Also possible from the higher land values that vertical development stimulates is, perversely, nearby de-densification. When a neighborhood turns "luxury," a three-flat of 1200-sf apartments can become a 3600-sf single-family residence, or a building with 20 modest-sized rental units may convert to 10 large luxury condos. Or a commercial parcel that had potential for redevelopment as affordable housing becomes so expensive that only units starting at $350K or more are economically feasible. Where do the former residents go? Outward.

Infill development and gentrification in Chicago and inner-ring suburbs is thus a factor, along with CHA teardowns and migration of manufacturing, that has pushed lower-income residents not just to ring suburbs, but to Elgin, Waukegan, Joliet, and Peoria. That puts new pressures on those towns. Possibly, without the high-rise construction we've seen, exurban growth would be even greater. But that is speculative. It needs more study and may be impossible to quantify.

What we do know is that the principal driver of regional sprawl is population. New construction enables and subsidizes greater population in NE Illinois, and so contributes to sprawl even if it is vertical rather than horizontal, and even if located near transit. If stacking were equivalent to sustainability, Hong Kong would be the world's model of a green community.

Impacts of Density at Ground Level
Density can increase pedestrian trips, and reduce auto use, if there are sufficient local goods and service outlets, and density does not displace them. But density can add to auto pollution if higher land values distort the retail/commercial mix. A Restoration Hardware does not actually sell much useful hardware. If higher density results in more train rides downtown by new buyers, but pre-existing neighborhood residents now must drive further to buy groceries or hardware or for car repair, because the local market, repair shop and hardware store were priced out by rent increases, local auto use goes up. Field's, Wieboldt’s, and Sears being replaced by condos and coffee shops in downtown Evanston has created a far different mix, so that basic goods are expensive or in limited supply. Meanwhile, it’s a 4-mile minimum roundtrip to Target, Old Orchard, or Edens Plaza. Those destinations are in fact accessible by transit, but do luxury condo buyers really take the bus to Northbrook Court?

Note that "mixed-use development" rarely increases ground floor retail or commercial space. It usually just stacks more people on top, and when dominated by condos, often eliminates second- and third-story Class B office space (such as that used by lawyers, accountants, therapists, dentists, and other professionals). Thus, despite large increase in number of households, we have no more grocery stores in downtown Evanston than we did 20 years ago. This means that for many services, people still drive – or may even drive more – and also that jobs are not being created as fast as residences are being built. This does not help efforts to curb total GHG emissions and miles traveled.

Energy and Resource Consumption of Construction
Finally, but hardly a small factor – and arguably an overwhelming factor — construction itself consumes enormous resources. It takes vast energy to produce cement, steel, glass, and all the materials for floors and countertops, and to ship all the materials to the project site. It takes a huge number of mass transit rides before a new 200-unit high-rise built next to an American subway stop makes up for the energy consumption and environmental degradation in Indonesia from granite mining, or in South America from tropical hardwood harvesting, or in China from a metal-plating facility that coats faucets and doorknobs in brushed nickel or stainless steel. The energy required to build a unit may outstrip any possible transportation savings by the buyers, even if they abandon their automobiles altogether (which they likely don't), although over the life of the building it may result in net savings. The project, locally, also results in tens of thousands of automobile and truck trips to a site that would otherwise not occur. During the long period that a building is under construction in a location like downtown Evanston, local traffic is slowed, site-specific and nearby sales tax revenue suffers, and emissions increase.

Let’s be real: condo projects such as 708 Church are not targeting erstwhile McHenry County buyers, nor is its purpose to save the planet. Its purpose is to make profit for developers, leveraging an existing TIF, and creating unparalleled lake views (at the expense of other Evanston high-rise residents) for a market that will consist primarily of those already predisposed toward an urban lifestyle.

King County, Washington (which includes Seattle) has developed a required worksheet for calculating the GHG impact of a new building which requires disclosure of, e.g., the cement and steel to be used. It's available as a pdf here. While not completely comprehensive, it provides an extremely useful tool. We are not doing anything like this in Evanston.

The Need for Thoughtfulness and Planning
The above is not to say that we must halt all construction, or that all density is bad; it is to point out that there are legitimate big-picture questions, and more we need to take into consideration. Much of what has been propounded under rubric of "new urbanism" or "smart growth" rests on assumptions and theories that are attractive if true, but not yet fully supported by data, and whose offsets and unintended consequences have been underestimated or ignored altogether. Disproportionate emphasis has been placed on residential construction, and not enough on the mass transit enhancements and urban jobs creation necessary to make urban transit-oriented density a meaningful reality. Population growth remains a problem about which we are in gross denial, in part because of addiction to growth as a cure-all. And vertical growth is still growth.

It's important that we concerned with climate change not rush to embrace simplistic answers simply because they facilitate a convenient alliance with a development community with which environmentalists have often been at odds, or because those projects promise a short-term windfall of permit fees and transfer taxes. Rather, the burden is on all to acknowledge duties to defer to our best collective wisdom, rather than unbridled market forces or the lure of development dollars, in tackling our global crises.

- Jeff Smith

Letters to the Editor

Leadership of Evanston Youth And MCGaw Y ‘Courageous And Unselfish'
Editor:

As those who follow Evanston basketball know, the Evanston Township High School boys' basketball team won the Supersectional last week and then traveled to Peoria to compete in the IHSA Class 4A Final Four championship.

I am writing not just to congratulate the team on a truly memorable and outstanding season, but also to recognize behind-the-scenes actions taken by the McGaw YMCA in support of our great basketball team, our school and our community.

When it became clear that there would be a conflict with the final performance of this years' Brillianteen production and the final ETHS basketball game, the Brillianteen student show board brought their concerns to the adults involved with the show. Together they recommended that the Saturday night show be postponed to Sunday afternoon in order to allow the nearly 300 teens participating in the show the chance to attend the championship game.

This was an unprecedented recommendation as far as I know, and entailed much additional work: contacting ticket holders, informing them of the change, offering and processing refunds, etc. I would like to commend the Brillianteen student and adult show boards, the Brillianteen staff, and Bill Geiger, the McGaw YMCA's executive director, for taking this courageous and unselfish action.

Adults often criticize young people for failing to take responsibility for themselves. Here is a wonderful example of the opposite - a group of kids from our community who made a difficult decision knowing that it would create a lot of additional work and headaches.

We should be proud of their example and I thank them for their leadership and commitment to supporting fellow classmates. (By the way, the Brillianteen production this year, "Little Shop of Horrors," was great.)

I traveled to Peoria last weekend to see the Final Four and, although our team did not win the championship, they played tremendously and were great representatives of ETHS. Just as impressive as the performance of our coaching staff and team was the unbelievable school spirit shown by the ETHS students who attended the games.

Some 15 busloads of students made the trip to Peoria, as well as many other carloads of parents, students and community members. The enthusiasm and positive energy demonstrated by our students, faculty, staff, parents and fans made me appreciate once again what a great school we have in ETHS, and what a great community we have in Evanston.

I'm told that on Friday night cast and crew of Brillianteen breathlessly watched the game on TV backstage.

I'm very proud to be an Evanstonian.
-- Rachel Hayman

A Degree of Openness Requested of D65
Editor:

On March 17, the District 65 School Board approved a calendar for next year that fails to address widespread community concern (as expressed in the remarks made by over 300 people who signed an on-line petition on the issue at www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Evanston-school-calendar) about the declining number of full days and weeks of school, as well as the impact of this trend on academic achievement and family well-being.

In adopting the calendar -- by a vote of just 4 to 1, with two Board members absent -- the Board gave the greatest weight to the argument that teachers need more professional education.

Although we support this goal, we do not think it is appropriate to accomplish it by taking instructional time away from students and disrupting working parents' schedules, a point eloquently made by Katie Bailey in casting her dissenting vote.

The Board's emphasis on the need for professional education, over the equal priorities of ensuring a top-notch education and supporting families, loses a bit of steam in light of the fact that it does not even require teachers to attend these programs, nor does it want to know whether teachers actually attend them.

How can attendance at school be mandatory for children, but attendance at professional education not be mandatory for teachers? If professional education is the key to our childrens' success, then we should not just insist on it, but account for it.

Some of us have filed Freedom of Information Act requests to obtain information that has illuminated the calendar discussion in important ways. Board President Mary Erickson stated that these requests had burdened the administration unnecessarily and were an abuse of the process.

We are sure that she did not mean to suggest that an important federal and state law, long utilized by citizens of our democracy and upheld by countless courts, should be treated differently in Evanston with respect to requests directed to District 65. In fact, our requests have been carefully crafted to avoid unnecessary burden, and we appreciate the efforts of the staff to respond in accordance with their legal obligations.

Significantly, many of those requests would have been entirely unnecessary if the administration and Board were more forthcoming. The lesson here is that a degree of openness could result in more buy-in from the community, and if that openness happens on the front end, we will all have more time with our families and less time spent in meetings.

Our efforts to secure a calendar that makes sense for all stakeholders goes well beyond a concern about how to allocate a few hours of time as has been suggested by the Superintendent. The process surrounding the development of this year's calendar points out some bigger issues in our District: failures of transparency and accountability, limited consideration for the real problems facing families juggling childcare and work, the continued erosion of quality instruction time in our schools, and the lack of strong and visionary leadership to find solutions to these problems.

With the District and teachers' union in the midst of contract negotiations that will impact these issues going forward, parents and the taxpaying citizens of Evanston must pay close attention.

We will not have a seat at the bargaining table during those negotiations, but we must insist that the School Board members on the negotiations team - Keith Terry and Mary Erickson - represent our interests, and we trust they will.

Once the contract is finalized, we look forward to continuing our volunteer service as members of the Calendar Committee and building on the incremental improvements made this year. In the meantime, we will seek modifications in School Board policy to ensure that the interests of children and families come first in the development of future calendars, and that parent participation is fully supported through equal representation and access to all information pertaining to committee work. We will work tirelessly for a more open process that demonstrates respect for parents and values us as partners in the success of our schools.
-- Gretchen Livingston, Rhonda Present, Althea Ricketts, Jane Grover, Bekki Kaplann

Evanston Kids Against the Tower, Too
Editor:

I would like to point out that myself and many others would like to stop the building of a tower in my hometown, Evanston. The City can't even fill the space for the old Barnes and Noble. You are destroying many of people's favorite stores, including Uncle Dan's and William's Shoes and lots more.

Don't let it happen.
-- Miara Handler, fourth grade, Washington School

D65 Board Should Uphold Administration Transparency - Without Complaint
Editor:

The March 17 meeting of the District 65 Board of Education calls into question District 65's commitment to transparency and accountability. We were appalled by Board president Mary Erickson's public scolding of members of the community who filed proper requests pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), dismissing those requests because, in her opinion, the "information doesn't amount to anything new and exciting." Her suggestion that recent FOIA requests were somehow an "abuse" of the process reflects either ignorance of the law and its purpose, or hostility toward that law's mandate for open government. District 65 is a public entity, spending public dollars, whose records must be open to public scrutiny.

The FOIA requests Ms. Erickson found so burdensome were not fishing expeditions. They were drafted with careful deliberation and sought information directly relevant to pending Board decisions about the school calendar and the accelerated geometry program.

Ms. Erickson's remarks at the Board meeting were clearly intended to discourage further lawful requests pursuant to FOIA. That's a sure way to invite even more FOIA requests.

But there are two simple steps that could relieve District 65 of the FOIA burden about which Ms. Erickson complains. First, the District Administration could choose transparency -- voluntarily and informally providing complete and unbiased information to the community -- so that the formal procedures of FOIA don't need to be employed.

More important, the members of the Board of Education could insist that the Administration provide them with all relevant information for their decisions, so that the community members those Board members are elected to serve don't have to seek this information themselves.
-- Jane Grover, Pam Waymack, Jonathan Baum

Reader Disappointed at Coverage of Tower
Editor:

I am baffled, disappointed and dismayed at your coverage of the March 17 P&D meeting in the March 19 issue of the RoundTable.

Of course I am aware of the "fairness doctrine" that mandates that journalists cover both sides of a story. However, someone who was not present at the March 17 P&D meeting would likely conclude from your story that the attendees at the meeting were equally split between those who supported and those who opposed the tower. I think it is irresponsible journalism on your part to have failed to include in the story the fact that it was a standing-room-only crowd, which was overwhelmingly opposed to the tower.

Of the people who chose to make public comments, the vast majority were opposed to the Tower, a fact that you failed to include in your coverage of the meeting.

I hope this departure from the objective reporting I have come to associate with the RoundTable is a one-time aberration and does not become the new RoundTable norm.
--Barb Rakley

Democracy and Education
Editor:

How did we end up with officeholders that run our government? How could we have elected and then re-elected people who do not reach even low expectations for president, governor, County board president, etc.? I believe the answer can be found in our public schools.

One of the main purposes of public education is to train children to be good citizens: citizens who not only vote but who also know the issues and take the time to find a candidate whose positions on the issues match their own thought-out positions.

Understanding issues and the democratic process requires a significant effort throughout a child's education: starting in kindergarten; where 5-year-olds vote to chose a name for their classroom pet, continuing through elementary and middle schools with mock elections; and concluding in high school, where students are prepared to cast their first "real" vote.

For these activities to be meaningful, students must be taught history economic and political science throughout their 13 years of public school. Choosing our leaders and holding them accountable requires an educated and responsible electorate. Unfortunately, our educational leaders ignore this reality.

Social studies instruction is being reduced to reflect the absence of social studies in standardized testing. Educators are concerned only with the assessment of standardized test and not how well they prepared their students to function as responsible citizens. This became apparent last month, as social studies classes in many schools were suspended so teachers could devote even more time to prepare for standardized testing.
-- Tom Simms

‘Why the Rush' at City Council Tower Meeting?
Editor:

The March 17 Evanston City Council meeting struck me, as a taxpayer, both exciting and embarrassing.

With only one topic - the planned skyscraper at 708 Church Street - nearly a hundred Evanstonians arrived at City Hall like a swarm of bees, all focused on the same target, to delay the decision on this truly radical structure until the public benefits the builders have promoted become clear enough to make a good decision. In fact, the only people who seemed to be in a rush to sign the deal were the developers and perhaps a few members of the Council.

Dozens of people spoke, not simply to the often obscure benefits of the project, but also to the long-term decision about the changes to the look of Evanston's downtown area being made by a few individuals. Many, like me, were also concerned that decisions made too quickly today will come back to haunt us as taxpayers down the road.

No one left the meeting with the same sense of urgency that the pro-development people seemed to have. The question is, why the rush?

In addition to the questions about the project itself, most citizens in the room were angry at the way the meeting itself was conducted. At the beginning, Chairman Delores Holmes told speakers they would have one minute to make their case. The reasoning behind her somewhat arbitrary decision was never made clear short of her comment, "That's just the way it is." Many speakers were cut off in mid-sentence.

There was no notice prior to the meeting that any time limit would be imposed on citizen comments.

No one could understand the rush to get through the comment period, especially since many voters had spent considerable time preparing rebuttals to the 708 Church project. Can you say disenfranchisement?

The other problem with the way the entire meeting worked is that as voters, none of us were able to get inside the heads of our elected leaders on 708. If they spoke, as only a few did, we at least had the opportunity to guess where those individuals might be headed. But for those who said nothing during the evening, the public was and still is left guessing. The only indication we'll have is when the final vote is taken and no one knows for certain when that will occur either.

No one would argue that government should operate in the open, but elected officials should be required to offer listeners a wrap-up of their thoughts at the end of a City Council meeting, especially one as important as this. No elected official should sit through hours of City Council meetings and testimonies from voters and walk out of City Hall with nothing to say - unless, of course, they have something to hide.
--Robert P. Mark

Reader Sees Little Leadership at City
Editor:

City Manager Julia Carroll's annual threat to close the branch libraries - this time sneaking this category into the budget process after she initially announced her plan - reveals her lack of understanding why branch libraries were put in place decades ago: need and a demand by the public.

Worse yet, Ms. Carroll reveals a cultural/educational lack of appreciation of the fact that libraries and senior centers are an extension of the whole educational system of our society.

Ms. Carroll loves to say at budget time that "everything is on the table." Well, if that be the case, I would presume, that her position, that of City Manager, is included. After all, Chicago - a city of close to three million people - has an aldermanic council and a mayor. Evanston has about 73,000 persons, a City Council, a Mayor and a finance director. Why? With nine aldermen and a mayor, it seems that tens of thousands could be saved by letting them take care of the budget.

Another anomaly in Evanston is having two boards of education. Why? Chicago has one board of education.

Further, Ms. Carroll suggested expanding the City payroll by $2.2 million - and that at a time the City is not only in debt with municipal bonds but way behind in pension payments to the police and firefighters. Fiscal integrity seems waning.

With the outrageous volume of development in recent years, sold to the citizenry as a panacea for escalating taxes, shouldn't we be thinking of building more branch libraries and increasing services to the expanding population?

I just heard an interview of a Northwestern University official, attesting the University's endowment today totals $6.5 billion - the highest of any university in the United States.

With the claim that it has the best business school in the country, maybe it should be hired by the City to run the town. But I wonder how much property tax revenues have been lost by the City with Northwestern's taking over such a huge volume of property over the years. And the University refuses to reimburse the City of Evanston for fire and police protection - speaking of bad neighbors.

Congratulations are in order to the Council for keeping our branch libraries in place.
- Gordon Peters

High School Credit for Only High-School-Taught Geometry
Editor:

I am responding to the article, "D65 School Board Approves Geometry as Option at Middle School," in the March 19 issue, in which Suzanne Farrand states that students who take geometry at the middle schools will not receive high school credit for the course.

She doesn't state why this is the case, but it is because the course will not be taught by ETHS math teachers. That's why middle school students don't receive high school credit for the algebra 1 course they take at their own middle schools.

There are several benefits for students who take geometry at ETHS. (1) Students get high school credit for the course. (2) Students get acclimated to ETHS before attending as freshmen. This is a plus, especially for students from King Lab and Bessie Rhodes, which are small schools. (3) Students from all five schools are together in the classes so they can make friends from the other schools. (4) Students will get to know the high school math teachers whom they'll have for other courses over their four years at ETHS. Yes, they are expected to take math all four years.

What eighth-grader wouldn't want to receive a high school report card showing a GPA and credits before s/he begins ETHS as a freshman?
-- Rachel Fowler

Parent Urges Extension of ACC To Fifth Grade
Open Letter to Superintendent
Harcy Murphy and Members of the District 65 School Board:

As the mother of a kindergartener, I strongly support extension of the African-Centered Curriculum program to the fifth-grade level and retention of the interim principals, with whom I've had quite a bit of interaction.

Although I had initially considered private school for my daughter, I was introduced to the ACC model just in time. Several months hence, it has proven to be one of the best decisions to enroll Mariette in this program. Her personal growth and enthusiasm for learning has been incredible.

I myself participate in the daily class ritual each morning. This includes inspirational song, reciting the ACC Creed and Virtues, as well as various "winners circle" type discussions. Even as an adult, I am motivated by this activity.

The hard work and dedication of the teaching staff, administration and community support is exceptional. So it is curious to me as to why the ACC Program extends only to the third grade. I believe that consistency in this successful approach would be important in the development of these elementary school children through grade five.

We strongly support additional resources, increased support of the ACC Program and its expansion, as well as of the current Oakton School leadership.
-- Ayanna Brown and Demesvar Pompilus

Mixed-Use Developments Foster Independent Businesses
Editor:

One of the key features of mixed-use development is the businesses that occupy the ground floor. These businesses are often the most visible to the pedestrian and auto traffic and may set the tone and impression about a neighborhood or city.

Amid all the debate over the proposed 708 Church Project, a number of speakers at public meetings and other forums have suggested that new mixed-use residential development results in the elimination of independent businesses, who are then replaced by national or regional businesses.

Although none of the speakers at these meetings provided any data to support their claims, they have left some with the belief that independent businesses leave (or will leave) Evanston when a new large-scale development is built.

A recent study conducted by The Evanston Chamber of Commerce demonstrates that major new mixed-use development in Evanston has provided more, not fewer, opportunities for independent businesses. Independent businesses seem to be attracted to new construction of large-scale condominium projects and in some cases have replaced national or regional businesses that formerly occupied the same land or space.

The Evanston Chamber's economic development research department examined the six mixed-use residential projects of 75 or more units built in Evanston since 2000. In five of the six of the cases, the new building resulted in a net gain or equivalent number of independent retail or restaurant businesses. Of the net 26 new ground-level retail and restaurant businesses that occupy the six developments, 14 are independent businesses.

The Chamber studied Optima Towers, Optima Horizons, Church Street Station, Chicago Avenue Place, 900 Chicago Avenue and Sherman Plaza.

For example, the 13-floor Optima Towers, completed in 2002, replaced a four-story Bank One building. Today the first floor houses four independent businesses: Lulu's Dim Sum & Then Sum, George Salon, Argo Tea and the Tint Shop.

Not only is this a net gain of five independent businesses, but all of the stores made a major investment in downtown Evanston, because they purchased their spaces.

The first floor of Optima Horizons, formerly a parking lot, is occupied by Quartet Copies, which also bought their space, making a solid investment in downtown Evanston.

The developer of Church Street Station (2002) is Focus Development, the same developer that is proposing the 708 Church St. project. Church Street Station houses three independent businesses -- Race Logix, Little Mexican Café, and Radiant Smile - as well as a Harris Bank and Edible Arrangements, which are regional businesses.

Evanston Chamber President-elect Jim Marsh, an Evanston small business owner and resident, noted that in some developments, "the chance to be near a major national or regional business is not a negative but actually an enticement for the independent business to locate in the project." Mr. Marsh cited The Rub and Lakeside Eye Care and Eye Wear Emporium in the Sherman Plaza development as two examples of this movement.
-- Jonathan Perman, Executive director, Evanston Chamber of Commerce

No Tower, No More Condos
Editor:

I have been a homeowner in this community for the last 46 years, and I am now very disappointed with what the officials of this City are even wasting their time discussing to have built in the center of downtown.

I don't know how they can even consider this structure for downtown Evanston. We pride ourselves on having a sophisticated set of standards for Evanston. And yet here is a builder requesting that we change our established zoning ordinances to suit his needs. This goes for off-street parking, floor-area ratios, building height restrictions and downtown building setbacks.

If the City Council goes along with these requests to change our ordinances, who is going to come along next to request more changes? Who is governing this City - a bunch of puppets who don't stand up for what has been established for the good of all?

What we sorely need downtown is more available office and retail spaces, no more high-priced condos. We have too many condos already built that are begging for someone to buy them.

This tower is an aesthetically totally boring structure. The tower does not integrate with the style of the lower four floors, and the tower portion just looks like an extruded building that was arbitrarily cut off at 49 floors, with an uninteresting flat top. To rely on different-colored glass to add interest is a joke. Take the top 23-24 floors and put them on top of the flat south end of the building - that would create a structure that would still be plenty tall for the center of the City. Add some surface variations and sculptural details to make the building more interesting. In other words, go back to the drawing boards and start all over.

I just don't see how the builder and architect can even have the gall to ask for all of the variances that are required for the building to be built, as well as to ask the City to pay $3 million to them to rehab the Hahn building. If they are to build a structure here, they must comply with the City codes and pay the money for the rehab of the Hahn building as part of their building costs.

The City/we must not pay for this ugly building, on a block, which, furthermore, was excluded from the downtown plan. That is totally wrong; it must be included in the overall downtown plan. This is especially true since, as the builder and architect's own admission, this is the center of downtown.
-- Gordon Guth

Kudos in Budget Crisis For Commissioner Suffredin
Editor:

As an organization committed to advocating on behalf of women and girls and their full access to health information and services, we applaud Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin (D-Evanston), who helped forge a compromise package with President Todd Stroger to resolve the recent budget crisis.
Commissioner Suffredin successfully negotiated a plan that halved the proposed sales tax increase and linked it to an ordinance establishing independent governance to oversee the Bureau of Health Services.

Commissioner Suffredin wisely steered the Bureau toward a course of sustained viability and growth. An independent Cook County Bureau of Health Directors will be a major step forward in restoring lost health services and raising the quality of care for patients. This ordinance also will allow experienced and highly competent professionals to operate our large and complex health-care system. Their loyalties to the Bureau and its patients will be undivided.

Commissioner Suffredin's courageous steps prevented the potential shutdown of all services of the County Government -- including hospitals, courts and the County Jail --which would have adversely affected all residents, especially those with no other safety nets.

In the long run, county taxpayers will save millions of dollars because the system will be run by health-care professionals

City, School Districts Lack Leadership
Editor:

I have lived on the North shore all my live and have been a resident of Evanston for the past 18 years. During that time I have seen many changes. Years ago, Evanston was considered the place to shop and dine. Due to mostly moderate-priced housing, fair taxes and a superior school system and efficient government, it was considered a most desirable place to live and raise a family.

Today all of that has changed - and not for the better. The City of Evanston is lacking in efficient and responsible leadership, from the Mayor through the City Council and at every other level.

Consider the most obvious changes. The Mayor and the City Council have let the City (i.e., the taxpayers) owe the firefighters and police pension funds $140 million.

The City Council held a secret, unauthorized meeting last spring, a meeting which is under close scrutiny by the Attorney General.

The school system has suffered major deterioration. School Board meetings have been boisterous, argumentative, often unproductive and inattentive to real problems.

All of the above are the result of poor leadership and lack of direction at all levels.

Perhaps it is time to vote the rascals out of office.

Evanston citizens and taxpayers deserve much better.

I have had enough. Have you?
- Thomas Blair