Will North Branch Close?

Submitted by CSNA on Tue, 08/11/2020 - 08:30

The Evanston Public Library (EPL) Board of Trustees will vote Wednesday, August 19 on whether to permanently close both North and South Branch (CAMS) Libraries.  Based on previous discussion it appears that a majority favor permanent closure of both branches. Reasons for closing discussed by the board include equity, staffing, and social distancing.

CSNA has written a letter to the EPL Trustees stating our position opposing the closing of the North Branch. The letter can be found here:  http://centralstreetneighbors.com/node/1510

Our sister organization, the Southeast Evanston Association (SEA), has also written a letter opposing the closing of the South Branch (CAMS).  That can be found here: http://centralstreetneighbors.com/node/1511

Central Street Evanston (formerly Central Street Business Association) has also written the EPL Trustees to advocate for the North Branch.  That letter is here: http://centralstreetneighbors.com/node/1513

The Trustee meeting will be held virtually at 6:30 PM via video or telephone conference. All interested parties in Evanston are invited to participate and to speak during the Public Comment period at the beginning of the meeting.  Those planning to speak must register ahead of time.

The information packet and agenda for the meeting will be posted here:
https://www.epl.org/essentials/board-of-trustees/agendas-minutes/

Instructions for joining the meeting via video or phone are here:
https://www.epl.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Remote-Access-to-Library-...
(This page also includes the link to sign-up to provide Public Comment.)

Residents may also contact the EPL Trustees. Contact information information is here: https://www.epl.org/essentials/board-of-trustees/
(Please note that the Trustees whose terms are listed as "expires: 6/30/2020" are still on the Board and apparently will be voting on this issue.)

The members of the EPL Board of Trustees are nominated by the Mayor and appointed by the City Council.  Contact information for these officials is here:

6th Ward Alderman Thomas Suffredin: tsuffredin@cityofevanston.org
https://www.cityofevanston.org/government/city-council/6th-ward

7th Ward Alderwoman Eleanor Revelle: erevelle@cityofevanston.org 
https://www.cityofevanston.org/government/city-council/7th-ward

Mayor Steven H. Hagerty: shagerty@cityofevanston.org
https://www.cityofevanston.org/government/mayor

Links to recent press on this issue are listed here below:

Evanston RoundTable 7/17/2020: "Will Evanston's Branch Libraries Stay Closed Forever?"
https://evanstonroundtable.com/Content/Art-Life/Art-Life/Article/Will-Ev...

Evanston RoundTable 7/17/2020: "The Public Square  - Close CAMS and North Branch: Reader"
https://evanstonroundtable.com/Content/Default/The-Public-Square/Article...

Evanston RoundTable: 9/17/2019: "Library Board Mulls Weighty Scenarios Such as Closing CAMS and Shifting Resources"  https://evanstonroundtable.com/MobileContent/City-News/City-News/Article...

This issue is also trending on the local Nextdoor Neighbor network as a General topic originating from the Kingsley neighborhood.

The Evanston Public Library Friends (EPLF) page on Facebook is also discussing this issue: https://www.facebook.com/joineplf/

CSNA will continue following this issue and posting additional background information.

FYI: You can reach us at:
info@centralstreetneighbors.org
... or at:
csnaboard@googlegroups.com

Evanston Patch article misleads on EPD comparison data

Submitted by Jim Hughes on Wed, 07/15/2020 - 14:12

Hi everyone,

I read this Evanston Patch article last night … and checked some of the references used… then found the numbers did not add up.

The article is ... Patch 7/14/2020: Amid Calls To 'Defund Police,' Evanston Mayor, Chief Talk Budget

From the article sub-headline: “Evanston's ratio of police to residents has been among the highest in Illinois.”

There is a lot of outside data in the article and that data generally supports the sub-headline despite the errors.

The article quotes two outside data sources to make comparisons with EPD ... this is where things go off track. 

I quote the article below and then the correction I think needs to be made.

  1. “Evanston's ratio of police personnel to population – about 269 department employees to 100,000 residents — compares to that of San Francisco, Miami or Little Rock, Arkansas, according to an analysis by the Vera Institute of Justice cited by Papachristos."

269 per 100,000 residents is about right for Evanston.  But the data for the other cities is actually the number of residents per police department employee … and not employees per hundred thousand residents.  So, this is not a valid comparison. Evanston actually has 364 residents per police department employee.  A much higher ratio than these three cities which run from 260-275.

 

  1. “Chicago's police to resident ratio is 40 percent lower — just 183 employees per 100,000 Chicagoans."

Chicago actually has about 506 employees per 100,000 residents.  Evanston has about 270. So, Chicago is actually about 100% higher and not 40% lower.

  1. “Apart from Chicago, Evanston had the fourth highest ratio of police to residents in the state, trailing only Addison, Elk Grove Village and Carbondale.”

The data for this comparison was from 2016 when Evanston PD  had 227 employees.  In 2020 that number is now 202 with unfilled open positions.  That would put Evanston at about 7th highest (below Chicago) on the list of 52 Illinois police departments. Still high on this measure when compared to 52 others in the database.  But in the top 15% not in the top 10%.

Jim Hughes

2518 Hartzell St.

 

Marching Along Central Street ... 13 Years ... And Still Rolling

Submitted by CSNA on Thu, 07/02/2020 - 20:13

A Happy and Safe 4th... CSNA

Participate in the City Manager Selection Process

Submitted by CSNA on Thu, 07/02/2020 - 18:20

What does it take to be our City Manager?

We can have our say by participating in the selection process.  CSNA spoke out to get the decision process back to the residents of Evanston.  Now it is our turn.

  • Attend a virtual public meeting to offer your input. Remember to register ahead of time:

Register here for the Zoom meeting Tuesday July 7 at 6:00 PM

  • Can't attend the virtual meeting? Take the survey. It is only eight questions and there is ample room for comment:

Evanston City Manager Position Profile - Community Survey

  • Or ... If you would like to email the survey company directly with additional feedback, you may send your comments and suggestions to this email address:

EvanstonCityManager@GovHRUSA.com

Hecky Powell Tribute on PBS NewsHour Tonight

Submitted by CSNA on Fri, 06/12/2020 - 15:23

The Evanston RoundTable carried the following story yesterday:

"Hecky Powell May Be Profiled on PBS NewsHour on June 12"

Thursday, June 11, 2020 8:06 AM

"Hecky Powell may be profiled in the “In Memoriam” segment on the PBS NewsHour this Friday, June 12. 

The “In Memoriam” segment honors five people who recently died from COVID-19. 

The segment will air during the NewsHour broadcast on the local PBS affiliate, WTTW Channel 11, at 6 p.m.  

Hecky Powell, a lifelong Evanston resident, passed away Friday, May 22."

Friends of Lovelace Park Pollinator Garden

Submitted by CSNA on Mon, 06/08/2020 - 09:13

Twelve dedicated volunteers spent more than two hours on Saturday, June 6 preparing and planting a Pollinator Garden at Lovelace Park.

Thanks to the Highland Park Garden Club that donated a flat of 38 plants and Leslie Shad from Natural Habitat Evanston who arranged for Friends of Lovelace Park to be the recipient.

For more information and to get involved, visit lovelacepark.com.

Expediency over Equity and Transparency in Evanston

Submitted by CSNA on Sat, 06/06/2020 - 16:04

Dear Neighbors,

The Central Street Neighbors Association shares the concerns expressed by the Evanston Minority Business Consortium (EMBC), Organization for Positive Action (OPAL), and others with respect to the surprise discussion by the Council recently suggesting simply hiring the acting City Manager, Erika Storlie as City Manager rather than finding a replacement for Wally Bobkiewicz through an open public process.

We urge the City to either use the transparent public selection process or postpone the decision until after the 2021 municipal election.
 
The move to preempt the current transparent and public City Manager selection process has multiple problems.
 
• It is bad for Evanston government … or any government.

  • It’s not transparent.
  • It’s not on the public agenda.
  • It’s impulsive.

• It preempts resident input.
 
That input was promised, through surveys, focus groups, and other means, and the proposed promotion would break that promise.
 
• It is tone deaf.
 
Short circuiting the public selection process is a tone-deaf disregard of heightened public sensitivity to historic racial equity issues in Evanston.
 
• It is untimely.
 
In less than a year Evanston will have a new Council and Mayor, who should not be saddled with a chief executive not of their choice. In a few months, we will have national elections, the results of which will enormously impact the potential federal funds on which Illinois and/or Evanston can count in the next few years of attempted recovery.
 
• It undercuts confidence in addressing current challenges.
 
The greatest challenge facing the City near-term is going to be fiscal, and serious questions exist as to what current City government — elected and staff — did to foresee and minimize that. A near-equal challenge is to restore confidence in City government. A hire by fiat addresses neither of these major issues.
 
• It does not restore confidence in addressing past mistakes:

  • Discrimination settlements
  • James Park litigation
  • Harley Clarke alienation
  • Controversial personnel decisions

• It has all the appearance of taking advantage of the pandemic for political expediency.
 
This move to preempt has occurred during a time in which no one could attend Council meetings, no one could assemble to discuss, no one could protest, no one could petition. A move to appoint a City Manager without public process would compound distrust created by this dynamic.
 
CSNA strongly urges the council to either get back on the transparent public selection process track OR  keep Ms. Storlie as Acting City Manager, and let the next Council and Mayor make the decision after a round of elections in which the public will have opportunity to vet candidates on their priorities for the City’s chief executive.

Please write your alderperson and let them know how you feel. This item is on the agenda for introduction this Monday June 8, 2020 5:30 PM. You can also follow the agenda link to sign up to speak via phone or video at the beginning of the meeting.

1st Ward - Judy Fiske: jfiske@cityofevanston.org
5th Ward - Robin Rue Simmons: rsimmons@cityofevanston.org
6th Ward - Tom Suffredin: tsuffredin@cityofevanston.org
7th Ward - Eleanor Revelle: erevelle@cityofevanston.org 

OPAL has also written a letter and is sponsoring both a rally and a petition.

CSNA
CSNABoard@googlegroups.com

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