Page 12 - Devon Reid News Today

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Evanston bakery Hewn always accepted cash payments. But in early 2020, the business pivoted to online sales only.  When the bakery reopened to walk-in customers, co-owner Julie Matthei said the business decided to keep its cashless policy to minimize bookkeeping tasks and reduce risks of theft and counterfeit bills. “For some...

City Council voted 7-1 to introduce an amendment Monday to the city code that will require shared housing in Evanston to be licensed.  The council initially planned to vote on issuing a special use permit to Connections for the Homeless for its Margarita Inn shelter. However, a temporary restraining order issued by Cook County Circuit...

Councilmembers, Evanston officials and community members clashed over the future of the Harley Clarke Mansion during Monday’s City Council meeting. Non-profit Artists Book House had signed a lease with the city for the building in 2021 but decided to back out in January due to fundraising difficulties. The organization also struggled to negotiate a sublease...

As more vendors go cashless, Evanston Ald. Devon Reid doesn't want the city's unbanked population locked out of the economy. Some businesses say making them stick with cash puts them at risk.

Eva Holland-Switchett still lives in the Evanston childhood home her mother bought in 1961.  She associates the house with memories of love. But Holland-Switchett, who is Black, also remembers the redlining practices her mother fought against to buy the house in the first place. For instance, her mother went to the bank to get a...

Evanston police will receive a minimum 26% gross wage increase during the next four years alongside protections for existing officers with a new collective bargaining agreement between the city and the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police.

City Council voted 8-1 to refer a ban on cashless businesses back to the Economic Development Committee and the Equity and Empowerment Commission on Monday.  The proposed ordinance would make it illegal for Evanston businesses to deny cash payments. Residents would be able to report violations to the city’s call center. Business owners would be...

Interim Community Development Director Sarah Flax updated City Council on the city’s approximate $5.7 million remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds Monday. ARPA, a federal COVID-19 pandemic relief act, was signed into law in 2021 to provide economic relief. Evanston received about $43 million to spend on fiscal recovery and has allocated more than $37...

Evanston’s infrastructure includes more than 7,000 public lead pipes, which can cause cancer and other illnesses. Like many Chicago area suburbs, Evanston is full of lead service lines. Many of Evanston’s pipes were built in the 20th century, before the 1986 Safe Drinking Water Act strengthened federal regulations. The pipes have yet to be replaced....

Evanston council members will soon consider a proposed ban that is reigniting the age-old debate – gas or electric.