Rats scurried in broad daylight outside Insomnia Cookies in downtown Evanston. At night, the long-tailed rodents leapt out of trash cans. And around the clock, they forced nearby businesses to wage a “losing battle” to keep them away, store operations manager Laura Dundas said in early March. She estimated that hundreds had overrun the 1700.
Crawling within the confines of Sherman Avenue, Evanston’s rat population appears to be on the rise, signaling a significant post-pandemic boom in rats wandering downtown. The Evanston Rat Map visualizes reported rodent sightings from the city’s 311 feed. More than 100 rodent sightings were reported in the past month, with about a quarter of those.
After a whirlwind couple of weeks at UpRising Bakery and Café which saw vandalism, a dispute with the village, a visit by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and national media attention an all-ages drag show brunch finally took place Sunday at the Lake in the Hills business.