City Council swore in Schenita Stewart as Evanston’s first permanent woman police chief at its Monday meeting. Evanston Police Department members and residents packed the council chambers, erupting in a standing ovation after Stewart was sworn in by Mayor Daniel Biss. Stewart most recently served as the deputy chief of police for the East Dundee.
Three finalists for Evanston Police Department’s next chief discussed staffing shortages, community-centered policing and crime reduction at a Thursday forum. The finalists, Migdalia Bulnes, Joshua Hunt and Schenita Stewart, answered questions submitted by residents. Sol Anderson, president and CEO of the Evanston Community Foundation, moderated the event. The next chief will be the department’s fourth.
City Council tabled a decision on a separation agreement with City Manager Erika Storlie Monday after community concerns with the proposal and transparency throughout the process. Storlie, who has served in the role since October 2020, has been with the city since 2004, including as the interim city manager for over a year before her.
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Evanston Now
Seeks to find the best structure for delivering public safety services.
Daniel Biss.
Mayor Daniel Biss says a new Evanston police chief might end up supervising workers with responsibilities beyond what’s now seen as the role of police.
Speaking to the second meeting of his Reimagining Public Safety Committee Tuesday afternoon, a day after Police Chief Demitrous Cook announced his retirement, Biss said the city needs to decide what infrastructure it should build to provide for safety and how that infrastructure should be constructed inside the city bureaucracy.
“As it stands now,” Biss added, the Police Department has a staff of 140 to 150 individuals with a particular set of powers.