Source: Local Works - Examining the impact of local business on the West Michigan economy.  A civic economics study for Local First, Grand Rapids, Michigan. (Click on the thumbnail above.)

Two Opportunities To Be Heard:

These two meetings below will allow discussion on issues that may have a significant impact on property tax bills:

Wednesday, November 16, 7:00PM: District 65 Proposed New School Forum at the Joseph E. Hill Education Center, 1500 McDaniel Avenue.

This meeting will seek citizen input on the proposed building of a new elementary school in West Evanston

Thursday, November 17, 7:00PM: Joint 6th and 7th Ward Meeting at Three Crowns Park 2323 McDaniel Ave.

There will be discussions about State of Illinois issues with Rep. Daniel Biss who now represents all of the 6th Ward and a large portion of the 7th Ward in northwest Evanston. There will also be a discussion of the city’s 2012 budget with City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz including time for questions and answers.

 During the month of November, The Evanston Public Library Friends and the 'Mighty Twig' neighborhood library at Chicago & Main are competing for a $10,000.00 grant  –  and the 15 ideas with the most votes are winners!   

 
Vote Online:
You may vote online by going to this link and selecting “Vote for this idea”.  You can sign in and vote through your Facebook account or through your Pepsi account.
http://www.refresheverything.com/themightytwig
 And then
 Text your vote!! 

1. go to the text area on your phone and select ‘create new message’ or similar
2. In the “to:” field (who you are sending it to), type in the following numbers:     73774
3. In the subject field, type in the following numbers:     109325
4. Hit “Send”.  All done!

According to Evanston150, more than 500 members of the Evanston community participated in selecting the top 30 ideas for Evanston's future over the October 15-16 weekend. Public voting sessions were held at the Century Cinema, Evanston Township High School and Saint Francis Hospital. Voters were presented with the top 100 ideas, selected by a 21-member volunteer selection jury from a pool of over 2,000 ideas submitted by the public between March and July of 2011. 

Dear Neighbors, 
 
On October 13, 2011 there was a community meeting held at Unity Church on Central St. and Gross Point Road in Evanston, Il. regarding the construction of a new Chase Bank at the corner of Gross Point Road and Crawford Avenue. 
 
The proposal included the re-zoning of 2 residential lots to provide for 4 drive-thru bank lanes. 
Many of the neighbors of Hillside and northwest Evanston oppose the rezoning of residential property. The project would include tearing down an existing home  and possibly tearing down hundred year old trees.  
 
We also feel the proposal does not meet the sugestions labled out in the Central St. Master Plan.  We ask anyone against this type of rezoning in our community to reach out to Alderman Tendam mark.tendam@comcast.net and Mayor Tisdahl etisdahl@cityofevanston.org  and let them know that this isn't good for Evanston.  
 
And check out our flyer:  IS THIS THE ONLY OPTION
 
-a worried Hillside neigjhbor

When I was a kid and the other kids were home watching "Leave it to Beaver," my father and step-mother were marching me off to the library. -- Oprah Winfrey
 
What’s at stake here is more than access to a room full of books. -- Josh Wallaert
 
Our community is being asked this weekend to "vote" on 100 ideas in the evanston150.org process. Regrettably, we've had scant opportunity to discuss or debate them. Even the ideas' proponents have had little chance to explain them. If time permitted I'd venture thought on many. Since time doesn't, I'll use this bandwidth to urge a vote for one imperfectly phrased but critical idea, No. 27 on the original list, "Establish branch libraries throughout Evanston."
 
The phrasing is imperfect because unless you read the explanation, it might suggest, as one critic put it, "building a branch library on every street corner." No one proposes that. The better explanation, available in the "long" version of the evanston150 list, is as follows: "Evanston currently has only one branch library, and that is available only part time. This proposal seeks to increase the number of branch libraries, locate them throughout the City, and keep them open longer hours in order to make library services and programs more accessible to all Evanstonians. Among other things, the branches can then serve as community resource centers, and reach out to engage everyone in literacy activities, for instance, hosting One Book, One Community programs."
 
I urge a vote for this Idea and write this post specifically to counter one of the most inaccurate arguments I've heard about Evanston libraries, namely, that "bricks and mortar" are "so 20th Century" and the idea of buildings should be discarded as we think about a library system of the future. Nothing could be further from the truth. The concept of place is fundamental to the importance of libraries anywhere, and is a compelling argument for libraries in neighborhoods, that reach all neighborhoods.

Come out Sunday, October 2 and join the community at Boocoo Cultural Center and Cafe for an open house and fundraiser.  From 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. enjoy music, dance, fun and a silent auction while helping keep the lights on at Boocoo. (click 'Read more' below  for the schedule and details).

The City of Evanston will be holding a citizen budget input session on Thursday, September 22nd at 7 p.m. in the Parasol Room on the Fourth Floor at the Morton Civic Center located at 2100 Ridge Ave. The session is a continuation of the "Engage Evanston"  process the city kicked off in the Spring.  It will include a description of the session, a budget update, a review of service change ideas and citizen feedback and input.

The City of Evanston Streets and Sanitation Division offers the FREE removal of six cubic yards of bulk garbage twice per year.  For residents whose regular trash pick up is on Tuesday (most of the Central Street neighborhood), the fall pickup date is this Friday, September 23.
 
All trash must be out by 7 a.m.; City crews will not return for late set outs. If crews are unable to complete routes on Friday, collection will continue on Saturday.