2023 Communications

Below see Yvi Russell's essay: "Just a few comments and questions re. NU's proposed Stadium and Zoning Text Amendment change" which will be submitted to the Evanston Round Table on September 29, 2023.

comment and questions.pdf

Sept. 2023: Evanston City releases the Johnson Consulting Economic Impact Study

The Most Livable City Association and Community Alliance for Better Government issued the following statement:

“This report undercuts Northwestern's biggest arguments for building a massive entertainment complex in a residential neighborhood. It projects a miniscule amount of additional revenue for Evanston, with the city getting only an additional $200,000 from six stadium-packed concerts and assorted additional events. It confirms that Northwestern's transportation and parking plan is not grounded in reality. And it says that Northwestern should enter into a community benefits agreement tied to the project — as opposed to the unenforceable 'letter of intent' proposed by the university.

“At the same time, the report suffers serious flaws. For example, the Johnson consulting team shows little knowledge of Evanston. The report states that the project ‘will remove blight from Central Avenue.’ First, anyone who describes it that way has never been here.  Second, Central Street — not Central Avenue — is where the stadium is located and is the heart of our neighborhood business district. 

"Finally, the report fails to account for the massive external costs – the externalities – this project would impose on surrounding neighborhoods and on the city as a whole. These costs are real, but the report fails to assign value to them and instead waves them away.”

An Open Letter to Northwestern University

August 27, 2023

Dear President Schill and Board of Trustees:

In response to President Schill’s August 17 letters to the Evanston and Northwestern communities, we write to you with a simple request to withdraw the university’s proposal to commercialize its athletics campus on Central Street.  Instead, the university should put its efforts and resources into repairing the relationship between town and gown with a community benefits agreement for the rebuild of its football stadium.

We recognize and respect Northwestern’s desire to provide first-rate athletic facilities that reflect the institutional pride and investment of alumni, donors, students, faculty, and staff.  We also welcome the university’s offer to continue providing “community-based activities” at its athletics campus, as it already does under the existing zoning code.

However, Northwestern’s current plans for a commercial entertainment complex have created conflict and mistrust among neighbors and between city wards, between Evanston and Wilmette, and towards the university.  Reversing that tide will require genuine leadership.  This is the time to take a different tack.

All Evanstonians — as well as residents of Wilmette — deserve from their institutional neighbor and from Evanston’s public officials an open and straightforward process, free from flawed and incomplete reports, vague promises, backroom deals, and other activities that have unfortunately characterized the “Rebuild Ryan Field” effort to date.

The City of Evanston will soon hear the university’s land use applications.  Therefore, the time is right to engage in an open and honest dialog with those of us — including the nearly 1,600 signers of our petition — who question the wisdom of the university’s ambitions, the validity of its claims, and the sincerity of its assertions of serving the best interests of the Evanston community.

Prior to the upcoming land use hearing on September 6, we call on the university to abandon its efforts to amend Evanston’s zoning ordinance to allow commercial events.  Focus instead on the football stadium’s redevelopment, which still has major shortcomings; listen to the community’s environmental and labor concerns; and offer a substantial package of community benefits — one with enforceable commitments through an agreement with community stakeholders.

We are eager and ready to engage in discussions with the university, with the City of Evanston and Village of Wilmette, and with other community representatives to arrive at an outcome that embodies the values and aspirations of all.

Sincerely,

David DeCarlo, President

Parielle Davis, Vice President


CC: Mayor Biss; Evanston City Council; Evanston Land Use Commission

Steven Harper has published various op-eds and commentaries on the present issue. 

Steven J. Harper, creator of The Insurrection Timeline, The Pandemic Timeline series, and The Trump-Russia-Ukraine Timeline at BillMoyers.com. Author of The Lawyer Bubble - A Profession in Crisis (Basic Books/Perseus, 2013, 2016), Crossing Hoffa: A Teamster's Story (Borealis, 2007), and other books; adjunct professor at Northwestern University Law School; former litigation partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. 
Opinion _ Northwestern University’s Guide to Quashing Community Dissent in 3 Acts _ Common Dreams.pdf
Northwestern Should Have Given Up on a Ryan Field Redo Long Ago _ The Belly of the Beast.pdf
Opinion _ How Wealth Inequality Is Subverting Higher Education at Northwestern _ Common Dreams.pdf

Mr. Harper also  submitted an extensive document to be included in LUC's packet. 

See 2023 NU Zoning Proposals November 2022 - August 2023 

 Will Northwestern Get Its Stadium, or Will Evanston Get a Fair Deal?

Another Harper article:

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/northwestern-stadium-evanston/

Evanston Roundtable: NU’s Ryan Field project shows climate hypocrisy.

https://evanstonroundtable.com/2023/05/15/guest-essay-rebuild-ryan-field-climate-environmental/


5/15/2023 -  Sonia and Aaron Cohen explain how NU's stadium rebuild gives the lie to NU's "environmental claims"  and is "a recipe for substantially increasing Evanston’s carbon footprint by generating new and ongoing air, noise and light pollution throughout the year". 


What effects are caused by building a new cement stadium?

"Some estimates say every ton of cement produces a ton of CO2 emissions, of which concrete production accounts for an estimated 8% globally."   

 

Why not publish the The Round Table [ERT] articles in full or quote them more extensively? 

Our site's purpose is solely to be a historical, educational source of information. It is not a site that earns any money, nor does it solicit or raise any funds and it never displays any advertisements.

Despite this, on 8/8/2023 Spotlight's editor was  informed by ERT that our site was not granted permission  to publish any ERT  articles in full, including non-remunerated material sent to RT, such as letters to the Editor, published on "Public Square".  

Spotlight's goal always has been not just to give an update on events but specifically to provide the public with the verbatim opinion of concerned citizens who want their voices to be heard, and particularly citizens who have given us permission to publish their comments or whose comments are part of the public record. 

We'll try to  supplement short ERT summaries with other forms of communication that are available to us to give you a full picture of the issues at hand. 

Below: Just a small sample of letters and editorials showing opposition to NU's proposal.

Small business owners say big commercial events at Ryan Field will hurt their businesses.

https://www.audacy.com/wbbm780/news/local/evanston-residents-shop-owners-criticize-ryan-field-rebuild

 

Evanston Roundtable: NU’s wealth, evasiveness, and cost to the city. They are not giving us something for nothing.

https://evanstonroundtable.com/2022/10/19/letter-to-the-editor-new-ryan-field-is-nu-cash-grab/

 

Evanston Roundtable: Neighbors protest NU commercial events. Say traffic gridlock blocks access to hospital. (One neighbor states her husband was in an ambulance yet was unable to get to hospital quickly due to traffic gridlock on football game day.)

https://evanstonroundtable.com/2023/01/31/neighbors-slam-northwestern-zoning-requests-for-new-ryan-field/

 

Evanston Roundtable: NU is out of sync with other universities and their stadium renovations and rebuilds.

https://evanstonroundtable.com/2023/02/06/letter-to-the-editor-nus-extravagant-approach-compared-to-other-universities/

 

Evanston Roundtable: 260 Faculty ask NU to stop Ryan Field project for now. 2023 07 16  (2 different news outlets on this topic):

https://evanstonroundtable.com/2023/07/14/faculty-letter-asking-northwestern-halt-ryan-field-project/

Daily Northwestern:

https://dailynorthwestern.com/2023/07/14/opinion/lte-northwestern-faculty-open-letter-about-football-and-other-athletics-at-northwestern/ Includes the names of the faculty who signed the above.

 

Evanston Roundtable: Peter Barris. NU Board of Trustees Chair. Shows hypocrisy.

https://evanstonroundtable.com/2023/04/02/guest-essay-nu-board-chairs-opposition-to-unbridled-development-shows-hypocrisy/

 

Isabella Street gridlock on evening of basketball game at Welsh-Ryan Arena:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJMsDnUfchM

 

Alley: Cars using alley when Isabella St was completely gridlocked:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxtwXBUhHMc

Presentations by Lesley Williams and Parielle Davis about NU and how they are dividing the city.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGMGCo6uRb8


Also:

https://evanstonroundtable.com/2023/08/24/letter-to-the-editor-black-community-dispute-northwestern-ryan-field-claims/

Below: Patty Sherry-Crews missive  for City Council Public Comment - 8/31/2012

Re. Statement on NU proposed rezoning 

 Patti Sherry-Crews Sun, Aug 13, 2023 

To: dbiss@cityofevanston.org, ckelly@cityofevanston.org, kharris@cityofevanston.org, mwynne@cityofevanston.org, jnieuwsma@cityofevanston.org, bburns@cityofevanston.org, tsuffredin@cityofevanston.org, erevelle@cityofevanston.org, dreid@cityofevanston.org, jgeracaris@cityofevanston.org, mmjones@cityofevanston.org, cityclerk@cityofevanston.org 
To all concerned, I oppose rezoning the new stadium proposal on several fronts.
As a 7th Ward Homeowner:
For the last 31 years my husband and I have lived at , which is two blocks from the stadium. Prior to buying our house, we lived on Eastwood Ave, which is the first street west of the NU stadium complex & parking lot. When we bought the house on Poplar we were fully aware that putting up with NU home games would be something we’d have to contend with. We knew that during a home game we’d have to plan around those events with a couple of options: either leave the neighborhood for the day, or stay home knowing going anywhere by car would be almost impossible.
We’ve noticed in recent years that events at the stadium have become much more disruptive. Football and basketball games have become popular, and NU hosts high school graduations as well as their own ceremonies at the stadium. I am an avid walker and to my mind the graduations make navigating around even worse than the football games, because they go on for days and the streets and sidewalks are so congested it is difficult to even get off my block as a pedestrian!
Since our house is across from commuter parking, it's a popular tailgating hangout. Many in the neighborhood make money selling parking spots (which we don’t blame them for), so in addition to people grilling, drinking, tossing around footballs, playing cornhole, playing loud music, and filling the air with the scent of lighter fluid, in front of our house, we also have to contend with tailgate activity on both sides of our house. As the back of our lot faces Broadway and foot traffic and gategating spills over. We can’t even enjoy sitting in our backyard.
When our children were little, we were always concerned for their safety. Drinking, driving, and strangers from out of town are a bad combination. One year our puppy went missing. My children were hysterical thinking some out of towners had stolen her. As it turned out the dog was hiding in a closet because of the noise. The point is, we were always on high alert during NU events.
We’re concerned how the new stadium and rezoning efforts will affect the value of our home.
Noise pollution has increased exponentially around Central Street over the years. Between the emergency vehicles racing down the street to and from Evanston Hospital and the fire stations, to the train and El, and landscapers with their large mowers and leaf blowers we have to pause conversations or whatever device we are listening to more often until the noise subsides. As an aging couple, I’m having more trouble dealing with the noise. We certainly don’t need more. 
As a Former Central  st Business Owner:
For 18 years I owned a retail store one block from the stadium, where Ten Mile House is now. On game days I might as well have stayed home. My regulars and local shoppers couldn’t get to me, and crowds going to and from the game were intent on that one NU venue and simply didn’t come into my shop. 
I’ve been to numerous council meetings over the years where NU has tried to push something through, and business owners on Central Street have always shown up to share their experience of losing business on event days. Why do we have to keep saying this? Is it because NU hopes that a new council who’ve not been part of previous discussions will eventually get what they want?
We have a lot of unique, small businesses on Central Street and many operate on very small margins, and they can’t afford to lose Saturday sales. The veterinarian on the corner of Central and Broadway testified to how on game days, her clients have trouble bringing in their sick pets.
Maybe some of the restaurants who serve liquor benefit from increased traffic, but if the new stadium will also have food and liquor venders this may very likely hurt restaurants on Central as well.
Evanston Hospital:
Evanston hospital is the only Trauma Level 1 hospital on the North Shore, and there are only a few routes to get there. We live very close to Central Street and we are well aware of the frequency of emergency vehicles with sirens repeatedly blasting on a daily basis. Ambulances, from not only Evanston, but also Skokie, Wilmette, Highland Park, etc. fly down Central regularly. 
I believe Northshore hospital is not taking an official stance, but I know from friends and relatives that work there that hospital staff dread when there are large NU events. Staff get stuck in traffic going to and from work. 
A retired doctor wrote an Op Ed stating that the hospital has to plan activity around NU events, just as the homeowners surrounding the stadium do. But, as a hospital, they can’t anticipate all emergencies. He stated that there are situations when staff has to be called in and if they can’t get to the hospital quickly that that could be a matter of life and death. 
I know of one neighbor who died in an ambulance stuck in traffic on a football Saturday, and another who got stuck in football traffic while trying to drive herself to the ER after cutting her hand badly. Again, this has been stated during public comment in meetings with the city, so why do we keep having to have these discussions?
The people who live in other wards and dismiss concerns with “NIMBY” may find this problem in their backyards if they or a loved one have a medical emergency. 
Other Thoughts:
The last meeting that we attended where NU gave a presentation meant to assure us how wonderful a new stadium will be, actually set off new alarm bells for me. It was the first time I'd heard that groundwater would be pumped out of the stadium into the canal 24/7, and nobody seems to have any idea of the environmental impact. 
NU has had years to figure out a parking plan. They haven’t been able to answer that one, because there is no solution for this when you put a massive stadium right in the middle of a densely packed residential and commercial neighborhood. 
And saying that Evanston as a whole would benefit from concert goers, that is a fairy tale. I don’t think many people going to Ravinia spend the day hanging out dining and shopping in Highland Park. I’ve heard numerous people saying Evanston should use the zoning request to make a deal with NU to provide more services to the city. NU should do that regardless. Do not use our neighborhood as a bargaining chip! 
I used to take the stand that NU can go ahead and build a new stadium, but not change the zoning. After sitting through the presentation by NU, I now think they shouldn’t even build a new stadium on environmental grounds. We are seeing the damage caused by climate change on almost a daily basis and things are escalating. The new stadium project from start to finish will have an enormous carbon footprint. 
We cannot absorb anymore noise, pollution and traffic if NU is allowed to get this zoning change.