Genevieve Bookwalter

Evanston City Council considers requiring stores to fund retroactive pandemic hazard pay

June 1, 2021 at 5:30 p.m.

At a meeting this month, members of the Evanston City Council will consider whether to require large retail employers to pay 15 weeks of retroactive hazard pay to essential workers...

Pedestrians are pictured in downtown Evanston in a Nov. 13, 2020, file photo.

Evanston to consult with community members and nonprofits on how to spend federal COVID-19 relief funds

June 1, 2021 at 5:05 p.m.

Evanston received the first half of the city's anticipated $43.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds this month as part of the American Rescue Plan Act. The measure was designed to...

Jack Komos of Chicago, a senior installer for Fresh Coast Solar, performs a torque audit on a solar array on top of Building D on the campus of College of Lake County in Grayslake on May 14, 2021.

Those who took a ‘leap of faith’ on solar power anxiously await passage of a bill that could determine the future of renewable energy in Illinois

May 26, 2021 at 9:45 p.m.

Ky Ajayi was a political science professor for 15 years before he decided to follow the advice he had been giving his students and do something bold. "I told my...

Evanston summer leaf blower, irrigation restrictions take effect

May 25, 2021 at 7:58 p.m.

Leaf blower and irrigation restrictions have kicked in for the summer for Evanston residents, city officials announced in a news release. Gasoline powered leaf blowers, whether backpack-mounted or hand-held, are...

The Harley Clarke Mansion is shown looking west from Lake Michigan in this file photo.

Evanston gives final approval to 40-year lease of Harley Clarke Mansion

May 21, 2021 at 9:16 p.m.

Evanston aldermen last week gave final approval to a 40-year lease with Artists Book House to take over the historic lakefront Harley Clarke Mansion. The vote was passed without comment...

Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss pictured in a March file photo.

Evanston mayor forms committee to examine city’s public safety approach

May 17, 2021 at 10:30 p.m.

Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss last week announced the formation of a committee to examine public safety and make recommendations for the 2022 budget. In the announcement, the newly seated Biss...

Peg and Lee Doctor, ages 90 and 91, married for 45 years, sit together in their home at Three Crowns Park living facility Tuesday, March 23, 2021, in Evanston. They both had mild cases of COVID early last year, but have been in lockdown for most of the last year in the suburban facility.

After a year of profound grief and isolation, nursing homes across suburban Chicago seek healing

May 21, 2021 at 5:32 p.m.

Over the past 14 months, the pandemic has brought to nursing homes and assisted living facilities illness, death, isolation and untold suffering. The numbers tell only part of the story,...

Northwestern University in Evanston is pictured on Friday, Nov. 13, 2020.

Northwestern University will require students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 next school year

May 17, 2021 at 10:18 p.m.

Northwestern University announced May 12 that students will be required to have the COVID-19 vaccine next academic year. In a letter to the school community, administrators wrote the decision was...

Evanston City Clerk Devon Reid is shown in this file photo from July 15, 2019.

With new Evanston City Council members sworn in, alderman proposes mandating $6 per hour in hazard pay for some essential retail workers

May 11, 2021 at 9:01 p.m.

Evanston would require some city businesses to pay essential retail workers an additional $6 per hour in COVID-19 hazard pay under a draft ordinance that narrowly moved forward at Monday...

Verzell James of Evanston selling his Awe-Sauce at the Smittytown Market hosted by the Temperance Beer Co.

A graphic artist from Evanston used pandemic slowdown to expand his hot sauce business while giving back to the community

May 10, 2021 at 5:33 p.m.

Verzell James, a graphic artist from Evanston, has long had a passion for hot sauce. But when things slowed down during the COVID-19 pandemic, he decided to shift his passion...

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