It is time to count the votes. Monday, November 25 at 7PM the Evanston City Council will meet. There are 9 wards, and each ward has an Alderman. They vote, and the Mayor can break a tie and has a veto. Everyone is involved.
Focus Group has made a significant investment before even putting a shovel in the ground. Acquisition fees, legal fees, architects and engineers all contribute to planning expense. They have sunk costs that they can only recoup through development, in addition to the potential windfall from completing the project. And they are entitled to try.
But this is where citizens and community leaders must exercise extreme scrutiny. There are millions of dollars on the table, and that means Focus will be driven to push the limits of zoning law. With so much at stake, money becomes a black hole, with a gravitational field that can distort the public/private process.
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This will be a branding vote for our Aldermen. In combination with the recent Harley Clarke Mansion decision, we will get a very clear picture of each Council Member's vision of the future of Evanston, and their personal take on representative democracy. It will be a vote that will surely be referenced if and when they seek reelection. This vote will define them.
Do we want Evanston power-politics to earn some young reporter a Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Journalism?
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No, we don't want that notoriety. Nor do we want The Tower.
