The Daily Northwestern Friday, September 27, 2019
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Johnson struggles to start 2019 campaign
Freshmen assigned unknown dorms New students placed in Jones and Beta house By JASON BEEFERMAN
the daily northwestern
Colin Boyle/Daily Senior Staffer
Daniel Epstein at Evanston Township High School. Epstein is running for the Illinois Supreme Court.
Epstein runs for Supreme Court ETHS grad is the youngest candidate for highest court in Illinois By SAMANTHA HANDLER
daily senior staffer @sn_handler
Daniel Epstein never had a dream of having a big house or a nice car. Instead, the attorney and Evanston Township High School grad has a dream of justice and making the world — or at least
Illinois — a better place, one case at a time. To do that, he says, there needs to be systemic judicial reform, which can only be done from the highest court in Illinois, the state Supreme Court. The Evanston native is one of seven candidates running for the Cook County seat on the Supreme Court. If elected, he would be the youngest justice
in 101 years. “I’m very much all in,” Epstein said. “I took my life savings — I put aside enough to make it through the election, to maintain health insurance and to buy a ring for my girlfriend. Everything else went into this.” In the crowded field — which may still be growing as another attorney started circulating
petitions to join the race on Thursday — Epstein is currently the only candidate who is not a judge and who has presented a platform of ideas rather than just his qualifications. Illinois judicial candidates are not allowed to talk about how they would decide cases, controversies or issues that » See COURT, page 8
When Weinberg freshman Jessica Lechuga opened her housing assignment email this summer, she said she didn’t recognize the residential hall she was assigned to. “What the heck is Jones?” Lechuga said. Due to over-enrollment, 152 freshman students were placed in Jones Residential College this year, last used as a fine and performing arts residential college in 2016, and 2349 Sheridan, a repurposed Beta Theta Pi House. When incoming students were asked to rank their preferences from a list of 19 residential halls before Wildcat Welcome, the list did not include Jones and the former fraternity house. The buildings’ new residents did not know their housing assignments existed as a potential option until an Aug. 2 email from Residential Services. Communication freshman
Anna Clark was assigned a single in Jones despite having requested a double elsewhere. “I sort of assumed that it must have been something I had forgotten ranking,” Clark said. For some students, the surprise housing arrangement also meant they had to pay more. Zak Chorny, a Weinberg freshman, said he had to pay almost $2,000 dollars more to live in a single that he didn’t ask for. After asking Residential Services if he could pay the price of a double, Chorny was told he would only be able to pay the lower price if he switched into a double though there were none available,” Chorny said. The University’s acceptance rate this year rose for the first time in 10 years, and the class of 2023 — which has 2,010 students — is the largest of the current undergraduate classes, with 74 more students than the class of 2022. Students assigned to Jones on Aug. 2 received a University email three days later detailing the reasons behind sudden changes three days after housing assignments were released. The Aug. 5 email from » See HOUSING, page 8
Robert Crown still on track BrewBike adds new locations Community center is set to open in January By CASSIDY WANG
daily senior staffer @cassidyw_
Although Beacon Academy withdrew $500,000 from funding the Robert Crown Community Center in August, the Friends of Robert Crown Center remain confident in their ability to finance the project. When undergoing contract negotiations, the private Evanston high school realized the center’s usage would have to be adjusted “in ways not contemplated,” said Patty Abrams, the chair of the school’s board of trustees, in an Aug. 5 letter to the city. The original agreement between the city and Beacon Academy included displaying the school’s branding in the gym.
Even though Beacon Academy pulled out, the Friends of the Robert Crown Center, a non-profit group committed to fundraising for the project, has raised just over $12 million in commitments and donations, according to city data. With a $15 million project fund planned for 2019, the organization has around $3 million left to raise, although Pete Giangreco, a board member of the organization, said they have secured $1 million from the state in the spring legislative session. That leaves around $2 million left to raise. However, Giangreco said the group doesn’t have a “hard deadline” to get the rest of the money. “We do have some major asks, some major grant proposals that are out there,” Giangreco said.
New locations open in Willard, other colleges
“But we feel confident that we can replace the $500,000 that we were counting on from Beacon. It’s just going to take longer to raise the money.” The $53 million project is set to be completed in January and was originally projected to cost $30 million, a price many residents supported in 2015. Over time, inflation and new additions to the project, including a library branch and turf field, have increased the cost estimate. Evanstonians for a Financially Responsible Robert Crown, a group of citizens who are concerned about the high cost of the project, has tried to illustrate the potential burden the project could have on taxpayers. The city’s annual debt payments range from » See CROWN, page 8
By STEPHEN COUNCIL
daily senior staffer @stephencouncil
Fran’s Cafe, Willard Residential College’s iconic late-night eatery, now has an equally well-known partner. On Tuesday, BrewBike opened up at the same counter in Willard, marking the coffee shop’s fourth campus location.The Northwestern startup is spreading off-campus as well, with launches at three other universities. In Willard, the coffee shop is open during the week until 2:30 p.m., before Fran’s runs from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. BrewBike sells espresso drinks, cold brew coffee and tea, as well as food from various local restaurants. BrewBike CEO Randy Paris
Evan Robinson-Johnson/Daily Senior Staffer
Brewbike’s new location in Willard Residential College. The Northwestern startup is spreading off-campus as well, with launches at three other universities.
said in an email that the company jumped at the opportunity to open in Willard when they heard about it over the summer. Along with the Fran’s location, BrewBike sells from Annenberg Hall, Café Bergson and a stand by the Rock. In 2015, then-SESP freshman Lucas Phillips founded the coffee
business. Boosted by a contract with Compass Group, the University’s food provider since last year, BrewBike has grown rapidly. Paris and Phillips secured over $800,000 in seed money by fall 2018 and have since earned more at pitch » See BREWBIKE, page 8
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