sports Men’s Soccer NU faces Notre Dame in midseason showdown » PAGE 8
Prof. to use MacArthur » PAGE 5 grant to finish book
opinion Jaro Krueger’s appeal reaches across aisle » PAGE 4
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The Daily Northwestern DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Find us online @thedailynu
Obama economic adviser visits NU
City Council
Landlord debates continue
By patrick svitek
daily senior staffer
President Barack Obama’s chief economic adviser arrived Monday at Northwestern bearing familiar news — and excusing himself for sounding like a broken record. “The U.S. economy is slowly healing,” Alan Krueger, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, told nearly 400 attendees in the McCormick Auditorium in Norris University Center. “Every month when the unemployment rate comes out, I put out about the same statement because I think it happens to be accurate. We are recovering from the worst recession we’ve had since the Great Depression.” Krueger’s remarks during the Institute for Policy Research’s Distinguished Public Policy Lecture closely tracked his monthly take on the unemployment rate, which dropped from 8.1 percent in August to 7.8 percent in September. In a statement shortly after the Bureau of Labor Statistics released last week’s jobs numbers, Krueger stuck to a script that could have been mistaken for his oncampus comments. “While there is more work that remains to be done, today’s employment report provides further evidence that the U.S. economy is continuing to heal from the wounds inflicted by the worst downturn since the Great Depression,” Krueger said in the statement. Krueger reportedly walks the monthly jobs report to the West Wing on the night before its public release Friday morning, making him the final messenger of the most important piece of economic data during an election year.
By rachel janik
the daily northwestern
as possible.” The survey about campus lighting was distributed through the ASG email list and also sent to presidents of sororities within Panhellenic Association and several residential halls, said Alex Van Atta, ASG student life vice president. Survey results reported 91 percent of responding students said they had “felt unsafe on campus due to inadequate lighting” and wrote in specific locations. “That provided us with some really great feedback,” Van Atta said. According to the report, 56 percent of students surveyed were South Campus residents. On the walking tour, Weinberg junior Jane Gilmore, ASG Panhellenic senator and member of the student life and community relations committee, pointed out several areas of concern.
The Evanston City Council chamber was standing room only Monday as city officials debated a controversial rental licensing ordinance that would require Evanston landlords to obtain special licenses to operate. Property owners, residents and landlords packed the room to voice their opinions about the ordinance, which many said places an unfair burden on those who own and rent out property. The ordinance would reinforce existing policies that require landlords to register with the city, as well as safety and nuisance regulations with the goal of making such rules easier to enforce. However, many opposing the proposal called it redundant and pointlessly restrictive. Those in favor of the ordinance said that it would ensure landlords follow the city’s regulations and provide safe environments for tenants. Communication senior Steven Monacelli, a former Daily columnist, approached the council and spoke in favor of the ordinance. As the Associated Student Government’s vice president for community relations, he represented Northwestern students on the committee that drafted the original proposal, which was finalized last June. “This will provide a mechanism that will allow us to have a check on fundamentally poor and unsafe living conditions,” Monacelli said. He also said the added financial liability of the ordinance would likely trickle down to affect students and other renters, but said it was “a minimal burden, and we are willing to bear it.” Residents opposed to the ordinance expressed concern that city staff would have the power to impose inspections and citations arbitrarily and without due process. The ordinance drew the most fire from council attendees Monday for the heavy fines it would place on landlords who don’t evict problem tenants. The first week that the tenant remains in the building would cost landlords $14,500, and an extra $17,000 would be charged for each additional week. Landlords and residents said that the process of eviction typically lasts far longer than a week, and these heavy fines could end up costing landlords more than their property value. Albert Cirillo, a retired NU English professor, argued that although he is not opposed to a licensing ordinance in
» See light walk, page 6
» See council, page 6
Kaitlin Svabek/Daily Senior Staffer
BRAIN TRUST Alan Krueger, President Barack Obama’s chief economic adviser, and University President Morton Schapiro share a laugh before Krueger addresses students Monday in Norris University Center.
University President Morton Schapiro told The Daily that he does not envy Krueger’s position. “(He’s) kind of in a tough situation with the election so close,” Schapiro said. “You have to be careful what you say.” A purple tie-clad Krueger paid homage to NU throughout the 75-minute event, which featured two Q-and-A sessions – one with moderator and IPR director David Figlio and the other with audience members. Krueger cited NU Prof. Dale
Mortensen’s Nobel Prize-winning research about the minimum wage and recalled accepting Figlio’s first article for the Journal of Economic Perspectives. At the end, Krueger chided Figlio for gifting him a coffee mug commemorating the IPR’s 40th birthday. Krueger said Obama would probably prefer a different number as the 44th president. Krueger covered little territory that did not have to do with the commanderin-chief. “The way I describe my job is I’m an
economic consultant and I have one client, and the client is the president,” Krueger said. He did not miss the opportunity to remind students of his boss’s signature accomplishments aimed at young voters. Over the summer, Congress cobbled together a $127 billion package that extended interest rates on subsidized student loans for a year. The rates were » See krueger, page 6
Officials investigate on-campus lighting By Cat Zakrzewski
the daily northwestern
Melody Song/The Daily Northwestern
illuminating conversation Burgwell Howard, assistant vice president for student engagement, discusses on-campus lighting with administrators and ASG representatives.
Members of the Northwestern administration and Associated Student Government toured campus Monday night to address student concerns about campus lighting. Representatives from ASG, Student Affairs, Facilities Management and Residential Life walked to sites students targeted in a campus safety survey that ASG distributed at the end of Spring Quarter. The On-Campus Light Walk occurs annually in early fall or late spring, when foliage is out and light obstructions caused by trees may be addressed. “There seem to be fewer issues than last year,” said Burgwell Howard, assistant vice president for student engagement. “But there are still always improvements that can be made to make campus as safe
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