The Daily Northwestern — Oct. 13, 2021

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Serving the Northwestern and Evanston communities since 1881

The Daily Northwestern Wednesday, October 13, 2021

DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM 3 CAMPUS/Political Union

Political Union debates merits, drawbacks of objectivity in journalism

4 A&E/Forman

Forman talks experience at Disneyland Hong Kong

A&E

Find us online @thedailynu 8 SPORTS/Field Hockey

A rundown of Blank’s NCAA legacy

High 72 Low 64

City Council drops tenative budget 2022 sees increase, calls for pandemic recovery investment By JORJA SIEMONS and ILANA AROUGHETI

daily senior staffers @jorjasiemons, @ ilana_arougheti

City Council released Evanston’s 2022 proposed budget Monday, suggesting the allocation of more funding to economic recovery from the pandemic, human services and pensions. The proposed budget, authored by Interim City Manager Kelley Gandurski, represents an increase of nearly $60 million from that of 2021. Over half of the increase comes from American Rescue Plan Act funding. City staff listed some top priorities for the next fiscal year as supporting underserved communities impacted by the pandemic, investing in economic development and addressing chronic city underfunding. Last week’s City Council meeting included a discussion about allocating the $43 million Evanston is receiving through ARPA. City staff recommended the largest portion

to be allocated to “Revenue Loss Funding,” which includes hazard pay for some city employees. Councilmembers also debated the best way to use ARPA funds toward the city’s Climate Action & Resilience Plan. The Environment Board’s CARP Implementation Task Force recommended a $5 million allocation for projects furthering the city’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. Gandurski said the city’s general fund is on track to maintain a $2 million surplus this year. Added to the $17.4 million currently in the general fund, this will tip the fund over its surplus limit. To counteract this, council will budget $1 million toward general expenses in 2022. The city has saved on debt payments and made more revenue on entertainment taxes this year than expected. This is set to increase profits by $275,000 from last year, especially due to taxes on digital streaming services. But revenue from parking tickets is projected to drop significantly throughout the rest of this year, bringing in an estimated $400,000 less than last year, along with hotel and sports entertainment taxes. These sources will be allocated with lower expectations for generating revenue next year.

» See BUDGET, page 6

Illustration by Angeli Mittal

Within the new union, Northwestern’s library workers hope to negotiate with the University for better benefits.

University library workers unionize At Tuesday assembly, over 130 announce move, deliver demands By ILANA AROUGHETI

daily senior staffer @ilana_arougheti

Over 130 Northwestern library workers announced their unionization at a Tuesday assembly. The workers organized at The Rock at noon, then marched to Provost Kathleen Hagerty’s office

to deliver a list of demands. Library workers are responding in part to furloughs and other financial cuts enacted during the pandemic, including retirement fund decreases, layoffs and a lack of hazard pay, according to a Tuesday news release. NU Library Workers Union will unionize in connection with SEIU Local 73, which represents primarily public service and school

district workers in Illinois and Indiana. Library workers are asking that the University either formally recognize the union has formed or at least recognize the union’s right to form, according to the release. University spokesperson Jeri Ward told The Daily that NU is currently reviewing the petition from Local 73 seeking to unionize library employees.

“Is Northwestern going to voluntarily recognize us? No. Are they going to talk to us in good faith? No,” Interlibrary Loan Assistant Drew Clower said during the march. “But we are going to not let them scare us. No fear, no doubt. We got this — we already have enough support to win.”

» See LIBRARY, page 6

Council debates lakefront parking Five things to know Councilmembers discuss extension of pilot program, which began Aug. 2

re: UP-elect Blank

By ALEX HARRISON

Students express concerns, leaders laud appointment

the daily northwestern @alexhairysun

City Council debated Monday whether to extend a pilot program implementing parking fees along the lakefront into a yearlong initiative. The pilot program was approved by council on July 26 and began on Aug. 2. It requires vehicles without a current-year Evanston wheel tax payment to pay $3 per hour to park on designated streets and in parking lots along the lakefront. The program is slated to end on Oct. 31. The proposed extension would establish seasonal rates of $3 per hour from April to October and $0.50 per hour from November to March. It would also add new locations to the program, including sections of Lake Shore Boulevard, Kedzie Street and Sheridan Road. Ald. Clare Kelly (1st) opposed the extension, citing resident complaints and expressing concerns about parking fees’ effect on beachfront tourism. She asked

By HANNAH FEUER

daily senior staffer @hannah_feuer

Who is University Presidentelect Rebecca Blank, and what experience will she bring to Northwestern? As University leaders laud her appointment, some community members have expressed concerns about her relationships with activists and marginalized communities as UW-Madison’s key leader. Here are five things to know about the University’s president-elect.

Nick Francis/Daily Senior Staffer

Ald. Clare Kelly (1st). On Monday, City Council debated the possibility of extending a lakefront parking fee pilot program which began on Aug. 2.

Michael Rivera, interim division manager for parking, if he could provide more analysis of the program’s economic effects, including how many parking

Serving the University and Evanston since 1881

tickets resulted from lakefront spots and lots. “Especially at this time, we really need to make Evanston a welcoming destination, and

I think this throws a bit of a wrench into that,” Kelly said. “I don’t really see a cost-benefit

» See COUNCIL, page 6

the Council, a non-profit higher education association, predicts University presidents will achieve gender parity by 2030. She will serve at the same time as Kathleen Hagerty, NU’s first woman provost. This isn’t the first time Blank has broken into a male-dominated profession. She was also the first tenured woman in NU’s economics department, where she was employed from 1989 to 1999. Just 22% of tenured and tenure-track faculty in economics are women, according to a survey the American Economic Association conducted last year.

She has the second longest tenure of any current leader of a public Big Ten institution

She will be NU’s first Blank has been chancellor of woman president the University of Wisconsin– Blank’s appointment follows a steadily rising trend of women serving as University presidents. In 2016, only 30% percent of University presidents nationwide were women, according to a survey conducted by the American Council on Education. But

Madison for eight years. As chancellor, she led several initiatives to improve educational outcomes and equity at UW-Madison. Most notably, Blank led the implementation of Bucky’s Tuition Promise, which

» See BLANK, page 6

INSIDE: Around Town 2 | On Campus 3 | A&E 4 | Classifieds & Puzzles 6 | Sports 8


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