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The Daily Northwestern Tuesday, February 23, 2016
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831 Emerson St. held indefinitely By ELENA SUCHARETZA
the daily northwestern @elenasucharetza
Future consideration of a proposed rental apartment project for 831 Emerson St. was tabled Monday until further notice after City Council failed to adopt the ordinance for discussion in a 7-1 vote at council. The adoption of the ordinance did not succeed after most aldermen voted against extending a zoning classification change to the high-rise apartment project. The project would have been changed from a commercial and general residential classification to commercial mixed use, a zoning label traditionally extended to large commercial buildings, Ald. Melissa Wynne (3rd) said. Following more than an hour of citizen comment in the Planning and Development Committee meeting, which was held immediately prior to council, Wynne said she objected to the large-scale building because it exceeded maximum zoning regulations, even considering a possible classification change. “This developer has increased (the maximum parameters) significantly and far exceeds development requirements … for an enormous-sized private dorm by most campus standards,” Wynne said. The proposed apartment building would be, in different segments of the building, 12, 11 and nine stories tall, and have around 440 bedrooms in smaller units that range from studio to three bedroom apartments. The units would be leased by bedroom, not by unit. The facility would also have underground parking. The project had previously received unanimous
approval in the Design and Project Review Committee in early November. Citizen complaints about the project ranged from concerns about increased noise and traffic around the building area to expressed disappointment about the building’s lack of contribution to affordable housing in the city. Developers of the proposed project would have contributed fees which would go to the city’s general affordable housing fund in lieu of offering affordable housing units, as per the city’s affordable housing ordinance. Fair housing agency Open Communities’ former executive director Gail Schechter said the project violated the city’s fair housing contract and “openly discriminated” against families with children, citing statements from the developer that the project would appeal primarily to young professionals and students. “Evanston is supposed to affirmatively further fair housing — they receive federal funds,” Schechter said during the Planning and Development meeting’s public comment. “There’s no indication that families are welcome here at all, and the city should ensure that projects are only approved that welcome people from all federally protected classes.” Ald. Ann Rainey (8th) directly acknowledged Schechter’s comment during council while defending the ordinance, calling her remarks “disingenuous.” Rainey recalled previous development projects that had been approved which she said also technically did not appeal to families with children. She said this specific model of housing is acceptable because it is built with the specific demographic of students in mind, who she said should also be » See 831, page 6
Source: NBC
GOOFY GRADUATION Seth Meyers, the host of “Late Night with Seth Meyers” on NBC, has made a career out of late night television. The Communication alum will speak at Northwestern’s 2016 commencement.
Seth Meyers to speak at commencement Comedian Seth Meyers (Communication ’96) will speak at Northwestern’s 2016 commencement ceremony, the University announced Tuesday. Meyers, 42, currently hosts “Late Night with Seth Meyers” on NBC and has built his career on late-night television. The comedian and actor first rose to prominence during a long run on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” appearing on the show from 2001 to 2014. He served as head writer from 2005 until his exit and anchored the popular “Weekend Update” segment
during the final eight years of his stint. “We’re very pleased to welcome Seth Meyers back to campus as this year’s Commencement speaker,” University President Morton Schapiro said in a statement to The Daily. “It’s always a special treat to have an alum give the talk. I’m sure that Seth will not only make us laugh, but also inspire us. It should be a great day for our graduates and their families.” Meyers got his start at NU with the Mee-Ow comedy group, often
favoring improv classes in downtown Chicago over his Radio, Television and Film coursework. “I knew it would be silly for me to be behind the camera when I found I loved performing so much,” Meyers told The Daily in 2011. Meyers previously served as the Grand Marshal for NU’s 2011 homecoming parade. Commencement will take place June 17 at Ryan Field. — Bobby Pillote
U.S. Rep weighs in on 2016 race Palestinian activist
backs out of NU talk
By MADELINE FOX
daily senior staffer @maddycfox
Women in politics approach government differently, U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) told students Monday night. Bustos, who was elected to represent Illinois’ 17th district — which covers a large part of western Illinois — in 2012, spoke to about 20 people in a Q&A session for journalism Prof. Peter Slevin’s political reporting class where she covered her experience as a reporter, her tenure in communications for a healthcare company and her political career. Bustos touched on the Illinois budget stalemate while discussing women in political office, suggesting that a female governor may have pushed for a different outcome than Illinois’ current fiscal deadlock. “I really do wonder if a female governor would sit back and be watching women go to a domestic violence shelter and be turned away (because of stalled state funding),” Bustos said. “I can’t see a woman governor putting up with that.” Bustos also discussed the demographics of Congress in terms of
By MADELINE FOX
daily senior staffer @maddycfox
Lauren Duquette/Daily Senior Staffer
TALKING POLITICS Cheri Bustos, U.S. representative for Illinois’ 17th District, talks to students about her journalism background and her political career at a Monday event with Medill Prof. Peter Slevin’s class. Bustos, who is running for reelection in 2016, discussed being a woman in politics and how her investigative reporting background informs her work in Congress.
racial and socioeconomic representation, as well as gender differences and how she thinks that influences public policy. “I think things like … the Violence Against Women Act, equal pay for equal work, having earned sick leave, raising the minimum wage — I think those are issues that we would have a better shot of getting through if
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
Congress truly reflected the makeup of America,” she said. Bustos, who is up for reelection in 2016, addressed the 2016 congressional and presidential races as well. She expressed her hope for an “all-women ticket” led by Hillary Clinton, who she officially endorsed for president, » See BUSTOS, page 6
Palestinian human rights activist Bassem Eid left Fiedler Hillel without speaking at a planned event Sunday due to concerns that his talk would be disrupted. Eid, founder of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group, was brought to campus in coordination with the Israel Education Center as part of a series of speaking engagements at Chicago-area universities over the past week, said Hillel executive director Michael Simon. His event at the University of Chicago on Thursday evening was disrupted by individuals shouting at him and insulting him in Arabic and English, as shown in a video of the event. The DePaul University event Saturday evening was also disrupted, DePaul organizers said. Eid did not respond to a request to comment Monday. Eid’s organization monitors human rights violations by both Israel and the Palestinian National Authority. He has been opposed to the Boycott,
Divestment, Sanctions movement, saying it harms Palestinians. In response to the disruption at the University of Chicago, Simon said, organizers of the NU event decided to move the event from its original location in the Technological Institute to Fiedler Hillel and to admit only individuals with valid WildCARDs. However, several people arrived before organizers were set up to check WildCARDs, he said, and went upstairs to the room where the event was to take place. Simon said Eid recognized at least one person from the incident at DePaul the previous evening, and left Fiedler Hillel because he said he felt he did not have a safe space to present his perspective. “The fact that a speaker, because of the environment he senses, would feel that he didn’t have a space in which he could present and have free and open dialogue is tremendously disappointing,” Simon said. “It flies in the face of our commitment to offer a place for free and open exchange of ideas, which is really important to Northwestern Hillel and Northwestern overall.” » See EID, page 6
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