Gas and propane powered leaf blowers now illegal

By JOYCE LI daily senior staffer @joyycee_li

Evanston banned the use of gas- and propane-powered leaf blowers in Evanston Sunday, making the city one of the first in Illinois to implement such a ban, according to Public Health Manager Greg Olsen.

City Council passed the ordinance in November 2021 in response to concerns about air pollution, noise and a directive from the city’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan. The city allowed for a 17-month transition period, during which gas-powered leaf blowers were permitted seasonally.

The city will enforce the ordinance through a graduated fine that begins with a warning and can go up to $250.

“It’s one of the smaller local steps that the city wanted to take in order to reduce our carbon footprint,” Olsen said.

Following the ordinance, Evanston landscaping companies are transitioning to electricpowered leaf blowers, which the ordinance permits year-round with the exception of city holidays.

Austin Hall, owner of Greenwise Organic Lawn Care, said his company started using exclusively electric leaf blowers, hedge trimmers and lawn mowers this season.

“That wasn’t a requirement from the city,” Hall said. “It’s the direction that the industry is going in more generally.”

Ben Klitzkie, maintenance manager at Nature’s Perspective Landscaping, however, said he felt the city did not give businesses enough time or financial assistance to implement the change.

Over the past year, the city has provided landscaping companies with grants of up to $3,000 through the Entrepreneurship Support Grant program to purchase electric leaf blowers. Landscaping companies registered with the City of Evanston can apply through the city’s website.

Though he is grateful for the financial support, Klitzkie said his company had to spend almost $70,000 on batteries and new equipment — the grant was largely unhelpful.

“Not everybody is able to pull the Band-Aid right off, and that’s where a three-year (or) fiveyear phasing period would have been great,” Klitzkie said.

Communication Prof. Nina Kraus said she hopes this ban will lead to more restrictions on other noisy landscaping equipment. She researches the effect of sound on the brain and said leaf blowers can be extremely harmful.

“It’s an injustice to the poor landscapers who are dealing with the noise and the vibration very, very close up,” Kraus said.

In addition to being ear-damaging, this type of equipment also contributes to a backdrop of moderate but constant noise that weakens people’s ability to distinguish meaningful sounds from background noise, according to Kraus.

She said this background noise puts the brain in a state of constant alertness, weakening cognitive abilities over time.

Klitzkie said he is frustrated that the city allows the use of gas blowers on municipal baseball fields, golf greens and public road construction projects.

“Everybody deserves a cleaner, greener, quieter Evanston,” Klitzkie said. “So now that city really needs to stand by their ordinance and not exempt themselves.”

Olsen said the exemptions were made in part due to the scale of city landscaping projects, which cover greater square footage than most residential plots.

Evanston Director of Health and Human Services Ike Ogbo said the city intends to remove these exemptions in the future.

“We understand that in order for the ordinance to be equitable that the city also has to come on board,” Ogbo said. “(But) this will take internal conversations and developing ways in which we can implement it successfully.” joyceli2025@u.northwestern.edu money, as well as another $6,000 donation that the Board’s website does not show her campaign having reported yet. She said she was surprised by the three donations because of their size, though her team did not immediately check for where they originated, she added.

Donations will not affect how she views or votes on the Ryan Field project, Harris said.

The large donations from Ryan family affiliates are troubling to some residents regardless of whether Harris accepted them, said Lesley Williams, president of Community Alliance for Better Government.

“This just seemed like a different level of outsider influence, so people were angry,” Williams said. “It’s important for Harris to acknowledge that concern.”

Aside from the three $6,000 donations, more than 70% of Harris’ reported campaign contributions come from individuals who attended, worked for or acted as consultants for the University.

Harris said she does not solicit donations.

“Not everyone from Northwestern is in alliance with this projected stadium,” Harris said. “I’m getting money from across the board.”

Ald. Juan Geracaris (9th) — who is running against 9th Ward resident Kathy Hayes — said because he is an employee of NU’s Kellogg School of Management, he plans to recuse himself from any vote regarding the stadium. Residents he’s spoken with are mostly concerned about concerts at the stadium, he added.

According to the State Board of Elections, Geracaris’ campaign has received $4,500 total this cycle.

“It’s hard to reach people,” Geracaris said. “I don’t come from a political background, so I don’t have organizations that are necessarily helping me out.”

Harris said she wants to hear feedback and let Ald. Eleanor Revelle (7th) lead the discussion.

She said she’s heard people who support and oppose facets of the project, including proposed concerts.

“We tend to hear the loudest residents, but there are many residents weighing in,” she said. “I’ve heard

Evanston Fair

From page 1 schools, are busy trying to undo any investment in human rights.”

Wilkins spoke at Saturday’s rally as well. Her grandfather grew up in a small town in South Carolina, she said, and would walk miles to school, watching white students pass him on the bus. He dropped out in third grade.

“It’s impossible for me not to make comparisons to my son today who is now in third grade,” Wilkins said. “So much has changed. But when I got older and started to understand the opportunity gap in our country, it became apparent that in some ways, kids are still watching the bus pass them by.”

She, like Tanyavutti, said she’s dedicated to continuing to close the racial opportunity gap. Ignoring that gap and the history behind it will harm students across the board.”

The other two candidates for 2nd Ward — Equity and Empowerment Commission Member Darlene Cannon and Evanston/Skokie School District 65 teacher Patricia Gregory — have not raised as much money for their campaigns as Harris.

Gregory is self-funding her campaign, she added, and the Board does not show her receiving any campaign donations.

“Funding my campaign is up to me because I’m the one that’s running,” Gregory said. “I don’t want to put anybody in an uncomfortable position … This campaign seems like it’s getting a little nasty.”

Gregory said she wants to canvass more ward residents about Ryan Field.

According to the State Board of Elections, Cannon received at least $1,784 in campaign contributions this election cycle. Cannon said the proposed concerts at the stadium concern her the most.

“Is having 35,000 seat concerts in a residential area really best for this community?” Cannon said.

Still, Cannon said, how the project proceeds as a whole depends on community feedback.

Hayes said Ryan Field is a “hot button issue” the city needs to address, though not the only one that deserves attention. She said City Council can use Ryan Field as a starting point for discussing other ways for NU to invest in Evanston. Her campaign reported receiving $1,190, according to the State Board of Elections.

She said the city and its residents shouldn’t treat NU as an adversary in the process. So far, discussion about Ryan Field included heightened argument, Hayes said.

“I think Northwestern is quite capable of having a community agreement that ensures … safety, security, investment and help with small business or education,” Hayes said. “If we flourish as a community, Northwestern will flourish as a university.”

The 2023 consolidated election takes place April 4.

Shannon Tyler contributed reporting. williamtong2026@u.northwestern.edu of color and disabled students, Wilkins said.

She also said she will continue to fight the efforts of FAIR representatives, who have said teaching children about the concept of “whiteness” is dehumanizing.

Hernandez, the current District 65 Board of Education president, said he was inspired to serve on the board because of his experience growing up in America as a Mexican student.

Groups like FAIR pose a danger to students because they oppose a focus on minority identities in the classroom, Hernandez said.

“We want to make sure that we continue and we never go back to the way things were,” Hernandez said. “We never go back to little children coming up to their teacher saying, ‘I’m not proud about who I am. I don’t like my language.’ I want everybody to see themselves reflected.” avanikalra2025@u.northwestern.edu collaboration with Versiti. The drive was an “amazing success,” according to Benny Perelman, and brought in more than 75 blood products.

“We just realized that this power, the power of the story, had the potential of drawing so much attention,” he said.

Since July, Daniel Perelman’s mom, dad and sister have led Daniel Gives Back, a charity that supports causes he cared about most. The organization has hosted four blood drives, donated 277 blood products and saved 829 lives, according to its website. Daniel Gives Back is also creating a scholarship in Daniel Perelman’s honor at Brookfield East High School, where his sister currently attends.

Benny Perelman said the organization has branched into organ donation registration work by helping promote Student Organ Donation Advocates, an organization that educates high school and college students about organ donations.

On Daniel Perelman’s birthday, March 2, about 15 of his friends painted The Rock with a plane, a heart and the words “We miss you Daniel.” They wrote the charity’s website URL on the ledge outside The Rock.

Weinberg sophomore Ariel Gurevich, Daniel Perelman’s former roommate and friend, led the initiative. He said he wanted to paint The Rock to show Daniel

Urap

From page 1 number of applicants exceeded what he had initially predicted enough that he wanted to act quickly to notify students and faculty of URAP’s suspension before deadlines passed for other University research funding opportunities.

Civetta added that he has had to reach out to other partners and institutions for additional funding and is still unsure whether there will be enough funds to fully cover SURG recipients.

Although the URAP suspension announcement directed students toward other NU grants, students planning on applying, like Mavis, expressed disappointment and surprise at the cancellation.

Communication sophomore Diana Deng was set on researching the archives of political activist and former English Prof. Dennis Brutus with English and comparative literary studies Prof. Harris Feinsod until she learned about the suspension.

Deng said she and Feinsod are pivoting by applying for a grant from the Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities. But, she now feels unsure the opportunity will pan out.

“This definitely poses a lot of uncertainties to our original plan. Personally, I feel really insecure because my summer has been planned around this research project,” Deng said. “This is something I really want to accomplish.”

Medill Prof. Karen Springen, who hired two students through URAP last summer for her research on journalists’ social media use, said she understands

Perelman’s parents that their son was still remembered on campus. Gurevich said he also wanted to spread awareness of the charity to support his friend’s goal of impacting people’s lives through medicine.

Gurevich remembers Daniel Perelman as someone who was “very, very bright.” He said Daniel Perelman brought many of his current friends together, and many of his good friends have remained close following his death.

“Daniel was an absolutely fantastic guy and brought so much life into any conversation, any interaction that he had with anybody,” Gurevich said. “The loss was felt by many of us very acutely. (There was a) strong force bringing us together in our remembrance and grief over him.”

Weinberg sophomore Andrew Chin became friends with Daniel Perelman during an organic chemistry lab their freshman year. He said Daniel Perelman always made an effort to talk to him, even though Chin was shy.

Last Spring Quarter, Chin said he introduced Daniel Perelman to his favorite anime, “Attack on Titan.” The two spent a lot of time watching TV together.

Since the accident, Chin said he and his friends have been trying to preserve Daniel Perelman’s legacy.

“He always wanted to help people,” Chin said. “We want to make sure that he knows that even though he passed away, we take on his ideas. I feel like as his friend it’s still really important to help him know that he still has influence on the world.” joannahou2025@u.northwestern.edu why OUR is prioritizing students’ ideas.

Springen added that she had to reject more than 20 applicants to work on her URAP project and prefers to be able to freely sign on to student-led initiatives.

“To me, the priority is for students and faculty to work together on wonderful research projects,” Springen said. “I am fine if it’s the student’s great idea instead of my own idea.”

Some students who previously participated in URAP also lamented its stoppage for this summer.

Weinberg sophomore Sophia Huang worked in Feinberg Prof. Gregory Phillips II’s lab during summer 2022, investigating alcohol and drug use among racial and sexual minority youth as part of a URAP project. She continued to work in Phillips II’s lab throughout the academic year and said the experience taught her the basics of conducting research.

Weinberg junior Elizabeth Vazquez researched racial terminology in anthropology journals with anthropology Prof. Erin Waxenbaum in summer 2021. Vazquez said she “adored” her URAP experience and added that it helped prepare her to become a Leopold fellow for the history department and participate in SURG the following year.

“Anyone can have their own journey and their own path with research, but I will say it really sucks that URAP isn’t around anymore,” Vazquez said. “It’s very comforting for if you have no idea what research even is, to have someone to be like, ‘Let me show you what research is.’” russellleung2024@u.northwestern.edu