The Daily Northwestern Tuesday, October 24, 2017
DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM 8 SPORTS/Women’s Soccer
3 CAMPUS/Student Groups
Cats shut Nebraska out, win third straight
NU students seek to set Guinness World Record in the launch of Alka-Seltzer rocket
Find us online @thedailynu 4 OPINION/Closson
All men must work to end sexual assault
High 48 Low 37
Officials debate achievement gap Members of school board call for more data before action By SAMANTHA HANDLER
the daily northwestern @sn_handler
Katie Pach/Daily Senior Staffer
Ald. Melissa Wynne (3rd) at Monday’s Planning and Development Committee meeting. After hours of deliberation, aldermen narrowly approved Albion Residential’s construction proposal for introduction at City Council.
Albion proposal moves forward
Project passes Planning and Development, faces full Council vote By RYAN WANGMAN
daily senior staffer @ryanwangman
After hours of deliberation, aldermen at a Planning and Development Committee meeting narrowly approved Albion Residential’s construction proposal for introduction at City Council. At the meeting, aldermen were split 4-3 over the controversial plan to build a 15-story apartment tower on Sherman Avenue. Those in favor cited the need for more community living spaces and engagement
Bruce Rauner announces reelection bid for governor of Ill.
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner announced his reelection bid for Illinois governor on Monday in a campaign video, promising to fight corruption and career politicians. Rauner said in the video that he ran for governor four years ago to “fight business as usual,” focusing on statewide issues like education and criminal justice. However, he said the state has problems he hasn’t yet addressed. “Illinois still needs property tax relief, real term limits and a budget that won’t bankrupt or break us,” Rauner said. State Sen. Daniel Biss (D-Evanston), a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, said in a Monday statement that
with developers to increase potential public benefits. Ald. Judy Fiske (1st), Ald. Melissa Wynne (3rd) and Ald. Eleanor Revelle (7th) voted against the proposal. Ald. Donald Wilson (4th) said while he understands the plan isn’t perfect, the city needs places for people to live, and the apartment tower would satisfy that need. He said alternative uses for the space –– including restaurants, microbreweries and smaller scale housing –– are not what the city needs, and that other housing options would be “unbelievably non-affordable.” “We have to be honest
Rauner caused “irreversible destruction” and “painful memories” over the past three years. He said Rauner failed to pass a budget and racked up “an unprecedented” backlog of bills. Biss also said the governor has “refused to stand up” to President Donald Trump. “Middle and working class families like ours aren’t going to sit idly by as one billionaire outbids another,” Biss said. “We’re ready to elect a middle class governor we can trust to fight for the rest of us.” Rauner beat incumbent Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn in 2014 by about five percentage points. “We have a choice: We can throw in the towel, walk away, leave our future to the same corrupt career politicians,” Rauner said. “Or we can choose to fight. I choose to fight.” — Jake Holland
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
with each other and we have to be honest as a community,” Wilson said. “If the affordable housing is a priority, if diversity is a priority and if breaking through some of these segregation barriers are a priority, we have to start doing things differently.” The proposal, revised to accommodate concerns raised by aldermen and citizens at the Oct. 9 City Council meeting, would add 273 residential units, 6,800 square feet of commercial space and 200 parking spots to the Evanston community. It would be erected on the lot currently occupied by Tommy
Nevin’s Pub and Prairie Moon restaurant. Ald. Robin Rue Simmons (5th) said the project has a “moving target” with constantly changing questions regarding aspects of the proposed tower, including its aesthetics and zoning. She said it was important to recognize that no singular plan is going to solve the city’s affordable housing problem. “No one is being displaced,” Rue Simmons said. “There is an opportunity for increased housing and » See ALBION, page 6
Board members from Evanston’s two school districts decided Monday they needed additional information before taking action on the achievement gap among students. Representatives from Evanston/Skokie School District 65 and Evanston Township High School District 202 met at the Joseph E. Hill Education Center for the first combined meeting of the year. At the meeting, board members discussed information from the 2017-18 Superintendents’ Joint Achievement Report, which included possible indicators to determine if minority students are on track for college and careers. However, board members said the report did not include enough information on students who are not succeeding. The data, they said, needs to further explore whether students are staying — rather than just enrolling — in college, where students live in the district, students’ age of exposure to postsecondary institutions, and struggling students’ emotional and social experiences. “What’s the plan to know the kids who are not faring well, who are not meeting readiness benchmarks, the targets?” District 65 board member Joseph Hailpern said. “What’s their experience like? Where they come from matters.”
In 2016, District 65 had a 48 percent composite achievement gap between black and white students, and a 41 percent gap between Hispanic and white students, according to the Illinois Report Card. As of spring 2015, 20 percent of black ETHS students met college readiness benchmarks compared to 86 percent of white students, according to the superintendent’s 2015-16 joint achievement report. The joint report contained exploratory data that sought to predict student success in high school based on certain eighth grade benchmarks, and success in college based on high school benchmarks. Drawing from the 2017 Illinois State Board of Education report on college readiness, the district report looked at eighth grade students’ standardized test scores and high school students’ grade point averages, Advanced Placement class enrollment and ACT scores. But board members said they found some of the measurements too broad and unuseful. Officials said they hope more conclusive data will come out of a partnership between Evanston school districts and Northwestern, known as the Northwestern-Evanston Education Research Alliance. Through the partnership, NU will provide predictive models and a library of data that districts can use to directly address their achievement gap. This will create concrete models to predict a student’s college readiness, said Peter Godard, District 65’s chief officer of research, » See GAP, page 6
NU to help create research institute By ALLY MAUCH
daily senior staffer @allymauch
Northwestern will partner with the University of Illinois System to create a $1.2 billion research institute in downtown Chicago, a news release announced Thursday. The Discovery Partners Institute will be a research facility for faculty and students in various fields –– including agriculture, healthcare and computing, according to the release from the University of Illinois System. The institute will connect researchers with businesses to promote innovation and economic growth. NU and the University of Chicago have joined the Illinois system as “inaugural” partners in the project, the release said. » See INSTITUTE, page 6
Source: University of Illinois System
An artist’s rendering of the proposed Discovery Partners Institute in downtown Chicago. Northwestern is partnering with the University of Illinois System on the $1.2 billion research institute.
INSIDE: Around Town 2 | On Campus 3 | Opinion 4 | Classifieds & Puzzles 6 | Sports 8