City Council postpones decision on Curt’s Cafe grant» PAGE 2
sports Tennis Seasons come to end for men’s, women’s teams » PAGE 8
opinion Matney Key to breaking reliance on technology is ... more gadgets? » PAGE 4
High 61 Low 42
The Daily Northwestern DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Find us online @thedailynu
State politicians decry budget By Julia Jacobs
the daily northwestern @juliarebeccaj
Five Illinois legislators — all Democrats at local, state or national levels — forecasted Monday morning grim outcomes for Evanston and the state’s vulnerable populations as a result of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed state budget. State Sen. Daniel Biss (D-Evanston), U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Evanston), state Rep. Laura Fine (D-Glenview), state Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston) and Cook County commissioner Larry Suffredin spoke in a panel discussion at the Annual Legislative Business Leaders Breakfast. The politicians spoke to an audience of around 50 — many of them leaders of Evanston organizations — at the Hilton Garden Inn, 1818 Maple Ave. Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl set the tone for the discussion by opening with what she said was a “call of desperation” for the legislators to find a solution to Rauner’s proposed budget, which would cut funding from Evanston city services, non-profit organizations and public schools. “It would come, if disaster struck totally, to as much as $19 million (from) the city of Evanston,” Tisdahl said. “We cannot afford to take that kind of hit, so we are looking for our legislators to lead us out of the mess that we’re in.” The Illinois General Assembly has until the end of the legislative session on May 31 to approve Rauner’s “turnaround” budget. But, when a part of it was put up for a vote in the House last week, every Democrat
voted against the plan while every Republican voted “present,” which has the effect of an abstention, Biss said. “We’re going to have to do a lot better than that proposal to find a budget that can pass, but much more importantly, to find a budget that meets our responsibility as a state,” Biss said. Gabel said the agenda’s slashes to human services hit the state’s vulnerable populations hard, particularly people with disabilities and the elderly. The budget proposal would disqualify one-third of people with disabilities from services entirely, and also reduce the portion of special needs children in early intervention programs, she said. The number of senior citizens who can receive services in their homes to stay out of nursing homes would also likely be cut by one-third, she added. The agenda’s built-in 31-percent cut to higher education funding would not only result in fewer classes for students, but also fewer jobs for people in the community — and those losses will reverberate back to local governments through less consumer spending, Fine said. She said it is necessary to understand the potential impacts of these cuts down the line and plan for those losses with solutions, such as raising taxes. But “tax increases” are fighting words in Illinois, Suffredin said. “Most people are against just random tax increases — we’re for fair taxation,” Suffredin said. “What’s going on right now is wherever the governor has allies, he’s trying to create a vice to squeeze local » See Legislative, page 7
Zack Laurence/The Daily Northwestern
homelessness HELP Kathleen Nadler greets a full room Monday night at Evanston’s First Congregational Church. Nadler, the president of Interfaith Action of Evanston, joined in discussion with other community members on how to act on the city’s homelessness crisis.
City housing plan slammed By Alice Yin
daily senior staffer @alice__yin
Some Evanston community members say the city isn’t doing enough to help its homeless population. Interfaith Action of Evanston, a religious advocacy group, hosted its Spring Gathering on Monday night to advocate for the homeless and for proposed amendments to city code that would expand affordable housing opportunities. More than 40 people met at First Congregational
‘Selma’ director to speak at NU By Mariana Alfaro
the daily northwestern @marianaa_alfaro
Ava DuVernay, the first female African-American director to be nominated for a Golden Globe and for the Academy Award for Best Picture, will give a talk May 18 following a screening of her award-winning film “Selma.” The 2014 film will be presented by A&O Productions, the Multicultural Filmmakers Collective, Inspire Media, the Women’s Center and six Northwestern academic departments, and will be shown at Alice Millar Chapel, where the University’s vigil for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is held every year. » See A&O, page 7
Source: Selma Movie on Facebook
selma comes to evanston Actor David Oyelowo plays Martin Luther King Jr. in the 2014 film “Selma.” The film’s director, Ava DuVernay, will speak at Northwestern on May 18 following a screening of the film.
Church of Evanston, 1417 Hinman Ave., to examine the homelessness situation in Evanston. “There has been a shift in values from community values to capitalist values,” said Evanston resident and nonprofit worker Joe Flint, one of the speakers at the event. The city’s Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance aims to increase housing opportunities for those with low and moderate income levels. As Evanston’s stock of affordable housing units dropped drastically in the past decade, the housing committee is now reviewing
Police: Student assaulted near Sargent Hall
A Northwestern student was assaulted early Friday morning in the Sargent Hall parking lot, police said. Police received a call around 12:45 a.m. Friday that two men were fighting near the Donald P. Jacobs Center, University Police Deputy Chief Dan McAleer said. After the responding officers couldn’t locate the two men in the area, they viewed video from a camera on the corner of Sheridan Road and Noyes Street that showed two men who matched the caller’s descriptions shoving each other, McAleer said. When police arrived on the scene, they found one of the men, a student, who said he was assaulted,
proposed amendments to the city’s 2009 Affordable Housing Plan. The ordinance sets aside a certain share of units at below-market prices in new developments, and developers must pay a fee to bypass the requirement. The proposed amendments, introduced in July 2014, would increase the number of designated affordable units and shift the income requirements. The fee for developers to avoid the affordable housing requirements would also » See homeless, page 7 officials said. The student told police he was walking northbound on Sheridan Road when he overheard someone he knew as “Mike,” refer to someone else as a “f—ing Jew” and use a homophobic slur, McAleer said. The student confronted the man, who said he didn’t want to be kicked out of school for what he said, police said. The man then kneed and punched the student, who suffered a bloody lip, police said. The man then ran north toward Bobb Hall and the fraternity quad, McAleer said. The student told police he was willing to file a complaint against the person who assaulted him, police said. Police have not found any other witnesses and are still investigating the incident, McAleer said. — Emily Chin
NU Students, get your
2015 SYLLABUS YEARBOOK Today thru Friday at THE ROCK
10 am – 4 pm
(10 am – 2 pm Fri)
look for the van
Forgot to order? You can buy a book with cash or check. Or call 847-491-7206 to pay with credit card Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
INSIDE Around Town 2 | On Campus 3 | Opinion 4 | Classifieds & Puzzles 6 | Sports 8