Evanston 5th Ward residents criticize township-dissolution ballot proposal

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Updated: January 20, 2012 5:48PM

On a subzero-wind-chill night, some residents at a 5th Ward meeting were blistering hot Thursday over the placement of an advisory referendum proposal on the March 20 ballot asking voters whether Evanston Township should be dissolved.

Fewer than a dozen residents showed up for the meeting at the Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center, 1655 Foster St. The gathering marked the first in a series of informational meetings officials have scheduled on the township question, as well as a binding question also on the ballot: Whether residents should have choice on what electricity supplier they choose.

Many in the predominately African-American audience were critical of the referendum proposal on dissolving township government.

The township’s primary services are administering general assistance funds, counseling taxpayers and running emergency assistance, taking over that program from the city.

Rich vs. poor charge

Nathan Hailburton, a longtime Evanston resident, charged that the issue would pit “rich versus the poor.”

He asked City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz, who was at the meeting along with staff, why the city is pursuing dissolution of the township, a form of government “operating very efficiently,” he said, referring to its last audit report, versus “something not operating very efficiently,” he said, referring to city government and its perennial deficits.

At the meeting, Bobkiewicz stressed that officials had to remain neutral on the issue.

Under state law, officials can’t lobby in support or advocate in favor of a referendum proposal when they are responsible for putting the question on the ballot.

Nevertheless, he expressed the view the city would be able to help more people through the move, adding that he hoped he wasn’t crossing the line of neutrality in making the comment.

Officials maintain that the city, which is much larger than the township — a $250 million budget versus $1.5 million — will absorb the general assistance program, and perhaps even hike the stipends clients receive.

Continued services

They would continue to offer residents assistance on questions about property tax bills, assessment appeals and general inquiries, establishing a taxpayer assistance window at the Civic Center augmented with additional staff during peak periods, officials said.

One problem, said Priscillia Giles, is the vagueness of the question aldermen have placed on the ballot.

The question — “Should the Evanston Town Board continue to pursue the issue of dissolving Evanston Township?” — is “unintelligible,” she said.

Voters in more affluent areas will probably support it, Haliburton predicted, because of the “rich versus poor” mindset.

Albert Gibbs, another resident, challenged whether officials are neutral on the question.

“It’s the city that established the whole charade,” he said.

Separation of funds

Ben Schapiro, a south Evanston resident, asked Bobkiewicz what the city plans to do with township tax revenue if the city took over, whether the funds would be mingled with general city revenue or kept separate specifically for township services.

Bobkiewicz said that while the matter hasn’t been decided, he believes the funds would be kept separate.

Several residents spoke about lobbying residents in other areas of the city on their concerns about the referendum proposal.

To prove effective, the numbers would have to be “greater than the turnout,” at Thursday’s ward meeting, observed one man.

Alderman Delores Holmes, 5th Ward, one of two aldermen to vote against the proposal, also urged residents to make their voice heard other places.

Officials have scheduled three more informational meetings out in the community on the referendum questions:

• 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 30, in City Council chambers at the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave.

• 7 p.m. Feb. 23 at the Robert Crown Community Center, 1701 Main St.

• 7 p.m. March 8 at the Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center, 1655 Foster St.