Thread: Evanston, IL: Probes of legal status a no-no?

Times are not good in Evanston. This article has no mention of the sanctuary issue. Maybe they changed their minds...


chicagotribune.com
Evanston to consider new taxes and fees, service cuts
City may hike fees, taxes to cut shortfall in pension fund

By Deborah Horan and Brian Cox

Chicago Tribune

February 9, 2008

Evanston's City Council may levy a slew of new taxes and fees and close two library branches to reduce a $4 million shortfall in this year's contribution to the police and firefighters pension funds.

City officials had hoped to use a real estate transfer tax increase to cover part of the deficit, but voters Tuesday rejected the tax hike. The tax would have added about $800,000 to Evanston's coffers.

Instead, city officials must come up with that cash plus roughly $3.2 million more through a combination of tax and fee increases and service cutbacks, City Manager Julia Carroll said.

"None of these are popular choices," Carroll said.

The City Council will discuss the budget at a special meeting at 9 a.m. Saturday in the Civic Center. Council members will discuss potential tax and fee increases and possible service cutbacks at their regular meeting at 8:30 p.m. Monday, also in the Civic Center.

The City Council already approved a new 1 percent food and beverage tax and a 1 percent increase in the gas tax to help close the pensions funding gap, Carroll said.

Other options on the table are a 10 percent hike in property taxes earmarked for city services, an increase in the cost of a city vehicle sticker to $70 from $60, a landlord licensing fee to help cover rental inspections, an increase in business license fees and a hike in parking meter violation fines to $15 from $10.

In addition to closing the two library branches, aldermen are grappling with the possibility of cutting all city services by 25 percent, said Ald. Ed Moran (6th). Closing the city's two branch libraries could save about $250,000 a year, Carroll said.

"A 25 percent hit ... is going to be disastrous," Moran said. But he also said enacting too many new taxes and fees "just wasn't going to fly."

The city is in a difficult financial position because it must fund police and fire pensions, which have a deficit of $140 million. The city owes about $12 million to the pension funds this year but has only about $8 million for pensions in the current budget.

The proposed 10 percent property tax hike would add $200 to a $10,000 tax bill, Carroll said. But the city is hoping to reduce the percentage increase "to single digits" through other taxes, fees or budget cuts.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... &cset=true

Wait to the illegals start hanging around the street corners of the nice neighborhoods where the limo libs reside, and cause 11 hour waits in the e/r. Then we'll see how "understanding" they are.

Hello all,
The Evanston Human Services Committee responsible for the immigration resolution will be meeting on 2/18, 7:30pm, room 2402, at the Evanston Civic Center. This might be our last chance to make our voices heard before the resolution gets introduced to the city council. I urge anyone here who is an Evanston resident or knows one to attend this meeting and/or encourage attendance.

In the meanwhile, I have been gathering information from council members and the police dept., and working with immigration groups such as ALIPAC and FAIR on how to approach the City Council should the resolution move forward. I have confidence that past legal precedents already found would indicate that the resolution is unlawful and would make Evanston vulnerable to litigation. Should anyone here be interested in learning more about this resolution feel free to contact me through this board.

Thanks for all of the support!

I've been working with our FAIR field rep, Rosanna Pulido, in the hope that we can get this resolution stalled. The Immigration Law Reform Institute also wrote an opinion paper on my behalf claiming that the resolution, as written, was unlawful.

Last night we both attended Evanston City Council's Human Services committee meeting regarding the resolution. I made a citizens comment to nice applause on behalf of our mutual cause.

Although I don't believe we made a dent in their opinion, our opinion paper did wonders! Their legal counsel is now checking the resolution and the committee has recommended stalling the bill until it's legality can be confirmed. Mark one for the good guys!

Should any of you live in the area or have loved ones here PLEASE encourage them to attend and speak at upcoming meetings. The next one will be held at the Evanston Civic Center 3/3, at 7pm. Should you be interested in assisting please message me through this board.

Thanks!!!

Thanks for the update. They are feeling the heat -probably just like New York's governor Spitzer.

I live in Waukegan -no doubt you've heard about us and our situation...

Please keep reporting.

Hey Fed Up,
Yes, I'm familiar with what is going on in Waukegan. Who isn't? I actually attended the Conference on Immigration there this past summer while all of the "hub ub" was going on. It gave me the chance to see "Borders" and meet Mr. Gheen, Mr. Hayes, and Rosanna Pulido, all of whom have been very helpful in what is going on with Evanston right now.

Although there will be tough times ahead, I was really happy to see Waukegan's local government step to the plate for it's citizens. I only wish the ACLU would spend as much time defending our sovereignty as they do fighting us on these ordinances.

Keep up the good work!

Last night the Evanston Human Services Committee passed a version of it's sanctuary resolution, although not the version it wanted. A watered down version was approved 4-1 to be considered by the city council next week. Here is a version of the text:
http://www.cityofevanston.org/_pdf/r2.pdf

I attended and spoke at the meeting. Rosanna Pulido of FAIR and Dawn Mueller of the Illinois Citizen Security Network attended, as well.

Although our goal is to eliminate the resolution in it's entirety, this was a win for us. In the watered down resolution, the language directing the police not to inquire about immigration status was removed, the Matricula Consular was removed, and the hate language was removed. The legal vulnerabilities we exploited with IRLI's help are what got it done. The next step is to keep momentum moving forward and educating people in our area about this.

I would greatly appreciate if you could please forward this resolution to anyone you know in the area. I can be PM'ed here for any inquiries. Thanks!