Laura Olson and Matt Presser

When Ald. Cheryl Wollin (1st) first served on the Evanston City Council more than a decade ago, she was part of a duo that represented her constituents.

Twelve years later, Wollin returned as the sole alderman in her ward after the City Council was cut in half in the early ’90s. In a new district, Wollin is relying on her past experience to help her readjust.

“It gives you a sense of comfort in knowing structure – but the issues are always changing,” she said.

Wollin is one of two freshman faces on the council with previous government experience. Julia Carroll, Evanston’s new city manager, was the assistant city manager in Naperville, a Chicago suburb, before moving into her current position in January 2005.

Alds. Delores Holmes (5th) and Anjana Hansen (9th) are wrapping up their first years on the council this month.

The three new council members and the city manager are all women who replaced men. Now women hold six of the nine seats, in addition to the positions of mayor, city clerk and city manager.

“Women have always been active in Evanston,” Wollin said. “I think we bring a good wholesome perspective.”

Carroll said this revolution is not a big issue.

“The job is the same regardless of your gender,” she said. “You have to still get the work done, you have to still lead the organization and you still have to work with the elected officials and the community at large.”

Although Wollin began her new term battling a lawsuit from Judy Fiske, her opponent in the council election who questioned the election’s validity, Wollin said she had the council’s support from the beginning.

“The council has been wonderful,” Wollin said. “I’m worried it will prevent candidates from running if they don’t have access to the resources for a large campaign suit.”

In Naperville, Carroll said she was basically the “chief operating officer” because the city manager was more involved in public engagement. Here in Evanston, she estimates she works about 60 hours a week trying to fulfill both roles.

“The difference is the accountability stops with me,” she said. “As an assistant, you’re constantly referring to the city manager on anything that you have final authority over.”

Balancing time has been an issue for Wollin as well, who juggles her time as an alderman and as a government professor at Oakton Community College. She said her teaching patterns have changed since taking over her new job.

“I’ve always made a practice to return papers the next day and I don’t always do that now,” Wollin said.

Carroll says there are some similarities between Evanston and Naperville. Both are affluent cities with colleges (Naperville’s North Central College’s enrollment is about one-third the size of Northwestern’s, Carroll said). But there are key differences, she said, such as the cities’ natural resources.

Wollin, whose ward includes a section of Northwestern’s campus, said Evanston has fewer day-to-day issues in its relationship with the university than other communities.

“When I listen to people from other college towns talk about their problems, I find myself thinking, ‘That would never happen in Evanston,'” Wollin said.

Improving relations between Evanston and NU is also a priority for Carroll.

“Even though they don’t pay us taxes, I think it’s important that we have a good relationship and at least good communication,” she said.

This year, Carroll has worked with the council to pass a budget and strategic plan, but the council says there is more progress ahead.

Wollin worked on learning about a new ward during the past year, one more concerned with the development “explosion” the city has seen in the past 12 years.

“It’s a strange ward – there’s residents north of downtown, south of downtown and more who live in downtown,” Wollin said. “The big question now is, ‘What is the downtown vision?'”

Carroll thinks Evanston needs to focus more on building structures with the environment in mind.

“We want to look at ways to encourage more environmentally friendly development and practices,” she said. “I’d like to see us really examining those things carefully because I do believe we’re facing global warming and we all take it very seriously.”

Wollin said approving the renovations at the Mather LifeWays’ senior-living complex was one of her favorite projects from the past year.

“Getting the Mather project was a huge accomplishment for me and the whole council,” she said. “I was really determined we didn’t lose that.”

Reach Laura Olson at [email protected] and Matt Presser at [email protected].