Evanston Community Foundation held its first in-person Public Service Challenge since before the COVID-19 pandemic at the Joseph E. Hill Early Childhood Center Saturday.

Established in 2000, the Public Service Challenge seeks to help Evanston residents navigate the intricacies of running a city office or school board campaign through nonpartisan training, according to Senior Director of Community Leadership Karli Butler. 

The event covered topics like setting up a bank account, filing necessary paperwork and establishing what makes a successful campaign. Evanston Community Foundation continues to hold the program to ensure running a campaign is accessible and to inspire residents to become more involved in the community, Butler said.  

“If we want to encourage folks to be civically engaged, they have to know about the process,” she said. “By providing pre-information, where people didn’t have to go hunting for it, it would bring people out who maybe had considered running but didn’t know where to start.” 

This year, event partners included the Evanston Public Library and the Evanston/North Shore Branch of the NAACP.

The first part of the event was a panel discussion between Evanston leaders. 

City Clerk Stephanie Mendoza discussed the specifics of filing for office, including qualifications to run, signature requirements and key filing dates. She also addressed the details of getting on the ballot that participants may not be aware of, including how to bind the paperwork. 

Democratic Party of Evanston Board President Rachel O’Konis Ruttenberg talked about the fundraising process and fieldwork aspect of campaigns. 

She encouraged voters to put effort into fundraising if they run for office because mailings can be a crucial determiner of voter contact. 

“You want people to know who you are, and you want to get your message out about the campaign,” O’Konis Ruttenberg said. “Voter contact should be your North Star.” 

Kemone Hendricks, a former communications director for Jonathan Nieuwsma’s Alderman for the 4th Ward campaign, spoke about the elements of managing a successful campaign. 

She said it’s important to use available resources when starting a campaign. 

“There are so many resources out there that you will be able to get your hands on,” Hendricks said. “This is 2024 — Google is a thing, YouTube is a thing. As long as you give yourself ample time and reach out to the right people, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel.”  

Following the panel, Stefanie Roti, an assistant branch manager at Wintrust Bank, offered guidance on setting up a political bank account. Roti explained how to apply for an Employer Identification Number, which is necessary for opening up a political bank account.

Then, Alisa Kaplan, the executive director of Reform for Illinois, spoke about ranked-choice voting, which Evanston became the first Illinois city to adopt in November 2022. According to Kaplan, ranked-choice voting will encourage a more diverse group of candidates to run and will promote civility during elections. 

Following the speakers, participants split into breakout groups based on their interests in either potentially running for City Council or one of Evanston’s school boards. 

Former councilmembers met with participants and answered questions about running for City Council. During the school board breakout, former Evanston/Skokie School District 65 administrators and a former school board member talked with participants about running and working on the school board.

Evanston resident Mary Rosinski said she attended Saturday’s event on behalf of herself and two other people who may consider running for public office. 

She campaigned for 7th Ward councilmember four years ago and is considering running again, but she wants to see who else puts their name out there. Rosinski said she wanted to learn more about ranked-choice voting. 

“(Ranked-choice voting) could turn out to be a good way to get more people involved,” Rosinski said. “Maybe they will feel their vote matters more.” 

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