Housing and budget issues dominated the conversation at a virtual forum for 1st and 3rd ward candidates hosted by the Southeast Evanston Association Tuesday.
Roughly halfway between the candidacy filing deadline and the looming election on April 1, City Council candidates tackled hot-button issues while making their case to voters.
In the 1st Ward, incumbent Ald. Clare Kelly (1st), who was narrowly elected to her first term in 2021, runs against political newcomer Stephen Hackney. Tuesday, Hackney criticized Kelly’s record on affordable housing and her relationship with other councilmembers.
When asked about housing initiatives, Hackney, a retired lawyer currently on the board of Connections for the Homeless, said he was “candidly angered by Clare’s vote to close the Margarita Inn.” In 2023, City Council approved Connections for the Homeless’ special use permit to operate a shelter at the Margarita Inn. The council voted 6-2, with only Kelly and Ald. Thomas Suffredin (6th) opposing.
Kelly pushed back, saying that she worked to develop an operating agreement with Connections for the Homeless regarding the Margarita Inn, but the agreement was “almost entirely gutted.”
“I was fighting for a safe environment,” Kelly said. “I was fighting for a strong operating agreement, and that’s where my frustrations lie.”
Kelly added that she has advocated on behalf of Margarita Inn residents to their building management.
Hackney also chastised Kelly for being “openly antagonistic” toward Mayor Daniel Biss, claiming that her combative attitude toward Biss prevented her from being present in negotiations for the contentious 2023 pact between the city and Northwestern over the Ryan Field rebuild.
“If I’m on the City Council, I leverage the relationships that I have with the mayor and the other council members to make sure I’m included in those negotiations and our interests are represented,” Hackney said.
Kelly, who has been a prominent voice opposing Biss and the construction of a new Ryan Field, responded that the only councilmembers present for the negotiations were those who voted in favor of the memorandum, and that she made every effort to be included in those discussions.
With Ald. Melissa Wynne (3rd) not seeking reelection in 2025, the race for the 3rd Ward’s seat has come down to three candidates — Gennifer Geer (WCAS ’24), Shawn Iles and John Kennedy. At the forum, all candidates expressed skepticism about the zoning implications of Envision Evanston 2045.
Geer and Kennedy suggested that the policies meant to make housing more affordable would instead benefit developers.
“I don’t trust developers to instinctively fill our lots with affordable housing,” Geer said. “I think there needs to be much closer city oversight to those developments that are being put in place.”
Iles added that many residents believe Envision Evanston’s zoning policies would be “one step too far.”
All three candidates expressed strong commitments to government transparency but differed in their approaches to budget management.
Geer and Iles highlighted the importance of building the tax base by empowering Evanston’s businesses. Both supported a retail vacancy order to force landlords to fill retail vacancies and invite new businesses.
On the other hand, Kennedy, who has campaigned largely on fiscal responsibility, suggested that Evanston would be best served by reducing government spending.
“The council has to do more to be more disciplined during the year and stop spending money on non-budgeted expenses,” Kennedy said.
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Related Stories:
— Ald. Clare Kelly challenged by retired lawyer Stephen Hackney for 1st Ward seat
— Three candidates emerge in race for 3rd Ward City Council race
— City Council eyes new development plans in downtown Evanston amid affordable housing concerns
