Matthew Abitbol opened a specialty footwear store in downtown Evanston just before the COVID-19 pandemic closed the world down. “We would chase down a single sale,” said Abitbol, the owner of Commonwealth...

December marks the start of the holidays as storefronts decorate their windows, daylight shortens and yuletide cheer begins. Those celebrating the holiday season in Evanston won’t have to venture far...

Elle Ullum lost her job in 2020, shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic began. A single mother, Ullum said she relied on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to provide for her and her child.  “We...

Annie Coakley, director of Downtown Evanston, remembers a “liveliness” about downtown, filled with people eating their lunches at Fountain Square. Now, that liveliness is gone, she said. “You...

Economic Development Specialist Katie Boden remembers stepping off the train in Evanston for the first time years ago. Disoriented in an unfamiliar place, she wandered into Bennison’s Bakery. “I...