When you say you will post the responses to your pdf "on the day before the election" are you talking about March 16th or March 31st? Last November, I think the early vote tally was around 35% of the total vote. It would be good to see them before early voting commences.
Also, just as a general observation: I received a campaign text from Nichole Pinkard.
That's the first time I've ever received a robo-text from a school board candidate. But I guess it shouldn't be unexpected given the rich donors that are funding her campaign.
She seems to be putting her billionaire donor dollars to work!
I wonder if others are getting these types of communications from school board candidates.
I think the billionaire Koehler has funded her business ventures. She portrays herself as your average Northwestern professor, but she has run a number of tech startups and comes from the world of Silicon Valley.
She doesn't even mention on her campaign webpage that she is COO of a tech startup dealing with HR management.
As someone who has both worked in technology (facebook, grubhub) and currently owns a technology firm, I take great offense to this. I think this comment would be fair if she was backed by a VC firm funded by Elon or Vivek or Peter Theil or A16Z, but I don't think that is the case. I don't know the Kohler family (big faucet!) but I haven't heard of any connections between them and right wing causes.
Chicagoland especially is trying to build up a technology industry, not tear it down just because there are idiots in the business out west.
I'm not sure what is offensive about what I wrote. All I said is that guys like Elon and Vivek are currently the faces of Silicon Valley and they aren't doing much to elevate the reputation of that sector in a place like Evanston. I wasn't impugning Pinkard, you, or anyone else. I was just referring to tech in general and people's perceptions of its biggest name. Last week's Reuters poll had Elon at a 57% unfavorable rating.
The Kohler's are an old-school Republican Wisconsin family (Walter Jr. & Walter Sr. were Republican governors). Pinkard's patron, Rachel, has given money to both Democrats as well as Republicans like Mitch McConnell:
In terms of Pinkard, we don't know how her tech businesses are funded. Kohler and another of her funders, Stacy Lindau, sold one of their companies to a group run by Iconiq Capital--a San Francisco based VC firm:
They are now partners with Pinkard in another startup called SteamE. It is private so we don't know who is funding it.
I just wonder why, a) she doesn't mention any of her tech start-up background in her bio. It seems weird and may fit into the anti-Musk, etc... sentiment that many Evanstonians feel? The fact that she appears to be hiding something raises a red flag.
b) Why are all these out-of-town tech executives bankrolling her campaign? She doesn't have kids in the DIstrict, but her background is building apps that muncipalities and school districts could buy.
We have had enough of the consultancy class involved in the district. And her tech background is worrying--paticularly since she doesn't seem to address the over-use of tech as a problem in the District.
I think its absolutely unfair to suggest she has any connection whatsoever to Elon Musk without a shred of proof behind the claim. By your logic here, I'm connected to Elon Musk because I run a privately funded technology firm. Elon is completely irrelevant to this conversation and her background unless you present some evidence. Candidates are allowed to have jobs and we shouldn't punish people for working in small firms or startups.
I think it is fair to criticize her if she's taken funding from someone who has funded Republicans, especially Mitch McConnell (barf) or on the issues (technology in the classroom) or on the consulting thing (this is my complaint too) but alleging some kind of shadowy Elon Musk connection is shitty and unfair.
I've been getting mailers, auto-calls and robo-texts from everyone in Evanston I am am eligible to vote for, with the exception of D65. I think it's just become a lot easier (and perhaps cheaper) to do that now.
Will you be allowing the two candidates for mayor forums? I love your Substack. I'm sending a letter to the editor to the Evanston Roundtable about the case of the missing 21st Century Fire Department. Can I quote you on this statistic from your last post regarding the Healthy Buildings Ordinance? Thank you.
"I have learned from Tom Hayden on his Substack, FOIA Gras, the cost to a condo resident of a retrofit to the boilers in historical courtyard buildings and other buildings would be an additional assessment of between $27,000 and $47,000 per unit". Rents would also skyrocket as landlords pass the costs on to tenants. The outside consultants for both projects do not have any understanding of the unique character of our community and the costs to residents.
Yeah, it may be useful to note that my estimate there comes from the $9 - $15 per square foot estimate that the City published. This estimate I generated is specifically for the 18 unit 55,000 square foot building at Hinman and Kedzie but I think a lot of the old courtyard buildings will be around that number. It's astonishing to me that Alderman Wynne still supports the HBO given the huge impact it will have on the 3rd ward!!
Linda, I appreciated Tom's post on the HBO however as an engineer I do dispute his calculations of $27,000 to $47,000 assessments. Feel free to PM me if you want to discuss more but I also posted some comments on his original post. I suggest you read up a bit more before sending a LTE.
Yeah I agree that there is some nuance to this. I think my estimate is on the high end and there will probably be buildings where the cost is less depending on a bunch of factors (like age of boiler, etc). And I think there might be cases where it is higher, depending on whether cooking gas fits into the HBO.
I would love to understand more of where the cost estimates come from for replacement of gas with electric. For larger, older buildings that are boiler-fed-radiators, does that cost involve replacing the radiators with forced air or in-wall units? Or is the idea to do electric-based hydronic heating through the existing radiators? If replacing the existing boilers with electric, does that involve heat pumps, and if so, ground-source or air-source? Additionally, the cost of moving from gas to electric, depending on the technology, could incur huge ongoing costs. Gas is much cheaper and more efficient for heating (especially for boilers) than electric, so besides the upgrade costs there could be huge energy bills for tenants. And that is without even considering both the private and public infrastructure updates required to deliver that kind of electricity.
I'm all for eco-friendly and responsible energy usage. I put solar on my roof, have moved to hybrid electric vehicles and would love to replace my water heater and boiler in my 100-year-old residence with heat-pump-based electric. The problem is that I can't find anyone to do it at an installation and ongoing cost rate that would make any sense whatsoever. I'd have $1000/mo+ electric bills, even with my solar offset during the coldest winter months and may still even need gas as a backup when it gets too cold.
Honestly, the questions you ask are the same ones that the homeowners in vintage buildings are asking now. I think it's a problem that we're going to pass an ordinance written by HVAC manufacturers with unclear and expensive implementation!
I have a feeling the answer may be to tear down older buildings and replace them with new, more energy-cost-effective dwellings. That may be the best option in the long run, but how does that align with affordable housing and/or environmental impacts of new construction. If laws like this pass, Evanston will become a very different place, and quite likely not what people are advocating for today.
Thanks for these guides, Tom. I feel like I need something objective because most of the candidates that come my way tend to be through my friend groups which is all well and good but everyone has their faves for various reasons and those don't necessarily translate to an effective board.
I don't blame you for not wanting to live and breathe this. The upside and downside of Evanston politics is that people are SO invested.
It’s exhausting. Especially if you are also contacting Durbin, Duckworth, and Schakowsky five days a week about issues with the musk/ trump regime: phone calls or voice mails, emails, etc. Jan is great. She’s out there everyday protesting.
There is in-person geometry offered -- it jut isn't part of the regular curriculum for all. If a child is skipped a grade in math in 8th grade, there is an opportunity to take geometry through D65. The past few years it's been hosted at one of the middle schools and kids from the other schools are transported (this has also come up in transportation costs). They're pushing the online option though because the criteria to actually get skipped is pretty restrictive and requires special testing and other things so there are few kids actually taking it in person.
I am curious to know if D65's geometry aligns with the honors geometry currently available for 8th graders to take at ETHS, and if the D65 students are well prepared to start off ETHS in Advanced Algebra 2 Honors. There was some very interesting reporting by Duncan Agnew/The Roundtable last year on this topic. The honors geometry course at ETHS used to be an option for D65 students as well, until D65 discontinued facilitation/connectivity with ETHS for it in 2020. In any case, thank you for the amazing coverage and in-depth reporting as always, Tom! Thankful you included this geometry topic on the candidate questionnaire. It's easy to serve up platitudes about wanting to improve educational outcomes, but this is a perfect case study for something D65 had in place and removed during the Horton administration, creating a situation where private school students exclusively (unless you back-door your way in) have the opportunity to take honors geometry at ETHS in 8th grade.
We were first-year ALEK students at Nicols who would have qualified for in-school geometry, and the district made it next to impossible. We were not given the option even when we asked about it directly. Only found out about it later in the year as an option from friends at Haven.
If you can't take geometry when you are in the program and ask about it directly, it's not available. It's more straightforward to get into Hogwarts than it is to get into geometry at D65.
Moreover, NSp asked about geometry, and couldn't get geometry. (Full disclosure: my family had a similar frustrating experience.) "D65 theoretically offers geometry under certain circumstances, but might say no when you ask," does not count as offering geometry.
If a 20 meter tall tree falls in a forest but lands on another tree, forming a 45 degree angle with ground, how far away is the other tree and does it make a sound?
Evanston CASE is hosting a virtual D65 Candidate Forum on Wednesday March 12th at 6pm. Here is the link to register - https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zUbjr3K7QdqPj8Q-MHpAag
Thanks Tom for all the great work you do on the community's behalf. You're such an asset and do know how much your hard work is appreciated.
Please, please cover 7th ward. We need you!
It’s probably too late. Parielle. Com. She has an amazing resume.
When you say you will post the responses to your pdf "on the day before the election" are you talking about March 16th or March 31st? Last November, I think the early vote tally was around 35% of the total vote. It would be good to see them before early voting commences.
Also, just as a general observation: I received a campaign text from Nichole Pinkard.
That's the first time I've ever received a robo-text from a school board candidate. But I guess it shouldn't be unexpected given the rich donors that are funding her campaign.
She seems to be putting her billionaire donor dollars to work!
I wonder if others are getting these types of communications from school board candidates.
March 16th, the day before early voting
Is there a reason she’s so well funded?
I think the billionaire Koehler has funded her business ventures. She portrays herself as your average Northwestern professor, but she has run a number of tech startups and comes from the world of Silicon Valley.
She doesn't even mention on her campaign webpage that she is COO of a tech startup dealing with HR management.
https://steame.com/
Being associated with the Elon and Vivek Ramaswami types probably won't fly so well in Evanston which may be why she keeps it quiet.
As someone who has both worked in technology (facebook, grubhub) and currently owns a technology firm, I take great offense to this. I think this comment would be fair if she was backed by a VC firm funded by Elon or Vivek or Peter Theil or A16Z, but I don't think that is the case. I don't know the Kohler family (big faucet!) but I haven't heard of any connections between them and right wing causes.
Chicagoland especially is trying to build up a technology industry, not tear it down just because there are idiots in the business out west.
I'm not sure what is offensive about what I wrote. All I said is that guys like Elon and Vivek are currently the faces of Silicon Valley and they aren't doing much to elevate the reputation of that sector in a place like Evanston. I wasn't impugning Pinkard, you, or anyone else. I was just referring to tech in general and people's perceptions of its biggest name. Last week's Reuters poll had Elon at a 57% unfavorable rating.
The Kohler's are an old-school Republican Wisconsin family (Walter Jr. & Walter Sr. were Republican governors). Pinkard's patron, Rachel, has given money to both Democrats as well as Republicans like Mitch McConnell:
https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=rachel+kohler&cycle=&state=&zip=&employ=&occupation=&jurisdiction=&cand=Mitch+Mcconnell&type=
In terms of Pinkard, we don't know how her tech businesses are funded. Kohler and another of her funders, Stacy Lindau, sold one of their companies to a group run by Iconiq Capital--a San Francisco based VC firm:
https://polsky.uchicago.edu/2021/09/23/uchicago-spinout-nowpow-acquired-by-unite-us/
They are now partners with Pinkard in another startup called SteamE. It is private so we don't know who is funding it.
I just wonder why, a) she doesn't mention any of her tech start-up background in her bio. It seems weird and may fit into the anti-Musk, etc... sentiment that many Evanstonians feel? The fact that she appears to be hiding something raises a red flag.
b) Why are all these out-of-town tech executives bankrolling her campaign? She doesn't have kids in the DIstrict, but her background is building apps that muncipalities and school districts could buy.
We have had enough of the consultancy class involved in the district. And her tech background is worrying--paticularly since she doesn't seem to address the over-use of tech as a problem in the District.
I think its absolutely unfair to suggest she has any connection whatsoever to Elon Musk without a shred of proof behind the claim. By your logic here, I'm connected to Elon Musk because I run a privately funded technology firm. Elon is completely irrelevant to this conversation and her background unless you present some evidence. Candidates are allowed to have jobs and we shouldn't punish people for working in small firms or startups.
I think it is fair to criticize her if she's taken funding from someone who has funded Republicans, especially Mitch McConnell (barf) or on the issues (technology in the classroom) or on the consulting thing (this is my complaint too) but alleging some kind of shadowy Elon Musk connection is shitty and unfair.
I have different concerns about Pickard but I’m not sold on her either and I wondered why so many people are endorsing her and giving her money.
She has been a darling of the local nonprofit scene and their wealthy board members for a long time.
I've been getting mailers, auto-calls and robo-texts from everyone in Evanston I am am eligible to vote for, with the exception of D65. I think it's just become a lot easier (and perhaps cheaper) to do that now.
I haven't gotten a single one! I must be on all the blacklists :)
Will you be allowing the two candidates for mayor forums? I love your Substack. I'm sending a letter to the editor to the Evanston Roundtable about the case of the missing 21st Century Fire Department. Can I quote you on this statistic from your last post regarding the Healthy Buildings Ordinance? Thank you.
"I have learned from Tom Hayden on his Substack, FOIA Gras, the cost to a condo resident of a retrofit to the boilers in historical courtyard buildings and other buildings would be an additional assessment of between $27,000 and $47,000 per unit". Rents would also skyrocket as landlords pass the costs on to tenants. The outside consultants for both projects do not have any understanding of the unique character of our community and the costs to residents.
Yeah, it may be useful to note that my estimate there comes from the $9 - $15 per square foot estimate that the City published. This estimate I generated is specifically for the 18 unit 55,000 square foot building at Hinman and Kedzie but I think a lot of the old courtyard buildings will be around that number. It's astonishing to me that Alderman Wynne still supports the HBO given the huge impact it will have on the 3rd ward!!
I'm trying to figure out what to do with the Mayoral race but it may be too late. Stay tuned.
We need you on the mayoral race, please!
Linda, I appreciated Tom's post on the HBO however as an engineer I do dispute his calculations of $27,000 to $47,000 assessments. Feel free to PM me if you want to discuss more but I also posted some comments on his original post. I suggest you read up a bit more before sending a LTE.
Yeah I agree that there is some nuance to this. I think my estimate is on the high end and there will probably be buildings where the cost is less depending on a bunch of factors (like age of boiler, etc). And I think there might be cases where it is higher, depending on whether cooking gas fits into the HBO.
I would love to understand more of where the cost estimates come from for replacement of gas with electric. For larger, older buildings that are boiler-fed-radiators, does that cost involve replacing the radiators with forced air or in-wall units? Or is the idea to do electric-based hydronic heating through the existing radiators? If replacing the existing boilers with electric, does that involve heat pumps, and if so, ground-source or air-source? Additionally, the cost of moving from gas to electric, depending on the technology, could incur huge ongoing costs. Gas is much cheaper and more efficient for heating (especially for boilers) than electric, so besides the upgrade costs there could be huge energy bills for tenants. And that is without even considering both the private and public infrastructure updates required to deliver that kind of electricity.
I'm all for eco-friendly and responsible energy usage. I put solar on my roof, have moved to hybrid electric vehicles and would love to replace my water heater and boiler in my 100-year-old residence with heat-pump-based electric. The problem is that I can't find anyone to do it at an installation and ongoing cost rate that would make any sense whatsoever. I'd have $1000/mo+ electric bills, even with my solar offset during the coldest winter months and may still even need gas as a backup when it gets too cold.
Honestly, the questions you ask are the same ones that the homeowners in vintage buildings are asking now. I think it's a problem that we're going to pass an ordinance written by HVAC manufacturers with unclear and expensive implementation!
I have a feeling the answer may be to tear down older buildings and replace them with new, more energy-cost-effective dwellings. That may be the best option in the long run, but how does that align with affordable housing and/or environmental impacts of new construction. If laws like this pass, Evanston will become a very different place, and quite likely not what people are advocating for today.
Thank you. I edited my letter to the editor to reflect the consulting firm has not provided an analysis of cost per square foot.
Thanks for these guides, Tom. I feel like I need something objective because most of the candidates that come my way tend to be through my friend groups which is all well and good but everyone has their faves for various reasons and those don't necessarily translate to an effective board.
I don't blame you for not wanting to live and breathe this. The upside and downside of Evanston politics is that people are SO invested.
It’s exhausting. Especially if you are also contacting Durbin, Duckworth, and Schakowsky five days a week about issues with the musk/ trump regime: phone calls or voice mails, emails, etc. Jan is great. She’s out there everyday protesting.
Curious why some of the candidates are not on the schedule. No judgement just trying to understand. Thanks for your tireless work!
What is the error in the geometry question?
I'll email you!
There is in-person geometry offered -- it jut isn't part of the regular curriculum for all. If a child is skipped a grade in math in 8th grade, there is an opportunity to take geometry through D65. The past few years it's been hosted at one of the middle schools and kids from the other schools are transported (this has also come up in transportation costs). They're pushing the online option though because the criteria to actually get skipped is pretty restrictive and requires special testing and other things so there are few kids actually taking it in person.
I am curious to know if D65's geometry aligns with the honors geometry currently available for 8th graders to take at ETHS, and if the D65 students are well prepared to start off ETHS in Advanced Algebra 2 Honors. There was some very interesting reporting by Duncan Agnew/The Roundtable last year on this topic. The honors geometry course at ETHS used to be an option for D65 students as well, until D65 discontinued facilitation/connectivity with ETHS for it in 2020. In any case, thank you for the amazing coverage and in-depth reporting as always, Tom! Thankful you included this geometry topic on the candidate questionnaire. It's easy to serve up platitudes about wanting to improve educational outcomes, but this is a perfect case study for something D65 had in place and removed during the Horton administration, creating a situation where private school students exclusively (unless you back-door your way in) have the opportunity to take honors geometry at ETHS in 8th grade.
We were first-year ALEK students at Nicols who would have qualified for in-school geometry, and the district made it next to impossible. We were not given the option even when we asked about it directly. Only found out about it later in the year as an option from friends at Haven.
If you can't take geometry when you are in the program and ask about it directly, it's not available. It's more straightforward to get into Hogwarts than it is to get into geometry at D65.
Yes, this is why I'm leaving the question on there! If we offer geometry but nobody knows we offer geometry, do we really offer geometry?
Moreover, NSp asked about geometry, and couldn't get geometry. (Full disclosure: my family had a similar frustrating experience.) "D65 theoretically offers geometry under certain circumstances, but might say no when you ask," does not count as offering geometry.
If a 20 meter tall tree falls in a forest but lands on another tree, forming a 45 degree angle with ground, how far away is the other tree and does it make a sound?