A partial repatriation, such as giving to the Pottawatomie as a forever land lease of the mansion with rights to run and profit from the possible Pritzker-style luxury hotel/restaurant, would be more morally palatable than the same establishment run by some random private corporate entity.
I think the point is that the city routinely awards contracts to private entities that have no connection to Evanston (see Celadon or the folks doing Lot 1).
We could be discussing this while drinking $15 Old Fashioneds on the veranda of the restaurant onsite at Col Pritzker’s hotel. While generating sales tax for the city. But no, the do-gooders had to have their way and now the place is a dump. Can we do a landfill and create more Evanston real estate? If so, we should do it in front of HC. This city is so stupid. Honestly I can’t even believe this is even up for discussion given how effed we are financially. Maybe we DO want a casino there! Could be pretty swank if done right!!
Not trying to hijack the thread, but I noticed that a member of the Equity Army who happens to own a house that they rent out for $19,000/mo and has close ties to the D65 administration posted a link to a Change . org petition where they are calling on Northwestern "to invest in the future of Evanston and its schools."
A few choice quotes from the petition: "Northwestern’s Wealth vs. Evanston’s Struggles: While Northwestern University, with its approximately $14 billion endowment, continues to expand with luxurious projects—including the costly temporary football field installed as part of the $800 million Ryan Field renovation—Evanston’s public school district (D65) grapples with a significant budget shortfall. "
Of course nothing mentioned about the fact that the significant budget shortfall is largely a result of mismanagement and corruption.
The demands are hilarious:
"We also demand Northwestern invest in capital improvements for public school buildings, including upgrades to: Auditoriums, gymnasiums, outdoor grounds, and STEAM labs (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics)."
Not sure what planet these people are on, but Northwestern has no obligation to bail out D65 for its poor decisionmaking.
People have the right to start petitions, but in my opinion anyone interested in improving the educational and financial situation at the District should prioritize getting an independent board not beholden to platitudinous ideologies.
I don't sign petitions but I think there is a very compelling argument to start pressuring Northwestern to participate more broadly in Evanston education. Consider the fact that they are rebuilding the Allen Center at a cost of $300 million right now - the Allen Center is basically a glorified hotel for dignitaries when they visit campus (CEOs, Congresspeople, Qatari officials).
Northwestern has no obligation to bail out District 65 but they do have an obligation to support education broadly and especially within their own community. They're a university for Christ's sake, not a football team/lab/hedge fund/hotel.
Currently there is virtually no collaboration between NU and D65. Dr. Horton burned the bridge a few years ago relating to his CREATE65 program and I think really upset a lot of folks on the NU side. This needs to be fixed and should be part of the current Administration's attempt to right the ship.
Dr. Horton destroyed/nuked that bridge. I was thinking that perhaps NU could provide some type of endowment to the District but it would have to be under a new board and new district admin leadership. But no chance of that happening!
I used to work in higher ed and I always find it hilarious how clueless people in Evanston are about how private universities work. (The clueless bit isn't in response to your comment, Tom. Just in general)
Whenever there is some issue that the city or school board can't handle, a council /board member will say something along the lines of "lets get a Northwestern professor to do a study on this."
If you are a professor at an elite institution like NU your main focus is on developing an international academic reputation and going for big grants/publications. Spending time writing a report on educational outcomes in Evanston or whatever else a local bureaucrat needs is not going to help on any of these metrics.
The petition invokes this idea that the university is spending $800 million here, $400 million there, etc.. Yes they are spending money. But of course more than half of the stadium cost is being paid by the Ryan family. The same goes for the Allen Center. They have already secured $10 million for it from private donors. I am not defending either of these projects--I don't work for the university and don't really care what they do with their money. The point is that these are projects authorized by the NU board of trustees which they think will be valuable to the university and are substantially funded by private donations. Do the petitioners want NU to go to Pat Ryan and say, "hey toss in an additional $10 million for D65"? Good luck with that.
The "Demands" made in the petition are so vague and don't even attempt to argue how the university might benefit.
("we urge Northwestern to work with the city to create sustainable transportation solutions for underserved students, ensuring they can attend school safely and reliably." Ok, yes Northwestern why dont you take over the bus service for free! Why didn't Raphael Obafemi think of that?!?!?!)
I'm not sure how they can justify to the Board of Trustees to, say, spend the $9 million required to add central air to Chute Middle School.
I would take issue with the idea that NU isn't participating in community's education. They have a bunch of partnerships with 202. I know they funded summer educational opportunities for D65 students for the last couple of years and last year an NU prof received funding from the university to do a survey of black parents for the school board. (The survey was actually a complete joke, but that's another story...)
Evanston people also tend to forget that Northwestern's community includes Chicago and that the biggest college in terms of budget is Feinberg, which is located in Chicago--not Evanston. They have multiple programs that partner with CPS
Finally, where was the D65 Board of Education & Superintendent at the negotiations for the Good Neighbor Fund that was revised last year? If I remember correctly they will get $500,000/year from taxes on ticket sales. Could a more competent board and superintendent gotten a better deal?
I just think the petition is silly in its demands and if the District wanted to engage with NU they might have hired a superintendent with experience in developing these sorts of partnerships instead of having family members circulate futile petitions.
Sure, all of these things can be true and also I don't think it's unreasonable for the town to ask the University with a $10 billion dollar endowment that doesn't pay taxes and (in theory) has an educational mission for help.
D65 should've been there for the new stadium negotiations and they were nowhere to be found .. but I don't care for this desire people have to see D65 punished in some way because it's been run by clowns. Let's fix the problems first and move forward.
Petitions never go anywhere but it's a good sampling of who feels what about what subject and I think calibrates other political actors as time goes on.
The same group of people who called any one asking for more from NU during the zoning negotiations nimbys. How many times we heard “this will create generational wealth for people in the 5th ward” and were told we should stand down and if not be accused of being racist as if it wasn’t all in the interest of a very white billionaire who also happens to be a massive Trump supporter. Now they have the idea, what if we asked for money from NU which was what we were doing all along. We had the perfect opportunity and mayor biss, Reid, Niusama and Harris got absolutely taken to the cleaners. Worst negotiators ever.
So the parcel of land that is the Harley Clark Mansion was originally settled by the Pottawatomie tribe. Just that little parcel of land and not the land where all of our houses stand I find that hard to believe that that small parcel is what should be repatriated. What about the houses on Isabella , Thayer, McDaniel, Harrison , Ridgeway , Lawndale etc etc etc etc.etc.
Ok, let's repatriate the Harley Clark land to the Pottawatomie. .
A partial repatriation, such as giving to the Pottawatomie as a forever land lease of the mansion with rights to run and profit from the possible Pritzker-style luxury hotel/restaurant, would be more morally palatable than the same establishment run by some random private corporate entity.
Thank you, Yes.
I think the point is that the city routinely awards contracts to private entities that have no connection to Evanston (see Celadon or the folks doing Lot 1).
We could be discussing this while drinking $15 Old Fashioneds on the veranda of the restaurant onsite at Col Pritzker’s hotel. While generating sales tax for the city. But no, the do-gooders had to have their way and now the place is a dump. Can we do a landfill and create more Evanston real estate? If so, we should do it in front of HC. This city is so stupid. Honestly I can’t even believe this is even up for discussion given how effed we are financially. Maybe we DO want a casino there! Could be pretty swank if done right!!
An old timey New Orleans style gambling house would be legit cool
And we can call your old-timey N.O. Gambling house The House Of The Rising Sun…
OK guys i think it's time to put together a bid with the Potowotomi!!
I am obsessed with this name: Colonel Pritzker's House of the Rising Sun. Dress code required for entry. Smoking and gambling permitted.
I had AI generate a photo of how I imagine the interior:
https://ibb.co/Q9Z9NBX
What AI software did you use? I'm intrigued!
It's a joke!
The Potawatomi run a casino in Oklahoma….. the possibilities!
A lot more exciting than a wedding venue!!
Not trying to hijack the thread, but I noticed that a member of the Equity Army who happens to own a house that they rent out for $19,000/mo and has close ties to the D65 administration posted a link to a Change . org petition where they are calling on Northwestern "to invest in the future of Evanston and its schools."
A few choice quotes from the petition: "Northwestern’s Wealth vs. Evanston’s Struggles: While Northwestern University, with its approximately $14 billion endowment, continues to expand with luxurious projects—including the costly temporary football field installed as part of the $800 million Ryan Field renovation—Evanston’s public school district (D65) grapples with a significant budget shortfall. "
Of course nothing mentioned about the fact that the significant budget shortfall is largely a result of mismanagement and corruption.
The demands are hilarious:
"We also demand Northwestern invest in capital improvements for public school buildings, including upgrades to: Auditoriums, gymnasiums, outdoor grounds, and STEAM labs (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics)."
Not sure what planet these people are on, but Northwestern has no obligation to bail out D65 for its poor decisionmaking.
People have the right to start petitions, but in my opinion anyone interested in improving the educational and financial situation at the District should prioritize getting an independent board not beholden to platitudinous ideologies.
Here is the petition:
https://www.change.org/p/northwestern-university-a-call-to-invest-in-the-future-of-evanston-s-children-and-schools
I don't sign petitions but I think there is a very compelling argument to start pressuring Northwestern to participate more broadly in Evanston education. Consider the fact that they are rebuilding the Allen Center at a cost of $300 million right now - the Allen Center is basically a glorified hotel for dignitaries when they visit campus (CEOs, Congresspeople, Qatari officials).
Northwestern has no obligation to bail out District 65 but they do have an obligation to support education broadly and especially within their own community. They're a university for Christ's sake, not a football team/lab/hedge fund/hotel.
Currently there is virtually no collaboration between NU and D65. Dr. Horton burned the bridge a few years ago relating to his CREATE65 program and I think really upset a lot of folks on the NU side. This needs to be fixed and should be part of the current Administration's attempt to right the ship.
Dr. Horton destroyed/nuked that bridge. I was thinking that perhaps NU could provide some type of endowment to the District but it would have to be under a new board and new district admin leadership. But no chance of that happening!
I used to work in higher ed and I always find it hilarious how clueless people in Evanston are about how private universities work. (The clueless bit isn't in response to your comment, Tom. Just in general)
Whenever there is some issue that the city or school board can't handle, a council /board member will say something along the lines of "lets get a Northwestern professor to do a study on this."
If you are a professor at an elite institution like NU your main focus is on developing an international academic reputation and going for big grants/publications. Spending time writing a report on educational outcomes in Evanston or whatever else a local bureaucrat needs is not going to help on any of these metrics.
The petition invokes this idea that the university is spending $800 million here, $400 million there, etc.. Yes they are spending money. But of course more than half of the stadium cost is being paid by the Ryan family. The same goes for the Allen Center. They have already secured $10 million for it from private donors. I am not defending either of these projects--I don't work for the university and don't really care what they do with their money. The point is that these are projects authorized by the NU board of trustees which they think will be valuable to the university and are substantially funded by private donations. Do the petitioners want NU to go to Pat Ryan and say, "hey toss in an additional $10 million for D65"? Good luck with that.
The "Demands" made in the petition are so vague and don't even attempt to argue how the university might benefit.
("we urge Northwestern to work with the city to create sustainable transportation solutions for underserved students, ensuring they can attend school safely and reliably." Ok, yes Northwestern why dont you take over the bus service for free! Why didn't Raphael Obafemi think of that?!?!?!)
I'm not sure how they can justify to the Board of Trustees to, say, spend the $9 million required to add central air to Chute Middle School.
I would take issue with the idea that NU isn't participating in community's education. They have a bunch of partnerships with 202. I know they funded summer educational opportunities for D65 students for the last couple of years and last year an NU prof received funding from the university to do a survey of black parents for the school board. (The survey was actually a complete joke, but that's another story...)
Evanston people also tend to forget that Northwestern's community includes Chicago and that the biggest college in terms of budget is Feinberg, which is located in Chicago--not Evanston. They have multiple programs that partner with CPS
Finally, where was the D65 Board of Education & Superintendent at the negotiations for the Good Neighbor Fund that was revised last year? If I remember correctly they will get $500,000/year from taxes on ticket sales. Could a more competent board and superintendent gotten a better deal?
I just think the petition is silly in its demands and if the District wanted to engage with NU they might have hired a superintendent with experience in developing these sorts of partnerships instead of having family members circulate futile petitions.
Sure, all of these things can be true and also I don't think it's unreasonable for the town to ask the University with a $10 billion dollar endowment that doesn't pay taxes and (in theory) has an educational mission for help.
D65 should've been there for the new stadium negotiations and they were nowhere to be found .. but I don't care for this desire people have to see D65 punished in some way because it's been run by clowns. Let's fix the problems first and move forward.
Petitions never go anywhere but it's a good sampling of who feels what about what subject and I think calibrates other political actors as time goes on.
So, what do you propose? You come into the comments with a lot of hate today and not much in the way of constructive ideas.
Thank you.
The same group of people who called any one asking for more from NU during the zoning negotiations nimbys. How many times we heard “this will create generational wealth for people in the 5th ward” and were told we should stand down and if not be accused of being racist as if it wasn’t all in the interest of a very white billionaire who also happens to be a massive Trump supporter. Now they have the idea, what if we asked for money from NU which was what we were doing all along. We had the perfect opportunity and mayor biss, Reid, Niusama and Harris got absolutely taken to the cleaners. Worst negotiators ever.
Is her home on Potawatomi land?
So the parcel of land that is the Harley Clark Mansion was originally settled by the Pottawatomie tribe. Just that little parcel of land and not the land where all of our houses stand I find that hard to believe that that small parcel is what should be repatriated. What about the houses on Isabella , Thayer, McDaniel, Harrison , Ridgeway , Lawndale etc etc etc etc.etc.
I mean, did you even read my story? There are plenty of reasons for that, which I documented in the article.
Of course I read it but we are ALL living on land the various tribes once laid claim to