If rebranding Evanston includes developing and implementing significant strategic redirection, then it is a positive, much-overdue step. If, however, rebranding Evanston means coining an apt tagline - like 'Come to Evanston. It's REAL QUIET here . . . and getting quieter by the day' - then the city can skip the campaign and save money, because the word on Evanston is already out.
The best bet on this is to watch the Obamas' vegetable garden harvest and hope--or lobby--for some of it to make its way into the DC schools' lunch program this spring and fall. Maybe the USDA (with help from the new administration!) will then get the right idea and reduce its subsidizing of all that highly processed stuff AKA food. But D65 has little control over what it serves for lunch, as it needs those federal dollars. Change in the national school lunch program has to come down from the top. So offer your kids a nutritious breakfast, dinner and after school snack, and just consider the hot lunch "dessert". Or send them to school with a lunch from home.
Again, according to the information at the D65 meeting; Federal NSLP Reimbursement Rates -
FREE = $2.59, REDUCED = $2.19, PAID = $0.26: your tax dollars at work. Frankly, our experience with education at our home school has been exemplary - it's this food that is wasting our taxes.
Get tire locks for your SUV spare tires. You can buy them from your dealer or go to Home Depot and make your own with cable and a lock. This is not a new crime, it's been going on for decades(not just south Evanston). Also, use some common sense! Your spare tire is sitting our there unsecured!
Teach your kids to pack their lunch. Cheese, crackers, an apple or carrot, and a pretzel. Nothing simpler. Problem solved. They don't have time to eat more than that anyway. Fighting d65 on this has been and will continue to be a losing battle. Use that fight energy on curriculum.
I can't hold my breath much longer as I wait for the public apology. Again, I find it completely unacceptable that a public official would openly criticize a citizen. I suspect that if Junad, or any other citizen for that matter, said ann rainey was 'loosing it' in an open meeting at city council they would be asked to leave. I see double standards. Still waiting...........
The point about group composition and the validity of results of any evaluation of the ACC is accurate under most evaluation standards. Yet, high attrition out of the program is a powerful result itself. Is the attrition rate for ACC as great as it is for TWI programs or in and out of D65 schools? A careful evaluation would present such data.
Beyond that, however, in D65 there was no random assignment of a pool of children who wanted to get into the ACC program into treatment and control conditions in order to control for selection bias--children opting into a program having special qualities regardless of the program that may influence "results." There simply was not enough interest in the program to do that kind of careful study. What if caregivers of children with very complex learning issues disproportionately opted into the program or caregivers of highly motivated children opted into the program? As it stands, there is no reliable way of evaluating ACC.
But I don't think that matters at all to ACC promoters. In fact, I bet even if the program shows *worse* academic outcomes, the ACC champions will argue for continuation of the program into middle school, asserting that the children were not in the program long enough for an effect. These are the same people who ignored the longitudinal data in one school that had used the program, I believe a CPS school--initial gains disappeared by fifth grade.
This is not about the kids or achievement. It is about the continued window dressing that passes for doing "something" rather than doing anything structural and substantial for lower income kids.
O'Connor says:
"Finally, her comes Ald. Rainey to throw Junad off her website. Well, strike 3 and the 1st amendment is out."
What does the Constitution actually say?
Amendment I
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
So it says "Congress shall make no law" (These prohibitions are extended to state and local governments by Amendment XIV- until Scalia repeals it.) It doesn't limit what an elected official can do without government resources, on her own time. It doesn't say "Ann Rainey must provide yet another forum for Junad to repeat the unsubstantiated nonsense that he spouts on the CSNA website and Evanston Now and in Council meetings."
This is not a 1st Amendment issue. No government power involved here. Nobody is making any law abridging or prohibiting or establishing anything. Move on folks, there's nothing to see.
Wow, as a good friend of mine who always prefaces his wild stories with the phrase: " You can't make this stuff up!. First, we had Tisdahl upset that anyone would question her about a "conflict of interest" regarding her poor judgement in accepting the firefighters endorsement and another candidate question her over 47k in campaign donations to politicians that affect Evanston at the LWVE mayoral forum. Secondly, we have Ald. Tisdahl's close friend and secret anointee to be the 7th ward replacement for Ald. Tisdahl, Jane Grover try to gut the 1st amendment at the 7th ward LWVE aldermanic forum. Ms. Grover attempted to not allow Mr. Zbesko or myself to comment on her poor judgement in accepting the unions' endorsement herself. Please note that I was not interviewed by the union nor has Jane blacked out the union's endorsement from her flyers.
Finally, her comes Ald. Rainey to throw Junad off her website. Well, strike 3 and the 1st amendment is out. Why are so many Evanston Machine elected officials and secretly endorsed so thin skinned? Are some questions too honest for those with something to hide? Shame on them! Give em the boot!
Kevin OConnor
7th ward aldermanic candidate
www.rebootev.com
Who - as you state " and my millions of loyal readers in Evanston and throughout the world - will go elsewhere." why don't you have a web site , Who?
If you believe you have millions of readers?
Who - if you read Ann site - you may recall my posts versus calling them spam. They are guestions about the operation of city government! ( which she happens to be an elected official )
"However, one 'real-name' poster [Junad] has abused this privilege by putting obnoxious SPAM on Rainey's board, so she has found it necessary to revoke his ability to post freely."
Ann does not wish to answer my questions. Bottomline like you she wish to avoid the guestions. She has blocked me from her site now. which I am Ok with - since she only wants her 8th ward supporters to keep on listening to information which she tells them, which at times is not entirely factual.
( even youre inquring mind might understand that! )
Again I ask you the question:
Do you think it is Ok to spend $37,000 on a lawsuit when you propose a settlement of $600? ( that is it OK to use taxpayer money )
ms. pappas, like many candidates as well as voters in evanston seem to think we have a chicago-style mayor/council form of government. we don't. how do you all think the mayor will cut spending? the mayor, apart from an occasional veto, has NO say over spending by the council. how will the mayor partner with northwestern? the only effect the mayor could have would be to continue talking to nu and trying to get some kind of rapprochement with them.
unfortunately, the mayor is unable to prevent our taxes from rising, which they will most certainly do given our huge fire/police pension fund deficit.
These guys tried to pulled the same stunt in Libertyville leaving behind a big mess to clean up. In my opinion their motive is not to open a store but just go through the motions. First of all even if they did open a store I doubt they would ever get close to even collecting a million in sales tax. By getting the city to agree with this it only allows them to a chance to impress sucker investors that perhaps somehow they will get a million bucks back every year. My guess is they will continue to come up with wild excuses as to why nothing is getting done. Such as a loan officer drowing.
Even though there have been 3 years of classes, to have any statistical validity, the children in the test group should be the same for all three years. If there is enough transiency among the children, then the results may not be valid statistically.
When the bullets start flying in another area of town, I'm confident that there will be police cars there to handle it.
It's hard to believe that, in an area of town where the bullets do fly, anyone would begrudge having the Evanston and Chicago cops conduct a joint roll call along Howard Street a couple of times a year. Thirty neighbors were participating as well. It tells the gang bangers and drug dealers that the neighbors care and the police are available to intervene.
But please tell me -- it was a Saturday night with below average temperatures, wind and rain. Was there crime going unaddressed in Evanston last night? I didn't read about it in the Tribune or on these pages. My guess: some Northwestern student was relieving himself on some lawn. Should have had five cars responding to that, right?
To answer your question, no -- it's not a bit lopsided when, given the situation, my neighbors are trying to defend their neighborhood from violence and drugs. And yes, even more is needed.
District 65 needs to preparing to provide the results of the Afro-Centric Curriculum program that is based in certain classrooms at Oakton School.
We are concluding the third school year for this program. In the best interests of the children in the program, their families and the District's budget, the District 65 administration needs to present the Board and the public with information on the program's results.
The third graders who began this program as first graders took the statewide standardized tests ("ISAT") earlier this month. The ISAT results should be available before school adjourns in June.
For example, District 65 needs to tell us:
-- How do the results for the third graders in this program compare to the other third graders in the school?
-- How do the results for the third graders in this program compare to the results for third graders at the school two years ago and even last year?
-- How many children began the program in the 2006-2007 school year and how many are still in the program two years later in the 2008-2009 school year? I understand that there has been considerable turnover so that fewer than 60 percent of the students who started in 2006-2007 are still in the program. Why has there been this level of turnover? Does it mean that there is dissatisfaction with the program?
I fear, however, that we will hear very little. An example: District 65 has been unwilling to confirm how many children are in the program at each grade level.
Everyone, including those who supported instituting the program, those who opposed it and those (like me) kept an open mind, should have this information. For the District 65 Board, this information is critical as it must begin to determine whether the program is returning the results that were anticipated.
Did you happen to view your 'Police Services'in action last night on Howard St.? It was another wonderful use of the Evanston and Chicago Police forces. All at the behest of Aldermen. Approximately 25 police cars circling the area with all their lights and sirens activated. I asked one of the officers what this was all about. She said it was supposed to be another 'outdoor roll call' for the neighborhood's benefit. Due to the rain it was changed to a parade of law enforcement vehicles. I took many photos of the display. I was told this drew every available marked police unit from Evanston, leaving a handful of others to serve the remainder of Evanston. Seems a bit lop-sided to me?????
I fully understand that ann rainey has bought and paid for the 'great 8th' website. I also understand that she has complete control over what is posted and what is deleted.
My point is that I find it very discourteous that an elected official would publicy post derogatory statements about a citizen. I realize ann rainey is very vocal but this seems to cross the line. What would we all say if one of our mayoral candidates accused a citizen of 'loosing it'? I don't think anyone would find it acceptable.
Is it accepted because it is Junad, a blogger that some find annoying? Don't we all deserve and expect more from our officials?
Perhaps an equally public apology is in order. How 'bout it Ann?
Junad, I do understand how EvanstonNow works. It is Bill's website, so there are no 'free speech' issues here. He can allow - or disallow - whatever he wants on his site.
There are sites in Evanston which are much more restrictive, such as the Central Street NIMBYs Association page, or the ECRD page. These tend to have people expressing only one point of view on development (against it, of course).
Ann Rainey's site has many points of view on it, but by limiting access to real name posters she limits the number of viewpoints, too. People who don't want to be hassled by the NIMBY activists often just keep quiet. We've seen this with the Tower issue, where a small group of noisy 'real-name' activists have dominated the debate - but when aldermen went out and talked to their constituents, like Mr. Jean-Baptiste said, they found out that most residents don't care one way or another, and some even support the Tower. This was reflected in Bill's 'anonymous' poll.
As you point out, Junad, Bill Smith does review the postings of anonymous writers before they go 'live' on EvanstonNow. It is his site, he has every right to do that. If he chooses to deprive the people of Evanston of the views of Mr. Who Knows, then I - and my millions of loyal readers in Evanston and throughout the world - will go elsewhere.
Ann Rainey has every right to do the same on her site. She could, like Bill Smith, allow 'real-name' posters to go live without review, and that seems to be her general policy. However, one 'real-name' poster [Junad] has abused this privilege by putting obnoxious SPAM on Rainey's board, so she has found it necessary to revoke his ability to post freely.
It seems reasonable to me. The important thing to remember is : they have the right to do what they choose on their websites. It is easy to start a website, Junad. Kevin O'Connor has one. Mimi has one. Jeff Smith has one. Why can't you?
Mr Who - you appear not to understand the policy of "Evanstonnow" claiming it is a free web site.
Bill allows those of us who use OUR real names to post freely. You (Mr.WHO) on the other hand - are having youre comments reviewed before they are posted.
Bill can freely eliminate you from the website just like Ann, so where will you post if Bill removes youre silly posts?
Will Mr Who create the "Whoville Website"?
You seem to like to misrepresent things, claiming you are a Professor at Northwestern and now youre silly talk about "Free Web" sites - remember Bill paids for this site, there is no such thing as a free web site.
By the way Who some people do not wish to post here since they dislike Anonymous posters!
Also Who you still have not answered the question of the orginal blog ( could be you don't understand the question, since Anonymous posters can't have blogs )
That is the city spending $37,000 in legal fees and trying to settle the suit for $600, I suggest you go back to Ann Web site - she now is going to be looking into it!
Mr. Who makes a statement "I think that Alderman Rainey's claim that Junad was 'losing it' was true. Junad's recent postings, where he denigrates the character of Mr. Who Knows, the prominent Professor at Kellogg and internationally acclaimed expert on Net Present Value, are evidence that he truly has 'lost it'."
Mr Who you are no professor at Kellog - cut out the nonsense - you are claiming I am misrepresenting things, you have no credibility in youre silly claims, when you clearly claim to have a position at Northwestern you do not have.
You misrepresentation that you are a Professor, is even more interesting, since you claim all this knowledge of developement and finance. Youre own "crazy theories " on development are all the more interesting and show a lack of knowledge of zoning and planning.
I think you were even smart enough to understand the issues of the PAC and public official here, don't worry youre self too much about corruption that may come in time.
". I am proud that I grew up in Evanston and that my son was a fourth generation to go through Evanston High"
Good for you. That's quite an accomplishment. It's nice to know that while others are willing to move from town to town in search of better employment or educational opportunities or just to experience different things, your family has remained in Evanston for 100 years.
Still..how is it relevant to doing the job of Township Assessor? ( A job which many of us would like to see eliminated anyway )
" I just have a problem with public officials who criticize citizens and accuse them of "loosing it". I would expect more from a public figure."
Remember, it is Ann Rainey's website, not paid for by the City. She doesn't have to let everyone post whatever they want.
As for Junad, he has repeatedly made comments accusing the majority of aldermen of being stupid or corrupt (no specifics, of course, and he never names specific individual aldermen). He made all sorts of unsubstantiated charges of corruption, and promoted various crazy conspiracy theories.
I think that Alderman Rainey's claim that Junad was 'losing it' was true. Junad's recent postings, where he denigrates the character of Mr. Who Knows, the prominent Professor at Kellogg and internationally acclaimed expert on Net Present Value, are evidence that he truly has 'lost it'.
If rebranding Evanston includes developing and implementing significant strategic redirection, then it is a positive, much-overdue step. If, however, rebranding Evanston means coining an apt tagline - like 'Come to Evanston. It's REAL QUIET here . . . and getting quieter by the day' - then the city can skip the campaign and save money, because the word on Evanston is already out.
The best bet on this is to watch the Obamas' vegetable garden harvest and hope--or lobby--for some of it to make its way into the DC schools' lunch program this spring and fall. Maybe the USDA (with help from the new administration!) will then get the right idea and reduce its subsidizing of all that highly processed stuff AKA food. But D65 has little control over what it serves for lunch, as it needs those federal dollars. Change in the national school lunch program has to come down from the top. So offer your kids a nutritious breakfast, dinner and after school snack, and just consider the hot lunch "dessert". Or send them to school with a lunch from home.
Again, according to the information at the D65 meeting; Federal NSLP Reimbursement Rates -
FREE = $2.59, REDUCED = $2.19, PAID = $0.26: your tax dollars at work. Frankly, our experience with education at our home school has been exemplary - it's this food that is wasting our taxes.
Find out more about Brummel Park Neighbors and 75,000 Hours
Get tire locks for your SUV spare tires. You can buy them from your dealer or go to Home Depot and make your own with cable and a lock. This is not a new crime, it's been going on for decades(not just south Evanston). Also, use some common sense! Your spare tire is sitting our there unsecured!
Teach your kids to pack their lunch. Cheese, crackers, an apple or carrot, and a pretzel. Nothing simpler. Problem solved. They don't have time to eat more than that anyway. Fighting d65 on this has been and will continue to be a losing battle. Use that fight energy on curriculum.
I can't hold my breath much longer as I wait for the public apology. Again, I find it completely unacceptable that a public official would openly criticize a citizen. I suspect that if Junad, or any other citizen for that matter, said ann rainey was 'loosing it' in an open meeting at city council they would be asked to leave. I see double standards. Still waiting...........
The point about group composition and the validity of results of any evaluation of the ACC is accurate under most evaluation standards. Yet, high attrition out of the program is a powerful result itself. Is the attrition rate for ACC as great as it is for TWI programs or in and out of D65 schools? A careful evaluation would present such data.
Beyond that, however, in D65 there was no random assignment of a pool of children who wanted to get into the ACC program into treatment and control conditions in order to control for selection bias--children opting into a program having special qualities regardless of the program that may influence "results." There simply was not enough interest in the program to do that kind of careful study. What if caregivers of children with very complex learning issues disproportionately opted into the program or caregivers of highly motivated children opted into the program? As it stands, there is no reliable way of evaluating ACC.
But I don't think that matters at all to ACC promoters. In fact, I bet even if the program shows *worse* academic outcomes, the ACC champions will argue for continuation of the program into middle school, asserting that the children were not in the program long enough for an effect. These are the same people who ignored the longitudinal data in one school that had used the program, I believe a CPS school--initial gains disappeared by fifth grade.
This is not about the kids or achievement. It is about the continued window dressing that passes for doing "something" rather than doing anything structural and substantial for lower income kids.
Marginalize that campaign a little more--that's a great strategy.
O'Connor says:
"Finally, her comes Ald. Rainey to throw Junad off her website. Well, strike 3 and the 1st amendment is out."
What does the Constitution actually say?
Amendment I
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
So it says "Congress shall make no law" (These prohibitions are extended to state and local governments by Amendment XIV- until Scalia repeals it.) It doesn't limit what an elected official can do without government resources, on her own time. It doesn't say "Ann Rainey must provide yet another forum for Junad to repeat the unsubstantiated nonsense that he spouts on the CSNA website and Evanston Now and in Council meetings."
This is not a 1st Amendment issue. No government power involved here. Nobody is making any law abridging or prohibiting or establishing anything. Move on folks, there's nothing to see.
Wow, as a good friend of mine who always prefaces his wild stories with the phrase: " You can't make this stuff up!. First, we had Tisdahl upset that anyone would question her about a "conflict of interest" regarding her poor judgement in accepting the firefighters endorsement and another candidate question her over 47k in campaign donations to politicians that affect Evanston at the LWVE mayoral forum. Secondly, we have Ald. Tisdahl's close friend and secret anointee to be the 7th ward replacement for Ald. Tisdahl, Jane Grover try to gut the 1st amendment at the 7th ward LWVE aldermanic forum. Ms. Grover attempted to not allow Mr. Zbesko or myself to comment on her poor judgement in accepting the unions' endorsement herself. Please note that I was not interviewed by the union nor has Jane blacked out the union's endorsement from her flyers.
Finally, her comes Ald. Rainey to throw Junad off her website. Well, strike 3 and the 1st amendment is out. Why are so many Evanston Machine elected officials and secretly endorsed so thin skinned? Are some questions too honest for those with something to hide? Shame on them! Give em the boot!
Kevin OConnor
7th ward aldermanic candidate
www.rebootev.com
Who - as you state " and my millions of loyal readers in Evanston and throughout the world - will go elsewhere." why don't you have a web site , Who?
If you believe you have millions of readers?
Who - if you read Ann site - you may recall my posts versus calling them spam. They are guestions about the operation of city government! ( which she happens to be an elected official )
"However, one 'real-name' poster [Junad] has abused this privilege by putting obnoxious SPAM on Rainey's board, so she has found it necessary to revoke his ability to post freely."
Ann does not wish to answer my questions. Bottomline like you she wish to avoid the guestions. She has blocked me from her site now. which I am Ok with - since she only wants her 8th ward supporters to keep on listening to information which she tells them, which at times is not entirely factual.
( even youre inquring mind might understand that! )
Again I ask you the question:
Do you think it is Ok to spend $37,000 on a lawsuit when you propose a settlement of $600? ( that is it OK to use taxpayer money )
It would really help if you broke up your posts into paragraphs.
Paul-
Why do you care?
Your inflamatory rhetoric to Junad, which was anything but sincere, only fuels his posts and basically marginalizes you also.
We are still a free country, for now, so let him post what he wants and most importantly, respect his opinions. Don't attack them, and him.
Sounds like a political party I know.
ms. pappas, like many candidates as well as voters in evanston seem to think we have a chicago-style mayor/council form of government. we don't. how do you all think the mayor will cut spending? the mayor, apart from an occasional veto, has NO say over spending by the council. how will the mayor partner with northwestern? the only effect the mayor could have would be to continue talking to nu and trying to get some kind of rapprochement with them.
unfortunately, the mayor is unable to prevent our taxes from rising, which they will most certainly do given our huge fire/police pension fund deficit.
vote for jeanne lindwall for mayor.
These guys tried to pulled the same stunt in Libertyville leaving behind a big mess to clean up. In my opinion their motive is not to open a store but just go through the motions. First of all even if they did open a store I doubt they would ever get close to even collecting a million in sales tax. By getting the city to agree with this it only allows them to a chance to impress sucker investors that perhaps somehow they will get a million bucks back every year. My guess is they will continue to come up with wild excuses as to why nothing is getting done. Such as a loan officer drowing.
Even though there have been 3 years of classes, to have any statistical validity, the children in the test group should be the same for all three years. If there is enough transiency among the children, then the results may not be valid statistically.
When the bullets start flying in another area of town, I'm confident that there will be police cars there to handle it.
It's hard to believe that, in an area of town where the bullets do fly, anyone would begrudge having the Evanston and Chicago cops conduct a joint roll call along Howard Street a couple of times a year. Thirty neighbors were participating as well. It tells the gang bangers and drug dealers that the neighbors care and the police are available to intervene.
But please tell me -- it was a Saturday night with below average temperatures, wind and rain. Was there crime going unaddressed in Evanston last night? I didn't read about it in the Tribune or on these pages. My guess: some Northwestern student was relieving himself on some lawn. Should have had five cars responding to that, right?
To answer your question, no -- it's not a bit lopsided when, given the situation, my neighbors are trying to defend their neighborhood from violence and drugs. And yes, even more is needed.
District 65 needs to preparing to provide the results of the Afro-Centric Curriculum program that is based in certain classrooms at Oakton School.
We are concluding the third school year for this program. In the best interests of the children in the program, their families and the District's budget, the District 65 administration needs to present the Board and the public with information on the program's results.
The third graders who began this program as first graders took the statewide standardized tests ("ISAT") earlier this month. The ISAT results should be available before school adjourns in June.
For example, District 65 needs to tell us:
-- How do the results for the third graders in this program compare to the other third graders in the school?
-- How do the results for the third graders in this program compare to the results for third graders at the school two years ago and even last year?
-- How many children began the program in the 2006-2007 school year and how many are still in the program two years later in the 2008-2009 school year? I understand that there has been considerable turnover so that fewer than 60 percent of the students who started in 2006-2007 are still in the program. Why has there been this level of turnover? Does it mean that there is dissatisfaction with the program?
I fear, however, that we will hear very little. An example: District 65 has been unwilling to confirm how many children are in the program at each grade level.
Everyone, including those who supported instituting the program, those who opposed it and those (like me) kept an open mind, should have this information. For the District 65 Board, this information is critical as it must begin to determine whether the program is returning the results that were anticipated.
Did you happen to view your 'Police Services'in action last night on Howard St.? It was another wonderful use of the Evanston and Chicago Police forces. All at the behest of Aldermen. Approximately 25 police cars circling the area with all their lights and sirens activated. I asked one of the officers what this was all about. She said it was supposed to be another 'outdoor roll call' for the neighborhood's benefit. Due to the rain it was changed to a parade of law enforcement vehicles. I took many photos of the display. I was told this drew every available marked police unit from Evanston, leaving a handful of others to serve the remainder of Evanston. Seems a bit lop-sided to me?????
I fully understand that ann rainey has bought and paid for the 'great 8th' website. I also understand that she has complete control over what is posted and what is deleted.
My point is that I find it very discourteous that an elected official would publicy post derogatory statements about a citizen. I realize ann rainey is very vocal but this seems to cross the line. What would we all say if one of our mayoral candidates accused a citizen of 'loosing it'? I don't think anyone would find it acceptable.
Is it accepted because it is Junad, a blogger that some find annoying? Don't we all deserve and expect more from our officials?
Perhaps an equally public apology is in order. How 'bout it Ann?
Junad, I do understand how EvanstonNow works. It is Bill's website, so there are no 'free speech' issues here. He can allow - or disallow - whatever he wants on his site.
There are sites in Evanston which are much more restrictive, such as the Central Street NIMBYs Association page, or the ECRD page. These tend to have people expressing only one point of view on development (against it, of course).
Ann Rainey's site has many points of view on it, but by limiting access to real name posters she limits the number of viewpoints, too. People who don't want to be hassled by the NIMBY activists often just keep quiet. We've seen this with the Tower issue, where a small group of noisy 'real-name' activists have dominated the debate - but when aldermen went out and talked to their constituents, like Mr. Jean-Baptiste said, they found out that most residents don't care one way or another, and some even support the Tower. This was reflected in Bill's 'anonymous' poll.
As you point out, Junad, Bill Smith does review the postings of anonymous writers before they go 'live' on EvanstonNow. It is his site, he has every right to do that. If he chooses to deprive the people of Evanston of the views of Mr. Who Knows, then I - and my millions of loyal readers in Evanston and throughout the world - will go elsewhere.
Ann Rainey has every right to do the same on her site. She could, like Bill Smith, allow 'real-name' posters to go live without review, and that seems to be her general policy. However, one 'real-name' poster [Junad] has abused this privilege by putting obnoxious SPAM on Rainey's board, so she has found it necessary to revoke his ability to post freely.
It seems reasonable to me. The important thing to remember is : they have the right to do what they choose on their websites. It is easy to start a website, Junad. Kevin O'Connor has one. Mimi has one. Jeff Smith has one. Why can't you?
Mr Who - you appear not to understand the policy of "Evanstonnow" claiming it is a free web site.
Bill allows those of us who use OUR real names to post freely. You (Mr.WHO) on the other hand - are having youre comments reviewed before they are posted.
Bill can freely eliminate you from the website just like Ann, so where will you post if Bill removes youre silly posts?
Will Mr Who create the "Whoville Website"?
You seem to like to misrepresent things, claiming you are a Professor at Northwestern and now youre silly talk about "Free Web" sites - remember Bill paids for this site, there is no such thing as a free web site.
By the way Who some people do not wish to post here since they dislike Anonymous posters!
Also Who you still have not answered the question of the orginal blog ( could be you don't understand the question, since Anonymous posters can't have blogs )
That is the city spending $37,000 in legal fees and trying to settle the suit for $600, I suggest you go back to Ann Web site - she now is going to be looking into it!
Mr. Who makes a statement "I think that Alderman Rainey's claim that Junad was 'losing it' was true. Junad's recent postings, where he denigrates the character of Mr. Who Knows, the prominent Professor at Kellogg and internationally acclaimed expert on Net Present Value, are evidence that he truly has 'lost it'."
Mr Who you are no professor at Kellog - cut out the nonsense - you are claiming I am misrepresenting things, you have no credibility in youre silly claims, when you clearly claim to have a position at Northwestern you do not have.
You misrepresentation that you are a Professor, is even more interesting, since you claim all this knowledge of developement and finance. Youre own "crazy theories " on development are all the more interesting and show a lack of knowledge of zoning and planning.
I think you were even smart enough to understand the issues of the PAC and public official here, don't worry youre self too much about corruption that may come in time.
". I am proud that I grew up in Evanston and that my son was a fourth generation to go through Evanston High"
Good for you. That's quite an accomplishment. It's nice to know that while others are willing to move from town to town in search of better employment or educational opportunities or just to experience different things, your family has remained in Evanston for 100 years.
Still..how is it relevant to doing the job of Township Assessor? ( A job which many of us would like to see eliminated anyway )
" I just have a problem with public officials who criticize citizens and accuse them of "loosing it". I would expect more from a public figure."
Remember, it is Ann Rainey's website, not paid for by the City. She doesn't have to let everyone post whatever they want.
As for Junad, he has repeatedly made comments accusing the majority of aldermen of being stupid or corrupt (no specifics, of course, and he never names specific individual aldermen). He made all sorts of unsubstantiated charges of corruption, and promoted various crazy conspiracy theories.
I think that Alderman Rainey's claim that Junad was 'losing it' was true. Junad's recent postings, where he denigrates the character of Mr. Who Knows, the prominent Professor at Kellogg and internationally acclaimed expert on Net Present Value, are evidence that he truly has 'lost it'.