8th Ward

Evanston officials staged a roadshow event for Sen. Dick Durbin and U.S. Rep Jan Schakowsky this morning, taking them on a tour of the west side neighborhood that's targeted for rehab work under a $18 million grant the city recently received from the federal government.

After touring the home of a local resident who says she can't sell the two-family house she and two siblings inherited from their parents because of how the foreclosure crisis has decimated property values on the block, the politicians talked to reporters about what they hope the program will accomplish.

For the first time in a long time, Evanston has a new gas station this morning.

Evanston police say a delivery driver for a pizza shop was robbed Tuesday night in the 100 block of Callan Avenue.

The driver told police he found no doorbell when he arrived at the building to make a delivery, so he called the customer. Then two men approached from a gangway beside the building and one showed a gun. They fled after taking the delivery man's wallet and cell phone.

Members of Evanston's Parking Committee learned Wednesday night that the city rakes in about $500,000 a year from taxes it collects on parking fees charged at Evanston Hospital.

That led Alderman Colleen Burrus, 9th Ward, to suggest that city officials should talk to executives at St. Francis Hospital about ending its free parking policy so the city could collect the tax on fees people would pay to park there.