Evanston City Council Meeting 11-9-2026

Evanston City Council meeting, City of Evanston, Illinois, November 9, 2026. The council approved the consent agenda 9–0, including several procurement and capital items: a 12-month lease for studio space at the Noise Cultural Arts Center, replacement of the municipal service center server-room air-conditioning unit, purchase of an electric fleet vehicle, the 2026 traffic-signal improvement agreement with Hometown Electric, a Levy Center trash enclosure contract with Ample Group, and change orders for sewer rehabilitation and replacement of 72 municipal-service-center boiler tubes. The council also approved a Church Street Plaza development amendment 8–1. Separately, it approved single-source artistic-lighting contracts for the Church Street Bridge and for lighting at Kalen Plaza and City Center Plaza; the latter was discussed as part of a broader Kalen Plaza improvement plan estimated at about $245,000. A proposed Class C property-tax incentive for the 921 Pittner Avenue project was approved as a letter of support, with further negotiations—including job covenants—still to come.

The council received and placed on file IDOT Motor Fuel Tax documentation reviews 68 and 69, while staff described documentation, authorization, and procurement-compliance shortcomings and outlined corrective controls. Supplemental MFT resolutions for 2020–2024 general maintenance were tabled 7–2 until the next meeting; staff said these addressed already-incurred expenditures, not new spending. The council unanimously rejected the proposed five-year auditing-services contract with Sikich and directed staff to return with a proposal involving Crow; discussion of adding an independent forensic audit was not resolved in the available transcript. For the 2027 budget, council introduced several tax and levy measures, including a water-rate adjustment and revenue measures estimated by staff to generate about $3.7 million combined, with amendments expected at a later meeting. The CIP discussion included a proposed $547,500 increase for neighborhood traffic calming and debate over participatory budgeting and other capital reductions; no formal CIP vote was taken during the discussion.