Week in review: Your Sunday digest of the news

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Evanston Police arrested a 28-year-old Chicago man for the attempted abduction of an Evanston resident on Saturday. The suspect allegedly tried to force the woman into his car shortly before 10 a.m. along University Place, near Sheridan Road and the Weber Arch, police said. She flagged down an officer and police took the suspect into custody after a “low speed chase” down Chicago Avenue, an EPD release said.

Ahead of tomorrow’s City Council vote on whether to approve the Margarita Inn as a permanent homeless shelter, neighbors of the inn have filed ethics complaints with the city arguing that Council Members Eleanor Revelle and Devon Reid (above) have conflicts of interest and should have recused themselves from an earlier vote introducing the zoning request to the council agenda. Revelle and Reid both addressed the matter before their May 8 votes.

Northwestern’s Dillo Day was yesterday, and earlier in the week the university hosted a virtual meeting to inform neighbors about the lakefill music fest and other upcoming events, including graduation and the inauguration of new president Michael Schill. NU neighborhood relations liaison Dave Davis said staffers will be walking neighborhoods near campus today looking for trash and any other problems.

Meanwhile, Northwestern has submitted its Ryan Field planned development application, along with zoning application revisions. NU still seeks 10 concerts a year, but its new filing would end weekend and holiday events earlier than first proposed. It said it will enter into a memorandum of understanding with the city “to address operational issues that are outside of the purview of zoning.”

North Evanston residents gathered for the Central Street Neighbors Association’s annual meeting on Wednesday, and speakers (above, Kitty Kurth and Jeff Smith) talked tactics in the group’s fight against the zoning changes sought by Northwestern for its Ryan Field redevelopment.

Guest essay: Sonia and Aaron Cohen accuse Northwestern of “giving the lie to its own environmental claims,” and argue that the university’s stadium proposal “is a recipe for substantially increasing Evanston’s carbon footprint.”

District 65 has postponed community meetings about the Student Assignment Plan that shifts school attendance areas as part of the opening of a Fifth Ward school. In the image above, the colors show current attendance boundaries while solid black lines indicate proposed new boundaries that would go into effect in 2025.

Olympic gold medalist Cullen Jones surprised 17 young swimmers Tuesday at Goldfish Swim School. Jones promotes water safety, especially for Black and Brown kids, who are statistically more likely to drown than white children. “I empathize so much with the people that have had negative experiences in the water, but we can’t allow that to stop us from being safer in the water, especially when it comes to people of color,” he said.

Evanston native Alexander Rocca moved to Italy fresh out of college, then met and wed a local girl. Now he’s putting down roots, literally. Pandemic furlough days let him pursue a dream: running a vineyard. Neither he nor his wife had any professional winemaking experience, notes the RoundTable’s Nancy McLaughlin.

Evanstonians and freelance writers Abby Dan (above left) and Betsy Haberl each shopped with their kids at Booked, 506 Main St. They met last summer when they both began working at the independent bookstore. Now they’re the new owners. “I know they will run the store with all the same joy it has always held and add their own twist as well,” previous owner Rachel Round said in a statement.

The city’s Housing and Community Development Committee is backing a number of major changes to the landlord-tenant ordinance that are high on tenant wish lists, including using screening tools other than credit reports and banning hidden fees. The panel is reviewing the ordinance in response to studies indicating rents in Evanston are up 17% from 2022 and evictions are reaching pre-pandemic levels.