Thursday, October 29, 2020 | View in browser
Good evening!
Read below for information about Halloween safety, Election Day voting, COVID-19, outdoor movies, and more.
As a reminder, you can find the latest Evanston-specific COVID-19 updates on the City's website.
Celebrate Halloween safely
Reduce the risk of spreading or contracting COVID-19 this Halloween by celebrating with lower risk activities, such as pumpkin carving, virtual costume parties, holiday decorating, and outdoor movie nights.
What about trick-or-treat? Trick-or-treat hours are Sat., Oct. 31 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. To help your family stay healthy and safe, check out our trick-or-treat guidelines. Participants should wear a face covering over their nose and mouth (costume masks don't count) and stay at least six feet away from those outside of their household.
Guidance for homes: Those accommodating trick-or-treaters are encouraged to place individual goodie bags in a designated location for trick-or-treaters to pick up and go while continuing to social distance. If you don't wish to participate, consider turning off your lights or posting signage.
Let your voice be heard: Vote!
Early voting will continue through Mon., Nov. 2 at the Morton Civic Center, Room G300. Voters should enter at the ground floor entrance adjacent to the parking lot. Face coverings are required.
Mail-in voting drop box: Drop off your mail-in ballot during early voting hours at the secure "drop box" located inside the building on the ground floor.
Election Day voting: Election Day is Tues., Nov. 3. Find your assigned polling place using the Cook County Clerk's Your Voter Information tool. Residents who are not registered to vote may register and cast a ballot on Election Day. Two qualifying forms of ID must be presented.
Keep Calm and Carry Out
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has established COVID-19 resurgence mitigations in suburban Cook County, including suspending indoor dining services. As the weather gets colder, please support our local dining establishments by ordering carry out or delivery.
10-minute parking: To make curbside pickups more convenient, the City will continue to offer 10-minute free parking spaces outside of designated businesses through the end of the year.
Additional fall street cleaning planned
In November and December, the City will conduct additional street cleaning on residential streets to clear leaves and other debris.
What you should know: Street signage will be updated with the additional cleaning dates, and parking restrictions will be enforced. Visit the City's street cleaning web page to view the schedule.
Other helpful information: The City issued a few fall cleanup reminders to keep you up to speed on seasonal services, including food and yard waste pickup, composting options, and more.
One final tip: Please don't blow or rake leaves into the streets. This blocks sewers and causes flooding. Violators are subject to fines.
Coronavirus update
Situation Report
Below, you’ll find the latest COVID-19 data from the City’s Health and Human Services Department. Visit the City’s interactive COVID-19 dashboard (view on mobile) for information and metrics updated daily. You can also view IDPH Restore Illinois indicators for Region 10, which includes Evanston.
Confirmed daily cases increasing
Evanston’s seven-day moving average of confirmed daily cases increased over the last week to 14.71 new cases per day, compared to 12.29 new cases per day for the week prior. Sixteen new cases were reported today in Evanston. To date, Evanston has had 1,437 confirmed cases, and 74 residents have died of illness or complications related to COVID-19.
Coronavirus infections continue to rise statewide. The seven-day average of new cases per 100,000 residents has risen in Evanston (140.19), Chicago (173.39), Skokie (204.15), Cook County (201), and Illinois (267.35).
Testing and hospitalizations
The City’s seven-day moving average test positivity rate increased to 2.7 percent, compared to 2.1 percent for the previous seven days. Although Evanston’s rate is rising, it remains significantly below the State (6.9 percent) and County's (9.1 percent) seven-day test positivity rates. COVID-19 hospital admissions continue to trend upward.
Testing continues to increase month by month in Evanston, with more than 13,000 tests conducted in October. Earlier this week, the City partnered with IDPH to host its second COVID-19 community testing event at ETHS. More than 750 Evanston residents received free COVID-19 tests during the two-day event.
As a reminder, residents can continue to access free testing daily at the State's COVID-19 community-based testing sites, including the nearest Harwood Heights and Arlington Heights locations.
More news and events
Fall back for daylight saving time
It's time to fall back! This Sun., Nov. 1, daylight saving time will end. Don't forget to move your clocks back one hour before going to bed on Saturday. The official time change will take place at 2 a.m. on Sunday.
Outdoor movies: Beetlejuice and Moana
Support Evanston Rotary Clubs with a drive-in showing of Beetlejuice this Fri., Oct. 30 at 2201 Autobarn Pl. Tickets and information.
Then, head out to Twiggs Park on Sat., Nov. 7 at 5 p.m. to enjoy a free showing of Moana. This will be the final movie in the City's 2020 Starlight Movies in the Park series.
Save your pumpkins from the landfill
Rescue your Halloween pumpkins and jack-o’-lanterns from withering on the front porch by dropping them off to be composted at the 5th annual “It's the Great Pumpkin Compost” Collection event on Sat., Nov. 7. Food waste, including plain, clean pumpkins, can also "ride along" in yard waste carts with grass clippings and leaves.
Last chance to appeal your property taxes
Property owners who are concerned about their property taxes can submit an appeal to the Cook County Board of Review through November 12. This is the last opportunity to appeal your assessment in 2020.
Do you have a tow truck?
The City is establishing contracts for emergency snow towing for the 2020-21 winter season.
Get Engaged
Community Calendar
City Receives Generous PPE Donations
A big "thank you" to Ford Motor Company for donating 82,080 surgical masks to the City of Evanston! This generous donation will help us continue to supply nursing homes, health care facilities and our first responders with the necessary masks to help them stay safe and healthy on the job.
The City also recently received a donation of 400 face shields from InstaShield USA for use at the Levy Senior Center.
That’s it for today's e-news. Thanks for reading and happy Halloween!
Sincerely,
The City of Evanston Communications Team
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