Monday, May 10, 2021 | View in browser
Farewell & Thank You!
 Click image to watch video.
Today, my term as Mayor of Evanston will come to an end. This evening, Daniel Biss will be sworn in as our 22nd Mayor, along with the 81st Evanston City Council. I hope you will offer Mayor Biss the support, encouragement, and personal perspective that so many of you generously offered me over the last four years.
Serving as Mayor of one of the best urban ring cities in America has been the honor of a lifetime. It has been the most interesting, fascinating, exasperating, and richest professional experience in my life. And like so many opportunities in life, it came about because a very slim margin of people in power (i.e., 50.47% of voters to be specific) were willing to give me a chance. Thank you!
Now, as many of you know, my entry into the public sector was not an easy one. Initially I wanted to work as a professional staff for the government. Fifty rejections later, it was clear the government thought otherwise. While those public sector jobs likely would not have led to hashtags like #silencethehag, emails with the subject line, "You will NOT get away with this!!!," sent by my former neighbor, or a public statement from my 17-year-old daughter, who joined protesters outside of our home, they also wouldn't have given me the opportunity to help lead Evanston during a strange, difficult, and uncertain time in history.
As seen in this five-minute video produced by our talented City staff, I am so proud of what the 80th City Council and our community as a whole has accomplished over the last four years. While we have had our disagreements — as any community or family does — don’t let anyone convince you that the bad in Evanston outweighs the good, or that this city needs to be rebuilt from the ground up.
Progress inevitably brings with it disagreement. As long as that disagreement is respectful of the facts, devoid of baseless, personal attacks, and contains good, honest, city-first intentions, then it's good for Evanston. When it devolves into ambition, ego, name calling, lying, manipulation, and silencing, then it sets us back from focusing on the most important challenges our City faces.
In Evanston, let’s not let falsehoods replace facts, the overly critical replace critical thinking, or division replace unity. It’s easy to lob cheap political shots, fire off caustic remarks, or bully others, but none of that advances our City, it only hardens the resolve of others. What’s hard but necessary is cultivating relationships, collaborating with others, and understanding their perspective without placing a judgment on them. It's only then that you can change the minds and perspectives of others or alter your own. If we keep this in mind, I’m confident Evanston’s accomplishments in the next chapter will be as noteworthy as those that came before it.
Thank you for hiring me four years ago and for the richest of experiences. All my best to Mayor Daniel Biss, our 81st Evanston City Council, our indefatigable City staff, led by City Manager Erika Storlie, and all of you.
With my deepest respect and gratitude,
 Stephen H. Hagerty
Mayor, City of Evanston
shagerty@cityofevanston.org
Keys to the City
 Photo (clockwise from top left): Jane Grover, Judge Lionel Jean-Baptiste, Friends of the Robert Crown Center, Evanston Own It, and the Evanston Health & Human Services Department
In my final week as Mayor, I was incredibly proud to issue the Key to the City — the highest honor the Mayor can bestow — to two individuals and three organizations whose efforts embody the beautiful spirit of our community:
- Jane Grover
- Judge Lionel Jean-Baptiste
- Friends of the Robert Crown Center
- Evanston Own It
- Evanston Health & Human Services Department
On behalf of the 80th City Council, congratulations and thank you to all of those recognized for your outstanding contributions to Evanston.
A 'Whole-of-Community' Response
 Click image to watch video.
On Thursday, I was joined by members of our Health & Human Services Department, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), and Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) for a “Coronavirus Q&A,” which detailed our City's progress to date as well as the incredible efforts of our local volunteers.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Evanston has embraced a “whole-of-community” response, working hand in hand to meet the needs of our neighbors and to achieve one of the lowest infection rates and highest vaccination rates in the state. This didn’t happen by chance — it happened because we all worked together to coordinate and implement an organized, community-wide response.
My hope is that our city will take this same approach, which has produced such remarkable results, toward our community’s recovery.
The Road to Recovery
 Click image to view draft plan.
Although we are not yet through this pandemic, the light at the end of the tunnel continues to grow brighter and brighter, and our city will soon refocus our efforts from response to recovery.
As we approach this next phase, please take a moment to review the City’s draft Post COVID-19 Action Plan, and submit your comments and ideas to citymanagersoffice@cityofevanston.org by Friday, July 2.
Thank you for helping to rebuild an Evanston that is more vibrant, healthy, sustainable, resilient, equitable, and inclusive.
Highlights of What We Achieved Together
And last but not least, thank you for all that we achieved together.
We saved lives and protected our community during a global pandemic. We also raised $2 million in two months to support our neighbors in need.
We built a nationally recognized, multi-use community center that will serve our community for decades to come.
We took bold steps to repair historic harms caused by racial discrimination, and inspired a national conversation on local reparations.
We hired a capable and proven City Manager.
We reimagined and revitalized Fountain Square.
We rebuilt Sheridan Road.
We renovated the Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center.
We prioritized workforce development and established the Mayor’s Employer Advisory Council (MEAC).
We improved outcomes and opportunities for our youth and developed Alternatives to Arrest.
We provided body-worn cameras to all Evanston Police officers and conducted a review of the department's Use of Force Policy.
We welcomed new events, enhancing quality of life and making our city more vibrant.
We expanded our Good Neighbor partnership with Northwestern University.
We added new water customers and retained old ones.
We approved affordable housing and doubled down on transit-oriented development.
We charted an ambitious path forward to address our growing climate crisis.
Thank you to the many Evanston residents, organizations, and City staff who made these accomplishments and many, many other achievements possible.
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