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Dallas News •

North Texas Wildlife Center scouts for new facility as it faces shutdown risk

The North Texas Wildlife Center has taken in 2,500 animals so far this year — opossums, cottontail rabbits, birds and other injured or orphaned animals rescued from the wild.

But the nonprofit now has 60 days to find another home, said Rebecca Hamlin, the center’s president, after receiving a city notice on Friday that it may no longer operate from its facility tucked into a residential property in Plano.

“This is not an animal care issue. This is not that the cages are dirty or that we don’t...
Dallas News •

Allen police seize hemp products from Dallas warehouses as Abbott considers total ban

Allen’s smoke shop industry is once again under the spotlight amid a statewide push to ban some hemp products.

Allen police, in partnership with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, raided three Dallas warehouses and several homes for illegal THC products, the police department said in a Tuesday news release.

The city is already dealing with a lawsuit in connection with a string of Allen police raids on smoke shops last year.

Authorities carried out searches at the warehouses for hemp...
Dallas News •

What to know about the ‘No Kings’ protests across the U.S. today

Thousands of Dallas-Fort Worth area residents protested in rallies across North Texas on Saturday as part of a nationwide mobilization against the policies of President Donald Trump’s administration.

The protests coincided with Trump’s birthday and a military parade in Washington to celebrate the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary.

The protests came a week after many took to the streets of Los Angeles to protest the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies. On Monday, several hundred...
Dallas News •

Texas Capitol reopens after arrest connected to threat against lawmakers ahead of protest

The Texas Capitol has reopened after a trooper with the state’s Department of Public Safety arrested a man in connection with a threat, the DPS said in a statement posted on X.

In an email alert sent just before 1 p.m. Saturday to lawmakers and Capitol staffers, DPS said it had identified a threat against lawmakers planning to attend Austin’s “No Kings” protest at the Capitol at 5 p.m. DPS evacuated and closed the Capitol and its grounds at around 1 p.m.

There is no additional active threat fo...
The Daily Northwestern •

Evanston resident Rachel Ruttenberg prioritizes economic justice, policy expertise in state Senate bid

Rachel Ruttenberg (Medill M.S. ’04) wears many hats: attorney, advocate, policy advisor, local party leader, community organizer and more. But when asked why she’s running for public office, she reached — without hesitation — for a personal answer.
“I am the parent of two young girls, and they are growing up in a country where they have fewer rights than I did at their age,” the Evanston resident said. “That is a key driver of why I am in this work. I want to be building and making people’s live...
The Daily Northwestern •

Cook County to offer cash relief to homeowners amid long-term property tax reforms

Cook County will soon distribute $1,000 payments to some homeowners who saw a significant spike in property taxes in the past years, the county announced in April.
The Homeowner Relief Fund — a $15 million slice of the county’s 2025 budget the commissioners approved in October — will finance payments to homeowners whose household income is no more than the area median and whose property tax has increased by 50% in one year since 2021.
The county estimates roughly 110,000 households will be eligi...
The Daily Northwestern •

Three new councilmembers, incumbents sworn in as Evanston’s 82nd City Council

Members of Evanston’s 82nd City Council were inaugurated Monday, beginning a four-year term that is slated to shape key city initiatives like Envision Evanston 2045 and the future home of city operations — issues that emerged as major flashpoints leading up to April 1’s municipal election.
Three newcomers, Alds. Shawn Iles (3rd), Parielle Davis (7th) and Matt Rodgers (8th), now join the reelected Mayor Daniel Biss, City Clerk Stephanie Mendoza and incumbent councilmembers at the dais. 
Reflectin...
The Daily Northwestern •

Councilmembers, community activist propose ‘circuit breaker’ for property tax, rent relief

Evanston could soon begin offering financial assistance to long-term residents under a program City Council is currently considering. 
The proposed Property Tax and Rent Circuit Breaker would subsidize property tax or rent for some longtime residents facing housing burdens, said Ald. Clare Kelly (1st), who referred the proposal to City Council in February.
“Many people are chanting the mantra of ‘build affordable housing’ without expressing equal concern for protecting our long-term residents he...
The Daily Northwestern •

Illinois legislators, advocates rally to shield federal prescription drug discounts

Amid potential cuts to Medicaid funding from Washington, some Illinois lawmakers, advocates and medical practitioners are pushing to protect access to a federal program that discounts prescription drugs in what could be a clash with the nation’s top drug makers.
Legislators in both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly are currently considering a bill that would prohibit pharmaceutical companies from restricting or interfering with drug discounts under what’s known as the 340B Drug Pricing p...
The Daily Northwestern •

Green Homes Pilot completes retrofit, aims for completion by year’s end

Three years since its inception, Evanston’s Green Homes Pilot is moving forward with the first retrofits funded by the program, according to two nonprofits spearheading the effort.
The pilot program is a collaboration between the city and two Chicago-based nonprofits: Elevate and the Center for Neighborhood Technology. It aims to provide free energy, health and safety improvements for up to 50 existing housing units in the 8092 and 8102 census tracts — two tracts that sit mostly in Evanston’s 5t...
The Daily Northwestern •

Bobby Burns has clear lead over Carlis Sutton in 5th Ward race

Ald. Bobby Burns (5th) is leading by 437 votes in Tuesday’s election as of 8:30 p.m., according to preliminary results from the Cook County Clerk’s office.
“I’m incredibly happy about the results,” Burns told The Daily Tuesday evening. “It shows that I’ve put in the work, and people think we are going in the right direction.”
Burns, a political consultant and entrepreneur, grew up in Evanston and now raises three children in the central Evanston ward he has represented since being first elected...
The Daily Northwestern •

In Focus: Colectivo Coffee workers allege toxic workplace environment, lack of accountability under current management

Interviews with seven current and former employees and internal communications obtained by The Daily reveal that the chain has faced a host of mismanagement allegations, including “inappropriate” behavior from the Evanston store manager, a “toxic” workplace culture and a lack of support from upper management.

These allegations contrast with the chain’s public image — Colectivo leaders have called their company “a deeply progressive organization,” and its members have been represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union since 2021.

“(Colectivo) say what they need to say and do certain things on the public scale that look good, that look like they are very pro-workers’ rights,” Ridenour said. “They want to look like a collective for Colectivo, and it’s not at all how they actually run their stores.”
Midstory •

What Safe-State Status Means for Ohio

While the 2024 presidential election is expected to be close nationally, the outcome in Ohio seems to be beyond a doubt. Ohio’s rightward shift over the past decade appears likely to continue, and Donald Trump is set to win the Buckeye State for a third time. “I think everybody generally agrees that Donald Trump is going to win Ohio in 2024 with relative ease, using that populist coalition that he’s built,” Matt Dole, chair of the Licking County Republican Party, said.
Midstory •

How the 2020 Election Changed Ohio’s Political Identity

In 2020, Ohio voted for incumbent President Donald Trump, marking the first time in 56 years that Ohio failed to select the winner of a presidential election. Trump received 3,154,734 votes in Ohio, accounting for 53.3% of all votes cast, while President Joe Biden won 2,679,165 votes — just 45.2%. This marked the first time that any candidate had won over 3 million votes in Ohio and the best result for Republicans in the state in a presidential election since 1988.
Midstory •

How America’s Quintessential Battleground Broke Down

As Ohio goes, so goes the nation. At least, it used to. The Buckeye State — the seventh most populous and 34th in size among the states — has been a longtime focus of politicians, pundits and political scientists alike for a simple but peculiar reason. In each presidential election between 1964 and 2016, the candidate that won Ohio also won the presidency. Ohio’s streak stands as the longest in American history. During this period, Ohio was not only a bellwether, but also the quintessenti...
Midstory •

A New Federal Program Aims to Create the Nation’s Next Silicon Valleys — in the Midwest

When Silicon Valley — the iconic northern California tech cluster home to thousands of companies like Apple, Google and Netflix — started in the 1950s, it had all the right ingredients for innovation and tech-fueled growth: pioneers of the semiconductor, personal computer and internet industries, scholarship and research at area universities, and generous government funding. Now, a new federal program is trying to reproduce this recipe for the 21st century around the country — including in Am...
Midstory •

From ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’ to the ‘Great American Comeback Story’: How a Wisconsin Town Becomes the Focus of Re-Industrializing the Midwest

In 2017, Taiwanese electronic manufacturer Foxconn announced its plan to build a $10-billion, 13,000-people display factory in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin. But the factory never came, and much of the land it claimed remains empty. Now, residents are hoping Microsoft will follow through with building an artificial intelligence data center at the same site.
Midstory •

In the nation’s ‘hottest housing market,’ local programs support first-time homebuyers

When Sam Diller, a manufacturing engineer who came to Toledo about six years ago, decided to purchase his first house, he didn’t expect the process to be difficult. For two months, Diller browsed real estate listing websites regularly. He toured dozens of houses with his real estate agent and made multiple “strong offers” that were turned down, he said. One house had 30 other offers.
The Daily Northwestern •

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Anne Applebaum talks Russo-Ukrainian War, rise of autocracies at Buffett Lecture

More than 200 people filled Lutkin Hall on Wednesday to hear Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and journalist Anne Applebaum discuss the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War and the rise of autocracies globally in an event organized by the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs.
“One of the metaphors that I like to argue against is this idea that we’re entering a new Cold War … You build a wall, and there are autocracies on one side and democracies on the other, and it’s going to be one side fighting the ot...
The Daily Northwestern •

Leveraging grants and local partnerships, Evanston Latinos looks to open community kitchen pilot in June

Growing up, chef Mario Perez said he was always fascinated by the art of cooking. “As long as I can remember — since I’m the baby of the family — I was always attached to my mom and grandma,” Perez said. “Every time they would cook, I will be right next to them still watching what they do.” As Perez grew older, he began cooking with his family, and the passion led him into the culinary business, he said. For the past 15 years, he has moved between different jobs in the industry, including a bri...
The Daily Northwestern •

City Council rejects proposal to consider shorter leases for downtown civic center, sustain 15-year lease

City Council voted 5-3 at a special meeting Thursday to sustain the city’s plan to lease downtown office space for city government operations for 15 years, rejecting a superseding resolution that would direct city staff to explore shorter leases. 
At its Jan. 22 meeting, City Council voted 6-3 to authorize City Manager Luke Stowe to sign a proposed 15-year lease — with an option to opt out after seven years — at 909 Davis St. for about $2.4 million per year. The downtown space will house city of...
The Daily Northwestern •

Downtown lease sparks concerns over cost, transparency amid discussion on Civic Center’s future

Growing up in Evanston in the 1980s, Emilio Vargas remembers the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center as the building at the center of the city. His mother would bring him to art shows, book fairs and other events. Now, as an adult, Vargas said he most recently went to the Civic Center to vote.
The city, however, is poised to leave the Georgian Revival-style building at 2100 Ridge Ave. — the building that has been the heart of Evanston civic life since 1979 — before the end of the year. 
At its Jan....
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