Oldberg Park in Evanston. Photo: Awkwafaba / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
The City of Evanston invited residents and business owners to the Ecology Center on Thursday, June 5, to talk about whether and how to curb the use of disposable plastic shopping bags. The meeting was set for 7 p.m. at 2024 McCormick Blvd.
City staff planned to walk through the provisions of Chicago’s recently passed bag ordinance and collect reactions from the public, with the feedback going to staff and elected officials. Parking was available in the public lot across Bridge Street from the Ecology Center, reached from McCormick Boulevard.
How the issue got here
Evanston has been down this road before. The City Council looked at a bag ban in 2011, held community discussions, and ultimately tabled the idea. What changed in 2014 was Chicago. Its City Council approved a partial ban on April 30, a phased measure aimed at chain stores. The first phase, covering chains of at least 10,000 square feet, was scheduled to begin in August 2015, with smaller chain stores following the next year.
Aldermen took up the topic again at their May 19 meeting. Ald. Jane Grover of the 7th Ward said at that session that she fully supported a ban and saw Chicago’s action as making the case easier for Evanston. A council memorandum opened the public discussion that Thursday’s meeting was meant to continue. The memo is posted on the city’s website at cityofevanston.org/bags.
What the meeting was for
The session was framed as a chance for both sides of the question to be heard. Residents who shop with plastic bags every week, merchants who pay for them and people who favor a ban were all invited, and the city said the feedback would be passed along to staff and aldermen.
Getting more information
Chicago’s measure applies only to chain stores, which is the model the meeting was built around. Residents who wanted more detail but could not attend could call 311, or 847-448-4311 from outside Evanston.
Plastic bag policy had become a live topic across the region that spring. Chicago’s action in April gave Evanston a recent local example to measure any proposal against. The Ecology Center meeting was the first formal chance for the public to weigh in since the council’s May discussion.
Margaret Whitfield is the editor of The Evanston Edge and covers local government, development and neighborhoods.
