Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
📢 5th Ward, Are You Ready for “A Lot” of Development? Because It’s Coming.
At the July 7 Rules Committee meeting, Councilmember Bobby Burns said this on the record:
“I have A LOT of development in my ward.”
But here’s the real question:
Who is all this development for?
Because when it came time to vote for income-aligned housing that regular working families could actually afford, Burns voted for 0%.
When developers were asked to include any housing that wouldn’t push out longtime residents, he pushed back.
And when asked about using the Northwestern Housing Fund to support the Property Tax & Rent Circuit Breaker - a program designed to help seniors and long-time residents stay in Evanston, Burns made it clear:
👉 He didn’t want it interfering with his strategic housing development plans.
And who enabled all this?
👉 Mayor Daniel Biss.
At the same Rules Committee meeting, Biss rearranged council assignments…again…to make sure his loyalists like Shawn Iles get more seats at the table, while independent voices get drowned out.
That includes expanding committees just to secure the votes he needs to push through his agenda - without real debate and without real accountability.
Let’s be clear:
⚠️ This should never have been framed as a competition.
Supporting long-time residents and welcoming new ones should go hand in hand.
Yes, we support new development and growth.
But don’t forget the people who made Evanston so valuable that developers are now salivating to take over.
Those who built community, who paid in for decades, who stayed when it wasn’t trendy, they deserve just as much vision, protection, and planning as anyone newly arriving.
🛑 Before more projects get rubber-stamped behind closed doors:
đź“© TAKE ACTION:
If you live in the 5th Ward, email Councilmember Bobby Burns or show up to public comment and ask:
“What developments are coming to the 5th Ward? How many? Who are they for? Will they include housing that people who already live here can afford and what percentage? And how are you protecting the people already living here?”
🧾 Ask in writing. Get it on the record.
Because once the concrete is poured, it’s too late to say, “We didn’t know.”
This isn’t personal. This is policy.
And if you don’t ask the questions, you’ll never get the truth.
#5thWardDeservesAnswers
#BobbyBurns #EvanstonDevelopment
#AskBeforeItsTooLate
#NotEitherOr #SupportTheCircuitBreaker
#HousingForWorkingFamilies
#EvanstonResidentsFirst
#TransparencyMatters
#WeBuiltThis
#EvanstonAction
📢 5th Ward, Are You Ready for “A Lot” of Development? Because It’s Coming.
At the July 7 Rules Committee meeting, Councilmember Bobby Burns said this on the record:
“I have A LOT of development in my ward.”
But here’s the real question:
Who is all this development for?
Because when it came time to vote for income-aligned housing that regular working families could actually afford, Burns voted for 0%.
When developers were asked to include any housing that wouldn’t push out longtime residents, he pushed back.
And when asked about using the Northwestern Housing Fund to support the Property Tax & Rent Circuit Breaker - a program designed to help seniors and long-time residents stay in Evanston, Burns made it clear:
👉 He didn’t want it interfering with his strategic housing development plans.
And who enabled all this?
👉 Mayor Daniel Biss.
At the same Rules Committee meeting, Biss rearranged council assignments…again…to make sure his loyalists like Shawn Iles get more seats at the table, while independent voices get drowned out.
That includes expanding committees just to secure the votes he needs to push through his agenda - without real debate and without real accountability.
Let’s be clear:
⚠️ This should never have been framed as a competition.
Supporting long-time residents and welcoming new ones should go hand in hand.
Yes, we support new development and growth.
But don’t forget the people who made Evanston so valuable that developers are now salivating to take over.
Those who built community, who paid in for decades, who stayed when it wasn’t trendy, they deserve just as much vision, protection, and planning as anyone newly arriving.
🛑 Before more projects get rubber-stamped behind closed doors:
đź“© TAKE ACTION:
If you live in the 5th Ward, email Councilmember Bobby Burns or show up to public comment and ask:
“What developments are coming to the 5th Ward? How many? Who are they for? Will they include housing that people who already live here can afford and what percentage? And how are you protecting the people already living here?”
🧾 Ask in writing. Get it on the record.
Because once the concrete is poured, it’s too late to say, “We didn’t know.”
This isn’t personal. This is policy.
And if you don’t ask the questions, you’ll never get the truth.
#5thWardDeservesAnswers
#BobbyBurns #EvanstonDevelopment
#AskBeforeItsTooLate
#NotEitherOr #SupportTheCircuitBreaker
#HousingForWorkingFamilies
#EvanstonResidentsFirst
#TransparencyMatters
#WeBuiltThis
#EvanstonAction
