Evanston Mayoral Candidates Debate Ahead Of Primary Election

EVANSTON, IL — In the race for mayor of Evanston, two first-time candidates are squaring off against the runner-up in the most recent Democratic Party gubernatorial primary.

If any one of them receives more than 50 percent of the vote in the Feb. 23 primary election, they will win outright thanks to a 1992 referendum. If none of them secure an outright majority, the top two vote-getters will advance to the April 6 consolidated municipal elections.

Former State Sen. Daniel Biss, who came a distant second to Gov. J.B. Pritzker in the 2018 Democratic Party primary, has a commanding lead in fundraising and endorsements over his opponents, Lori Keenan, owner of Smartthinking Public Relations, and Sebastian Nalls, a junior at Purdue University.

The trio recently participated in debates and forums hosted by Evanston Live TV and the League of Women Voters of Evanston. (Videos below.)

Nalls began his campaign in August. Biss revealed his plans to run for mayor in September. In October, Mayor Steve Hagerty announced he would not seek re-election, becoming the first one-term Evanston mayor in 80 years. Keenan declared her candidacy in November.

Four years ago, Hagerty leveraged his sizable personal fortune to vastly outspend the competition, spending nearly $140,000 of his own money, with his firm Hagerty Consulting kicking in another $16,500 in contributions. Former 6th Ward Ald. Mark Tendan forced a runoff in which Hagerty won by fewer than 120 votes.

This year, Biss, who entered the race with about $20,000 of campaign funds left over from his race for governor, has raised about $100,000 more since entering the race for mayor. He had spent about $5,800 of that prior to Jan. 1.

Keenan's campaign committee has reported raising less than $5,000 from at least eight people, spending less than $1,000 of it on mailing and signs.

Nalls' campaign committee has reported $2,775 in contributions, with 90 percent of that coming from his mother, an accountant and the committee's treasurer. Most has been spent on legal fees.

(The campaign finance numbers on file with the Illinois State Board of Elections do not yet include contributions under $1,000 received since Jan. 1 or any 2021 spending figures.)

As for endorsements, Biss has been endorsed by every alderman — except 7th Ward Ald. Eleanor Revelle and 9th Ward Ald. Cicely Fleming — as well the area's representatives on the Cook County Board and in the Illinois General Assembly and the U.S. House of Representatives. He has also picked up endorsements from the Democratic Party of Evanston, the Organization for Positive Action and Leaders, or OPAL, Our Revolution and the Sierra Club.

Keenan's website includes a list of residents who support her candidacy. No list of endorsements was available from the Nalls campaign.

Speaking at recent forums, Biss made the pitch that he is best suited to changing the tone on City Council, which he described as dysfunctional and acrimonious. He said the fact he is endorsed by seven current aldermen, several former aldermen and the city's current and former mayors shows he is capable of leading the council through the "bold, progressive, transformational" change he described as necessary in the coming years.

"I'm running for mayor now because I see this as an incredibly unique moment in municipal government. A chance, first of all, to come out of this COVID pandemic better and stronger and more equitable than before, and to capitalize on the moment we're going through right now, a moment of reckoning around questions of racial justice and police violence, public safety and segregation," Biss said.

"I think we as a community want to do bold things, and I think we're blessed to have a strong field of three candidates, myself and and two other people who I have a lot of respect for and a lot of agreement with," he said. "But I think this community right now is hungry for bold, dramatic action on things that'll be difficult and controversial to accomplish, and I'm the person in this field who has a record of working in government to get things done that other folks thought would be impossible."

Keenan, a local activist who frequently attends City Council meetings and whose PR firm represents several local businesses and nonprofits — regularly touts support for her campaign from merchants and entrepreneurs. She also encouraged voters to consider voting out incumbent aldermen.

"I've been very encouraged that small business owners have reached out to me and said, 'Wow, your message is really ringing true for me, as a small business owner it sounds like you understand what we're up against ... We need to think creatively and think outside of the box and bring some new ideas and fresh blood to council," Keenan said.

"I am proud not to be supported by seven of the nine sitting council members, because I think Evanston, frankly, needs a change. And I think that's what the people of Evanston are begging for," she said. "People don't feel like they are being heard. So what I would start immediately doing, and I think that people trust me in town to have my ears open, I've always built consensus. I've always built collaboration. We've had some successful movements in town, and I feel like a grassroots City Council, you know I would certainly encourage everyone to look at who's challenging incumbents this race, because that's going to be a really important part of how we come out of this."

Nalls, 20, emphasized he is the only Evanston native in the race. (Keenan, 57, has been an Evanston resident for the past 22 years, while Biss, 43, has lived in Evanston for the last 16 years.)

"What sets me apart from the other candidates is I am a product of Evanston. I moved here when I was one year old and I've since then lived here, been a part of various different programs, a product of Evanston Township High School and the community at large," Nalls said. "I think that's exactly what Evanston needs right now, an individual that knows the community inside and out, that's willing to work with people from across the aisle, from different backgrounds, racially, religiously, ethnically and economically. We have many problems that we are facing here in Evanston and I believe that I am the person for the job."

The undergraduate accounting and political science major is also the only candidate to have worked within Evanston city government, where Nalls said he witnessed taxpayer money being wasted in the parks and recreation department.

"When working at the city of Evanston, I did notice that some programs were over-funded, or some salaries did not fit the job that was being offered," he said. "So it's definitely important that we go through in a department-by-department basis and see where money can be saved without destroying any quality of service."

During a recent debate, the candidates' clearest contrast was on the subject of Evanston's groundbreaking reparations program for Black residents.

Last year, city officials began setting aside what amounted to several hundred thousand dollars of recreational marijuana sales tax revenue into a new fund set to be devoted to repairing discrimination by the city carried out between 1919 and 1969. After months of community and committee meetings, the first $400,000 deposited in the planned $10 million fund has been earmarked for grants to assist homeownership. Some Black residents critical of the plan have petitioned for changes, such as direct cash payments to a larger group of people.

Nalls said he found the homeownership assistance program "dumbfounding" and said it was wrong for the city to attach any strings on reparations funding.

"The Black community is saying this reparations program is not enough," Nalls said. "Like so much the city has done for the Black community in the past, it's not enough to meet the needs of those families and those individuals. So it is up to us to go into the community, have those conversations and tailor the program to them."

Keenan said the city could not afford to bungle the rollout of the reparations program. She also expressed suspicions about Biss taking money from real estate developers while discussing investing reparation funding into developments.

"The people who have been done harm should decide where the money is spent, and they should decide what is truly reparations — not the person or the entity that has historically done the harm," Keenan said. "Why would we trust them to say this is how you spend your money? It would be like giving someone a stimulus check and saying you can only spend it for a new car."

Biss expressed concern about whether his two opponents would be capable stewards of the reparations program.

"I think I just heard two candidates essentially say they would go into office and derail this program, and I think that is a recipe for disaster," he said. "I think we need to roll it out carefully and meticulously in an inclusive way while listening to the community. But the notion that we would get this far and then completely pull back and start fresh I think runs a very serious risk of ending up with no reparations program at all."

Watch: Evanston Live TV Feb. 2 Mayoral Debate »

Watch: League of Women Voters of Evanston Jan. 30 Candidate Forum »

Campaign websites:

• Daniel Biss
• Lori Keenan
• Sebastian Nalls