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The Daily Northwestern Wednesday, January 14, 2026

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BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

Illustration by Lily Ogburn

Greenwood Care employees, residents report years of mismanagement at mental health facility By LILY OGBURN

daily senior staffer @lilyogburn

Content warning: This story contains discussion of assault, medical mistreatment and sexual assault. Danielle, a nurse at Greenwood Care, was two hours into an October night shift at the Evanston residential mental health facility when staff discovered a patient

who appeared injured. The patient, who was in the hallway getting water, was covered in bruises, the back of his head actively bleeding. Danielle, who requested to go by a pseudonym due to fear of retaliation from Greenwood Care, said the patient was wearing a brace on his arm, and his nose looked broken. She went to his room, where she found his pillowcase stained with blood. After talking with the resident and consulting

paperwork, Danielle said she discovered that the resident had left the facility earlier in the day and was attacked on the train. He was taken to Saint Francis Hospital, where he was treated, and then transported back to Greenwood Care by emergency medical services around 9:30 p.m. Danielle was stunned. She said she was unsure whether the previous shift’s staff knew about the patient’s injuries or if they had reported them to anyone. Patrick Callahan, the attorney for former

Greenwood Care Executive Director Venis Neal, said in a statement emailed to The Daily that the resident had experienced “roughly six hours of complete neglect.” Danielle said this neglect occurred on the previous shift, which lasted from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. before she clocked in. Danielle said she alerted the director of nursing and worked with other nightshift employees to care for the

» See IN FOCUS, page 6

Hate symbol at The Rock New act reforms parking Students report alleged hate symbol painted over trans student memorial at The Rock

By LEXI NEWSOM

daily senior staffer @ak_newsom

When they first saw the red X painted over the likeness of the transgender flag on The Rock Jan. 6, sixthyear English Ph.D. candidate Smith Yarberry said they “immediately” stopped walking. “Something felt really off, and that visual cue, especially on a memorial for a trans student, just felt like something was wrong up there,” Yarberry said. The X was visible for several days until a small group of students and faculty, including Yarberry, decided to paint over it Thursday. Prior to the red X appearing, the Northwestern landmark had been painted to the likeness of the trans flag in honor of a trans NU student who passed away in May. The red X had chevrons on the lines, and it was surrounded by a white box with a red outline that roughly followed the shape of The Rock. Red words painted on the low wall in front of The Rock read “CHARLES THE BOLD DUKE OF BURGUNDY 10 NOV 1433

Recycle Me

— 5 JAN 1477.” Concerned students and faculty worked together over email chains in the following days to research the markings and allusion to the duke of Burgundy. Others reached out to Student Affairs separately to notify the University about the symbol. They ultimately stumbled upon the Cross of Burgundy, a flag that has a similar chevroned X and is a centuries-old symbol for conservative, traditionalist movements in Spain, Yarberry said. It was adopted by a Spanish pro-fascist group in the 20th century. “It’s one thing to go repaint the entire rock white with a red (symbol) and take away the trans memorial,” Yarberry said. “But to use the trans memorial as the backdrop for a symbol associated with Nazism and fascist ideologies, that is a very political statement.” Yarberry said they first reached out to the University on Jan. 6 to ask about the X. After they connected the dots to the Cross of Burgundy on Jan. 7, they filed a bias and hate report form with NU Student Affairs. Yarberry said they heard nothing from the University until Thursday evening when they received an

» See ROCK, page 11

Statewide parking minimums spark public debate on municipal development By SOPHIE BAKER

daily senior staffer

In 2015, POLITICO Magazine dubbed Evanston “The Suburb That Tried To Kill the Car.” A decade later, a new state law targeting parking minimums has forced the city to confront its development priorities once again. Beginning in June, Illinois’ People Over Parking Act will eliminate parking minimums for new developments within one-half mile of transit hubs — any area near a train station or major bus station — or one-eighth mile of a transit corridor. The law, which targets legislation requiring a minimum number of parking spaces in all new developments, applies even in home-rule municipalities like Evanston, where local governments typically retain broad authority to regulate land use. Due to Evanston’s abundance of public transportation options, the law will affect almost 93% of the city’s land area. Supporters say the reform will encourage public transit use and housing construction by decreasing

the amount of land devoted to underutilized parking spots. Opponents argue it ignores the realities of car ownership and overrides local decision-making in a city already plagued by contentious land use debates. State Sen. Mike Simmons (D-Chicago), a sponsor of the act and a candidate running to represent Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, summarized the motivation behind the reform. “It’s going to really help to preserve public transportation and bring it into the future,” Simmons said. “It’s a scalable approach to addressing climate change as well as meeting the dwindling housing supply. And so I’m proud that we got it done.” But in Evanston, the act’s statewide reach has reignited long-standing debates over who should decide the trajectory of the city’s development. By overriding home rule, the law prevents municipalities from enforcing parking minimums near transit hubs even if local residents support them. Parking reform advocates, however, claim the overriding was necessary to achieve their goals. “For the policy to be effective, it needs to be able

» See PARKING, page 11