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Wednesday, October 1, 2025

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Research faces uncertainty Faculty navigate federal funding freeze By ASHLEY WEI

the daily northwestern

Nearly six months after the Trump administration froze $790 million in federal funding for Northwestern, faculty continue to confront a new academic research reality amid national changes. An uncertain future remains a paramount concern for researchers as they adapt to funding freezes, hiring halts and staff cuts. On April 8, the same day it froze NU’s funds, the federal government issued around 100 stop-work orders. The freeze primarily targets grants from the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Education and Health and Human Services, which are awarded via federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. As a dark outlook for projects’ futures loomed, NU announced its commitment to financially support research affected by the freeze a week later. But the University couldn’t

stop the bleed without a cost. NU announced they were initiating a faculty and staff hiring freeze on June 10 and eliminating more than 400 staff positions — half of which were vacant at the time — at the end of July. Since then, NU’s research community has adjusted to these developments in order to continue research. Some researchers appreciate University aid, but sacrifices are still made Molecular biosciences Prof. Curt Horvath researches immune responses to virus infections and cancer. The grant that funded his work was affected by the freeze, he said. While Horvath expressed gratitude for the University’s support, especially as it suffers financially from the added costs, he acknowledged that he still has to make adjustments by cutting “nonessential programs,” since NU is unable to fully offset the funding. “We’ve been really lucky that Northwestern University has adopted a policy to help to cover some of those costs, even though it’s incurring a pretty big debt to the University while they try to sort it

» See FUNDS, page 14

Yong-Yu Huang/The Daily Northwestern

Evanston Public Library’s main building needs millions in repairs and renovations.

Public library weighs split with city

Financial considerations and labor protections dominate discussion By YONG-YU HUANG

daily senior staffer @yong_yuhuang

On a quiet Sunday afternoon,

families with strollers and Northwestern students in purple sweatshirts filtered through the doors of Evanston Public Library’s main branch at 1703 Orrington Ave.

From behind the stacks, a debate over EPL spilled into public view. In August, members of AFSCME Local 1891, the city employees’ union that includes library staff, protested against

the library’s potential break from city oversight. As EPL weighs becoming an independent library district,

» See LIBRARY, page 11

NU to fund research through 2025 Council overrides Bienen promises ‘essential funding needs’ to sustain ongoing work By MELODY XU

daily senior staffer @_melodyxu

Interim President Henry Bienen promised the Northwestern community on Tuesday that “essential funding needs” will continue through the end of the year for faculty researchers impacted by the University’s $790 million federal funding freeze in April. A week after the freeze, the University announced its commitment to continuing funding research affected by around 100 stop-work orders until the future of NU’s federal funding became more clear. Throughout this, researchers have been forced to adapt to symptoms of the Trump administration’s decision — a hiring freeze struck in June and more than 400 staff positions eliminated at the end of July. “We continue to urge fiscal responsibility, including the conservative use of funds to help minimize University risk and extend the time that Northwestern can support our

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research community,” Bienen and Peter Barris, Board of Trustees chair, wrote in a statement. According to the statement, NU and its Board of Trustees had been committed for months to sustaining “critical research” despite the federal actions, and they reaffirmed this commitment at the most recent Board meeting. The University will continue its efforts to regain the federal funding that was promised to its investigators, the statement read. NU is “working diligently” to support faculty, postdocs, staff and students who drive its global impact, according to the statement. “These efforts are grounded in core principles we share as an intellectual community: the preservation of academic freedom and the independent operation of our University,” Bienen and Barris wrote. “These values are essential to our ability to pursue truth and address the world’s most complex challenges.” m.xu@dailynorthwestern.com

grocery tax veto 8-0 vote sets 1% tax to take effect Jan. 2026 By RUBY DOWLING

the daily northwestern @rubywright0

Cayla Labgold-Carroll/The Daily Northwestern

Faculty researchers have been forced to adapt to halts in hiring and other symptoms of the Trump administration’s $790 federal funding freeze.

City Council gathered a supermajority Monday evening to override a mayoral veto of the 1% municipal grocery tax. The meeting was the final opportunity to finalize the ordinance before the state’s Oct. 1 deadline for the implementation of local grocery taxes. The council members voted 8-0 in favor of overturning Mayor Daniel Biss’ Sept. 17 decision to veto the ordinance. To override, the council needed a two-thirds majority or six votes. Biss’ veto came after the council already passed the tax with a 5-3 vote Sept 15. Illinois currently has a statewide 1% grocery tax, which will expire at the start of the new year. That state tax currently brings in $2.5 million in

revenue for Evanston. Just like the state tax, SNAP beneficiaries will be exempt from the new local tax. The decision came swiftly and without deliberation. Alds. Clare Kelly (1st) and Matt Rodgers (8th), who voted against the tax in the original 5-3 vote, expressed concern but showed a grudging preference for the ordinance over alternative ways to gather funds. City staff had also proposed raising property taxes as a suitable alternative to the 1% local grocery tax in order to replace the funds the city would bring in annually from the state tax. “My concern at this point is damage control,” Kelly said. The third councilmember who had previously opposed the tax, Ald. Parielle Davis (7th), left the meeting during public comment and was not present for the vote. Ald. Jonathan Nieuwsma (4th) reaffirmed his support for the tax, citing a “nonscientific poll” he conducted, which he said found that two-thirds

» See COUNCIL, page 14