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The Daily Northwestern Wednesday, October 8, 2025

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City proposes 2026 budget Proposal includes 13.7% property tax levy hike By YONG-YU HUANG and NASH PHILLIPS

the daily northwestern @yong_yuhuang / @nashphillips2

Evanston released its 2026 proposed budget with a projected expenditure totalling $403,987,896, including operating transfers out, an anticipated 2.1% increase in spending Monday. The spending increase will amount to $8,499,478 more than the city’s 2025 expenses. The city attributed increased revenues and expenditures from fiscal year 2025 to fiscal year 2026 to bond issuance for “capital improvement projects and related spending,” in the proposal. The city operates at a deficit each year, but this year the deficit dropped by almost $20 million in the proposed budget. FY 2026 will see a 13.7% increase to the city’s portion of the property tax levy, which has been flat for the last five years. The city

previously avoided levies through the use of reserve funds that built up from funding avenues, including one-time permits and federal stimulus funding. The proposed budget projects a $6.5 million increase to the tax levy to support human services programming, pension contributions and recreational parks. According to the city, operating expenses have increased by $2.8 million, but other operating costs have decreased by 2% after excluding City Hall rent payments and the tri-annual tree inoculation program in calculations. The city and Evanston Public Library’s combined portion of the levy is set to increase by 12.9%, following the library’s September vote to recommend raising the library’s share by 10%. The news release also indicated a 25% increase in the Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation in the city, since property taxes had last been raised, suggesting that the changes come at the heels of consistent growth in the cost of living. Starting in FY 2026, the

» See BUDGET, page 9

Illustration by Siri Reddy

Talks of a deal with the Trump administration have slowed, according to The New York Times in September.

Faculty weigh potential Trump deal

Research funding and federal oversight dominate agreement speculation By ASHLEY WEI

daily senior staffer

As Northwestern faculty continue to grapple with the

consequences of the $790 million federal funding freeze, the Trump administration still has yet to publicly announce what concessions would help the University recover this

funding. In July, the University was in active talks with the Trump administration over potential settlements, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Since then, talks have slowed, according to the New York Times in September. NU committed to

» See DEAL, page 9

NU hate crimes, sexual assaults spike Locals bike 4,100 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report reveals campus safety trends By RYAN OTTIGNON

the daily northwestern @ryaninevanston

Northwestern saw spikes in hate crimes and sexual assault reports as well as zero fire reports on its Evanston campus, according to its Annual Security and Fire Safety Report released in a Sept. 25 email. NU has been required to release annual reports disclosing crime statistics on all six of its locations since 1992 under the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act, which requires universities that receive federal funding to publish the data. The University has also disclosed fire safety statistics in similar accordance with the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act. Data collected from more than a decade of the yearly reports reveal a sharp increase in hate crimes, with nine reported cases on the Evanston campus compared to one the previous year. The report cited two thefts, two assaults and one vandalism

Recycle Me

tied to prejudice against national origin. Prior to 2024, no campuses reported any hate crimes characterized by national origin. Communication freshman Yushu Wu, an international student from China, said the sharp rise made him more alert. “How should I position myself as an international student?” he said. “Should I present myself more directly as a foreigner?” Wu added that political tensions between the United States and China influenced his choice to stay vigilant. Another uptick occurred in fondling, the non-consensual touching of a person’s private body parts, on the Evanston campus. Reported cases jumped from two in 2023 to 12 in 2024. Other forms of sexual assault, including rape, did not see an increase in reported cases. Weinberg senior Sahil Desai, director of Sexual Health and Assault Peer Educators, said they were cautious to interpret this rise

miles for cause Campaign served McGaw YMCA Men’s Residence By REGAN HUIZENGA

daily senior staffer @reganmichele215

Ryan Ottignon/The Daily Northwestern

The University Compliance Office, sitting on the fourth floor of 2020 Ridge Ave., released its Annual Security and Fire Safety Report on Sept. 25.

as a simple increase in sexual assaults. “The vast majority of interpersonal violence, so that includes sexual assault and harassment, goes unreported,” Desai said. “Maybe

people were more familiar with the reporting process, more open to reporting and they were more educated about it.”

» See REPORT, page 9

Evanston resident Mark Metz has been doing long-distance bicycle tours for over a decade. But his latest ride has a special purpose. Metz and his wife, Noreen Edwards, set off on 4,100 miles of the TransAmerica Trail in August to raise awareness about the capital campaign to renovate McGaw YMCA Men’s Residence. The couple is about halfway through their journey — Edwards’ first long distance biking trip — and the McGaw YMCA campaign has reached half of its $22.5 million goal. The two chose the TransAmerica Trail for their awareness campaign because it was the longest, Edwards said. They proposed the idea for the trip to the team at McGaw

YMCA because they wanted to raise awareness about issues related to affordable housing in their community, Metz said. Not many community members — even those that are very involved in the city — know about McGaw YMCA’s residency program, he added. Mc Gaw Y M C A w a s founded in 1885 and since the beginning, its primary goal was to serve as a place of residence for men, according to McGaw YMCA President and CEO Monique Parsons. The current Men’s Residence building was built in 1930 and has never been notably renovated. Today, McGaw YMCA is one of the last remaining single room occupancy YMCA facilities in the nation, as other YMCA locations have made the decision to focus on other programs instead. Each branch makes the choice based on the needs of their community, Parsons said. “Because we have served our community for as long as

» See BIKE, page 9