“I look forward to serving the diverse residents of the 8th Ward, and being their tireless advocate—guaranteeing they have a voice as Evanston explores its future, seizes its opportunities, and faces its challenges. To accomplish our goals, we need to build strong partnerships and protect taxpayers from irresponsible budgeting and spending.”
—Matt Rodgers
A commitment to serving constituents
What makes an alderperson stand out is commitment to serving constituents. While calling 311 is often a first step, some issues require more personalized attention. Whether it’s dealing with nuisance properties, navigating city services, or finding the right information, sometimes you need someone who knows the system and can connect you to the right people.
Matt is dedicated to being a visible, accessible presence in the 8th Ward, building connections with and between residents. Through quarterly ward meetings, monthly office hours, and quickly responding to constituent concerns, he will ensure that everyone is heard.
He is committed to advocating for the needs of our neighborhoods at Council and on the various committees where the real work happens. He will be a strong voice for the residents and businesses of the 8th Ward, fighting to bring tax dollars back to our ward to support essential City services and programs.
A vision for the future that protects our character
Evanston is preparing to adopt what will be the most sweeping urban planning changes in a generation with the Envision Evanston 2045 plan. It will lay out the city’s plans for both current and future development. The Comprehensive General Plan will determine the City’s plans for housing, business development, infrastructure, climate resiliency, historic preservation, and the arts for decades to come. The Zoning Ordinance will dictate our built environment and how we execute the Comp Plan.
The current plan is 25 years old, and the zoning rules, while updated frequently, are more than 30 years old. They lack insight into sustainability, affordable housing, and current trends in housing. In order to thrive, Evanston must update its planning documents to address the opportunities and challenges it will face in the next two decades.
It is important to take the steps necessary to ensure that the proposed changes are data-based and will accomplish the goals of the plan—in the 8th Ward and citywide. The community needs to know that the proposed changes will accomplish the goals it outlines.
With Council’s recent direction to postpone the zoning code changes until after the election, Matt’s 18 years of Evanston land use knowledge will be critical in leading thoughtful and deliberate discussion. He will help guide our future development while protecting the character of our many unique neighborhoods.
Housing opportunities that maintain affordability
As a city that cannot expand geographically, Evanston must seek new ways to provide housing that is affordable and meets the needs of seniors, young families, students, and single residents. Matt will strive to expand housing options throughout the City by diversifying Evanston’s housing stock, but also maintaining housing that is affordable. By lessening restrictions in the Zoning Ordinance to permit the possibility for more sensible density throughout the city, we can provide the housing Evanston needs to grow.
One of the areas that is prime for increased density is our downtown core. By fostering thoughtful density that is planned in the heart of Evanston, we can generate a vibrant and thriving downtown where residents can walk to retail and service businesses. We also should continue to encourage development in our transit-oriented districts near CTA and Metra train stations and increase access to public transportation throughout the City.
Especially in the 8th Ward, much of our housing is provided by landlords who do not have the resources to keep up with the ever increasing regulations. Evanston relies on these small businesses to supply housing, and yet continues to place costly regulations on their properties. Matt is exploring a program that would ease restrictions on our small landlords and provide low-interest loans and grants to help them.
Budgeting tax dollars smartly and responsibly
The next Council will be faced with crafting budgets subject to reductions in federal funding and one-time revenue sources, like building permits for Northwestern’s new stadium. On top of those reductions, Evanston has drawn down its General Fund reserves to avoid property tax increases for several years; now those reserves are running low.
The City of Evanston needs to focus on using our tax dollars to fulfill its primary obligation to fund municipal operations. The City’s budget must address the real costs of public health and safety, infrastructure and public works, economic development, and regulation enforcement. We must also commit to fulfilling our police and fire pension obligations.
Much of our infrastructure, especially municipal buildings and parks, needs repairs and maintenance, yet the current City Council has opted to delay addressing our aging infrastructure. While it is impossible to update everything at once in its 2025 budget, there needs to be a long-term plan to catch up on deferred maintenance, which only gets more expensive as it is delayed.
Support for our thriving business districts
Economic development is designed to help retailers, restaurants, businesses, and service providers in Evanston find the best neighborhood to establish their business, expand their presence and connect them to the local merchants' association. When Evanston’s commercial and business districts thrive, we grow our tax base—lessening the tax burden on residents of the city.
We need to expand our tax base by attracting businesses and protecting our taxable properties from being removed from the tax rolls. We also should streamline the process for starting and expanding our business districts and home businesses and support workforce development programs.