text: Alderman Lionel Jean-Baptiste, 2nd Ward, said he would also include fostering the development of minority-owned and Evanston-based businesses. Water sales – which Mayor Tisdahl supported as a means of revenue generation – also went into the “economic development” column. Alderman Coleen Burrus, 9th Ward, said she agreed that the City should seek additional revenue from water sales. “Water is the new oil,” she added.
  Nearly all the Council members voted to establish, in Mr. Bobkiewicz’s terms, “a government-affairs agenda for priority issues of the City in Springfield, Washington and among regional agencies such as the RTA, CTA and Metra.” Adopting this as a goal, he said, is a bigger issue than just hiring a lobbyist – something that has been brought up in meetings over the past months. “The issue is bigger … [it is] for all the places we need a place at the table.”