2023 was a year of milestones for Evanston. Connections for the Homeless won approval to permanently operate a homeless shelter at the Margarita Inn, while the City Council passed Northwestern University’s Ryan Field rebuild plan and negotiated a benefits package as part of the deal.

Meanwhile, the city completed its first participatory budgeting process, which allocated pandemic relief funds for affordable housing, education support and mental health first aid. Other initiatives that began last year are set to launch in 2024, like a community responder program for low-risk 911 calls.

In December, the RoundTable sat down with Mayor Daniel Biss for an exclusive video interview. Click on the clips below to see what he had to say on all things Evanston.

How would you reflect on 2023, and what are you excited about in 2024?

“First of all, I think it was a good year. … A lot of good things have happened. A lot of work remains ahead.”

How do you feel about the 2024 budget?

“We kind of pulled out all the stops that there are. If there was the need to find another million dollars somewhere, I think we couldn’t have done it without a property tax increase. That’s, to me, a warning sign.”

Is a Civic Center move in the works?

“The choices are move, or do dramatic and expensive renovation. Those are the only responsible options, in my opinion.”

How can we improve and expand affordable housing in Evanston?

“Where possible, the city needs to be aggressive in using city resources, also perhaps city real estate, to develop affordable housing. … The simplest example of additional housing supply is up, so I think we need to be open to height in the downtown area particularly. I want as many affordable units as possible.”

How do we tackle the issue of Black residents leaving Evanston?

“It’s important to acknowledge that part of that is directly a result of affordability. … But I also think it’s a mistake to pretend that it’s exclusively about affordability. It needs to be about civic inclusion, it needs to be about a sense of belonging.”

What role can Evanston play in supporting migrants arriving in the Chicago area?

“I want to help, and I think Evanstonians want to help, so that’s one piece of it. How can we take ownership of some slice of the regional crisis? Because our values and our resources I think make us a natural place to help.”

What’s the vision for increasing activity and programs in public places across town?

“If we want a vibrant and thriving Evanston, we’re going to have to work both as a government, but also in collaboration with private entities, to support cultural activity and just stuff that’s fun and interesting to draw people to the town.”

How do you feel about the Ryan Field decision at this point?

“The answer to the division isn’t to dwell on the disagreement. It’s to disagree in a healthy enough way that then, we can have a relationship that still – even if it was tough, even if it was tense – makes it possible for us to work together on other items where we agree.”

Why did you wait until after voting on Ryan Field to discuss your opinions?

“I didn’t have a position for a long time. … It would have been absurd for me to, in the name of taking a public position, take a public position I didn’t truly believe in just to get somewhere quick. I think that would have been a terrible mistake and a disservice to the community.”

What’s your relationship like with Northwestern President Michael Schill?

“I try to be in touch. We meet periodically, sometimes more formally, sometimes less formally. … It’s really important to me that the relationship go beyond just ‘Hey man, I need this one specific thing right now, so I called you.’”

What do you see the council accomplishing in 2024?

“The work we’re going to do on the Comprehensive Plan and the Zoning Code has the opportunity to be really pathbreaking and really, really important.”

How do you promote healthy engagement and healthy disagreement?

“I think the most important thing I can do is model a different kind of engagement, to radically engage with people who disagree, to try to have productive conversations across disagreement, to do whatever I can as mayor … to set up conversations and structures where people can discuss things productively.”

What gave you joy in 2023?

“We got a lot done. … I am much happier getting to yes. I am much happier trying a thing than just saying no. And we did some big things this year.”

What keeps you up at night?

“I really, really am worried about divisiveness, about people not being able to engage productively across difference. I know this is a real old man thing to say, but I do believe that social media has supercharged a toxicity in our discourse.”

What’s it like being mayor, and do you plan to run again in 2025?

“It’s fundamentally about remembering that the ambition of the community is limitless, and so the responsibility is to really do a lot. … Residents expect you to do it all. That’s why the job is so, so exciting, but you better try to do it all.”