Mayor Biss on the Trump administration and Evanston’s future

The Round Table sat down for coffee – or in this case, tea – with Mayor Daniel Biss to discuss the results of the November 5th election and what may be in store for the upcoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump.

He touched on many topics during the interview, but his commitment to protecting all Evanston residents was clear.

Biss admitted early in the interview that what’s to come is still somewhat unknown. He sees a push against the Trumps mass deportation planswhich the president-elect had alluded to during debates that occurred early in the administration.

Beyond that, though, “I don’t think we know,” Biss said. “I don’t think we should pretend to know.”

But he works to be “ready and alive” for what’s to come.

Secure continued federal funding sources

Like many cities, a number of Evanston’s initiatives rely at least to some extent on federal funding. Federally-acquired funds contribute to a number of things, such as the city’s lead service line and pipe replacement efforts, grants from Community Development Block Programhousing affordability tax credits and much more.

“These are all areas that we are concerned about,” Biss said. “This is a place where I think we’re going to have to build very politically diverse municipal coalitions.”

“We’re going to have to join hands with mayors, other state and local leaders from across the country and say ‘this is an issue where we all speak with one voice about the need to work with and not against the federal government,'” said Bite.

Evanston is a member of the United States Conference of Mayors, a nonpartisan organization that has direct contact with the federal government.

During the Biden administration, mayors across the country and outside of political affiliation were invited to the White House. The administration wanted to hear from municipalities.

“The Trump administration may be a little bit different, but they’re still going to have a need to be a little bit responsive to pressures coming from a wide, diverse number of communities across the country,” Biss said.

Resident involvement

Bit of advice for residents who want to do something?

“Work together,” he said. “Get involved in something.”

He recalled how the last time Trump was elected, so many people created new organizations and advocacy groups. This made the collaboration a bit of an obstacle, he thought.

Now there are so many established organizations in place. He advises people to find one they feel aligned with, whether it’s explicitly political or not.

This could be reaching out to your Democratic representative, joining broad groups focused on resistance to the Trump agenda, such as the Evanston chapter of Indivisible, groups working on specific issues such as immigrant rights, environmental protection, LGBTQ advocacy or reproductive freedom, just to name a few.

“We are blessed to have a tight network in the Chicago area of groups doing really great work on all of these issues and more,” Biss said. “Many of these groups need to be particularly well represented in Evanston.”

Evanston Democratic Committeeman Mayor Daniel Biss looks at election results at a Nov. 5 party at the Five & Dime. Credit: Bob Seidenberg

At the municipal level, Biss also took the opportunity to encourage people to bring their voices to the conversation about Envision Evanston 2045.

“There have been a lot of voices at the table, including a lot of people who aren’t used to speaking on city issues,” he said. “But we’re going to want more of that and more non-traditional voices to talk about these key issues.”

Draw comparisons

Biss recalled how the mobilization before this election, when the Democratic Party launched massive groups of volunteers to swing the state of Wisconsin, reminded him of the 2004 election.

“I didn’t imagine the result would be analogous as well, but I think it’s important to remember that as devastating as the election result felt — and it felt devastating,” Biss said. “It also led to something completely different.”

He described how he ultimately believes the results of the 2004 election when incumbent President George W. Bush won the popular vote led to massive Democratic victories in the 2006 midterm elections and to the presidency of Barack Obama.

“I clearly remember a week after the 2004 election feeling as bad as I do now,” he said. “Remembering how quickly things changed gives me a lot of comfort and I would like to share that with the community.”

Biss said that when people “buck up and do the work,” change can happen dramatically quickly.

However, he believes this work could look very different from when Trump was first elected president.

“In an environment where he won the referendum, it’s going to be harder to mask it all as this freak accident,” he said. “I think it’s going to be more central to focus on what’s wrong and to try to stop it or protect people from it than to show a general disapproval. He comes in with a greater sense of legitimacy this time.”

Biss believes this will materialize in fewer demonstrations and protests, and more involvement in organizations and advocacy groups for those potentially threatened under the incoming administration.

“We have to be ready to put our arms around each other and make sure that when someone is attacked, we all work together to defend them,” Biss said.

Protect people, protect rights

“I think there are a lot of people under direct attack,” Biss said. “Whether we’re talking about immigrants — or, I think first, because he’s been so clear, our LGBTQ members and especially trans community members, people of color, women.”

Evanston has worked to provide space and shelter for these groups in the past, and Biss talked about the efforts already made to do so.

The city has had one welcoming regulation since 2017which “discourages unlawful discrimination and strongly supports the equal treatment of all individuals regardless of national origin.”

“If there are steps we can take to further protect immigrants in Evanston, we will be quick to do so,” he said.

The city also quickly passed a resolution committing to reproductive freedom for all people after the Supreme Court ruled on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in 2022, repealing the protections for abortion offered by Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

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Mayor Biss on the Trump administration and Evanston’s future

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