Mayor Tisdahl Attends U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting in D.C.
Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl spent three days last week in Washington, DC to attend the 79th Winter Meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors.
Mayor Tisdahl attended a variety of meetings and functions while at the conference. Highlights included:
• Joined a delegation of Mayors for a meeting with President Obama at the White House. The Mayors stressed the importance of continued funding for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and stressed the need for continued focus by the Obama Administration on issues impacting cities.
• Lunch with United States Senator Richard Durbin. During the lunch, the Mayor thanked Senator Durbin for his continued support of issues important to Evanston and asked for his continued support for the City’s application to open a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) with Chicago-based Erie Family Health Center in Evanston. The Senator pledged his continued support.
• An early morning meeting with U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky. The Mayor and Schakowsky discussed the City’s pending FQHC application and issues related to violent crime in Evanston. The Representative pledged her support on both issues. The Mayor was especially surprised and impressed that when she arrived in Schakowsky’s Capitol office, the only ones there were Schakowsky and her Spanish tutor. Schakowsky has been studying Spanish for years.
• Joined Mayors from around the country in signing the “United States Conference of Mayors Civility Accord.” (PDF)
• Met as a member of the Mayor’s Coalition Against Illegal Guns. The group endorsed HR 308, a measure that would limit the number of bullets a gun magazine can hold to ten.
• Met as a member of the Mayor’s Water Council. She discussed the issue chromium levels in water with the EPA’s Deputy Assistant Administrator for Water Quality Issues and was assured that no changes in EPA regulations on the subject were planned for the near term.