The Dec. 11 City Council meeting focused mainly on the City’s budget and motor fuel tax, however much of the public discussions surrounded the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.

During the public comment section of the meeting, 45 residents signed up to speak on the topic. Some residents were particularly vocal, and as Mayor Daniel Biss moved on to the next item in the agenda, they started chanting, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

In response to the protests, Biss called for the chamber to be cleared, and the meeting was adjourned for half an hour while security personnel handled the situation.

The next section of the meeting discussed the push for a local motor fuel tax increase of six cents per gallon. The ordinance was approved in a nine-to-zero vote.

The 2024 budget ordinance was another topic discussed at the meeting. 

Among other motions, Eighth Ward Councilmember Devon Reid moved to transfer $100,000 of the budget from the Mulford Art Project to the One Howard Project. The One Howard Project has the goal of creating a ‘unified corridor plan for Howard Street.’ The motion was approved 8-0.

Reid also moved to increase the refugee resettlement fund from $50,000 to $100,000, but the motion failed.

Councilmembers also discussed an ordinance concerning Evanston’s minimum wage, specifically the fact that hospitals in the area reached out to potentially be exempt from normal rules.

“I do know that one industry reached out which is our hospitals to potentially be removed from this ordinance,” said Reid. “I don’t know if we need to take that step yet.”

The main concern for hospitals is that their employees often alternate between locations, and therefore cities, on a daily basis, making it difficult to determine a set salary.

“Hospital employees in the Chicago area don’t necessarily work day after day in one hospital,” said Seventh Ward Councilmember Eleanor Revelle. 

After much back and forth, the decision was to hold the issue until the next meeting in January.