State Pulls Out of Harley Clarke Talks

It turns out the Harley Clarke mansion in Evanston will not be made into offices for the state of Illinois’ Coastal Management Program.

Evanston Now reports that state officials backed out of discussions with the city late Monday night, citing a pair of reasons via a letter delivered by email to City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz.

In the letter, Todd Main - chief of staff for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources - noted that the city’s “desire to retain ownership of the land under the mansion would severely limit the state’s ability to find grant funding to rehab the building” and the inauguration of a new governor next week may mean new leadership for the department.

Following the reading of the letter, Evanston’s Human Services Committee deferred discussion of what to do next with the mansion to next Monday’s full meeting of the City Council.

Read more via Evanston Now