Chicago Public Schools career-office director Rita Raichoudhuri and CEO Janice Jackson present the report at Wells High School, 936 N. Ashland Ave. A Chicago Public Schools study suggests that more than elsewhere in the district, families here reject local schools for top-tier alternatives nearby. The Mid-North Side region has lost 13% of its student population in four years, according to a Nov. 15 presentation by Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson at Wells High School, 936 N. Ashland Ave. High schools are half-full; 58% of high school students travel outside the region, and only 16% attend their designated neighborhood school. Turnarounds are a challenge when more families are leaving the city than are moving in, Jackson admitted. Combined with birth-rate trends, she expects Miami-Dade County to overtake Chicago as the third-largest public school district. With state funding still tenuous, Jackson says long-term capital plans will require a stronger fiscal footing.

Ald. Proco Joe Moreno fields questions from EVA members. East Village Association membership meeting Nov. 5, 2018, Roots Pizza, 1924 W. Chicago Ave. Presiding: Michael VanDam, president New ballfields at Clemente and Wells high schools will raise their profile as competitive to limited enrollment schools, 1st Ward Ald. Proco Joe Moreno suggested in a question-and-answer session with EVA members Nov. 5. "I know you gotta crack a few eggs to make an omelet," Moreno said, "but it took too long." Moreno advocated legal marijuana, a casino and video gaming as ways to raise city revenues. Here are more notes from his hourlong talk:

More than 50 people attended the Oct. 1 Happy Village vote. A recurring issue surfaced again in the recent Happy Village debate: EVA membership votes require EVA membership. What's wrong with that? In the case of Happy Village zoning, not all neighbors at the Oct. 1 vote were members. That shouldn't be an issue— membership is cheap —but for a twist in EVA bylaws : Voters must have three months' membership in the group. This requirement was added in 2011 after a contentious zoning vote . The concern was that visitors with an interest in the outcome would join just to tip the balance.