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Council confirms department heads, judges and selects council president by lot

Evanston City Council · January 7, 2026

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Summary

The council confirmed a slate of department heads and municipal judges in a single block and, after a 3–3 tie in nominations, selected the council president by drawing a name from a hat.

The Evanston City Council confirmed a slate of department heads and municipal court appointments and resolved a tied election for council president by chance drawing.

Mayor presented a slate that included Mike Vranish as police chief; Diane Harris as city clerk; Trudy Lim as treasurer; Rocco O'Neil as community development director; Damon Newsom as director of engineering and planning; Gordon Robinson as public works director; Mark Harris as city attorney and city prosecutor; Dean Stout as municipal court judge, and Jeff Phillips as alternate municipal court judge. A motion to consider the slate one-by-one failed, and the council then approved the full slate by voice vote. Several councilors praised staff and expressed appreciation for their service.

For council president, nominations resulted in a 3–3 tie. The council resolved the tie by placing the two nominees’ names in a hat and drawing one at random, a method the body had used in past ties. The drawn name (recorded with variable spellings in the transcript) was declared the new council president and received congratulations from colleagues.

The council also recognized community events and recent volunteer contributions during its comments period, and a public commenter thanked long-serving preservation volunteers.