Evanston, IL

Evanston, Illinois, has long been a deep-blue stronghold, and it’s only gotten more so over the years. The Cook Partisan Voting Index (PVI) of D+19 tells you everything you need to know about the baseline—this city votes about 19 points more Democratic than the national average, and in recent cycles, that margin has only widened. If you’re looking at the political climate here, you’re looking at a place that has shifted steadily leftward, especially since 2020, with local elections often turning on how progressive a candidate is rather than whether they’re a Democrat or Republican. For someone who remembers Evanston in the 1990s or early 2000s, the change is stark—what was once a moderate, pragmatic liberal town has become a laboratory for progressive policy experiments, and that trajectory shows no signs of reversing.

How it compares

To understand Evanston’s political climate, you have to look at its neighbors. Head just a few miles west to Skokie or north to Wilmette, and you’ll find communities that are still reliably Democratic but with a more moderate, fiscally cautious bent. Skokie, for example, has a large Orthodox Jewish population that tends to prioritize local business and public safety over the kind of social-justice initiatives that dominate Evanston’s city council meetings. Go further out to Arlington Heights or Palatine, and you’re in swing territory where tax rates and school board decisions actually get contested. Evanston, by contrast, is surrounded by Chicago to the south and Lake Michigan to the east, so there’s no real conservative counterweight nearby—the closest you’d find is maybe a few pockets in Glenview or Northbrook, but even those are purple at best. The contrast is most visible in how each town handles policing: Evanston has cut its police budget and shifted funds to social services, while Skokie and Wilmette have maintained traditional staffing levels. That’s the kind of real-world difference that makes Evanston feel like an island of hard-left governance in a sea of moderate blue.

What this means for residents

For the average resident, the political climate translates into a lot of government involvement in daily life. Evanston was one of the first cities in the U.S. to create a reparations program for Black residents, funded by a new tax on recreational marijuana sales—a well-intentioned idea that has led to bureaucratic headaches and questions about who qualifies. The city council has also passed strict rent control ordinances, a plastic bag ban, and a “welcoming city” ordinance that limits cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. If you value personal freedom and minimal government overreach, these policies can feel suffocating. Property taxes are among the highest in the state, and they keep climbing to fund new social programs, while the school district has adopted a curriculum that emphasizes critical race theory and gender identity exploration from elementary school onward. For a family that just wants to raise kids without political indoctrination or a small business owner trying to navigate endless new regulations, Evanston is becoming a harder place to justify living in. The long-term trend is toward even more progressive policies—expect a push for a citywide public bank, a Green New Deal-style energy mandate, and possibly a local wealth tax in the next decade.

Culturally, Evanston has always prided itself on being a college town (home to Northwestern University) and a hub for the arts, but that identity has been overtaken by a kind of performative activism. You’ll see more “Black Lives Matter” signs in windows than you will American flags, and the local farmers market has become a venue for political tabling rather than just selling produce. The city’s decision to rename its high school’s mascot from the “Wildkits” to the “Kits” (to avoid any perceived Native American imagery) is a small example of the kind of symbolic politics that dominate local discourse. For a conservative or even a moderate, the social pressure to conform to progressive orthodoxy can be exhausting—it’s not just that you disagree with the policies, it’s that you’re expected to celebrate them. If you’re considering a move here, know that you’ll be paying a premium in taxes and dealing with a government that sees its role as reshaping society, not just providing basic services. It’s a beautiful city with great lakefront access and a strong sense of community, but that community comes with a very specific political price tag.