Editor:

I was in attendance for the Evanston City Council meeting on Tuesday night, Aug. 6, and I want to talk about an issue that I do not believe was properly addressed.

Gina Sundquist addressed the city council and Mayor Kent Williams about a very degrading and unprofessional voicemail left on her phone by city employee Rocco O’Neill. Gina addressed the council and mayor with professionalism and with a thoughtful speech in hopes that her issue would get serious consideration by Evanston’s leadership.

However, what Gina received was the exact opposite. Her issue was not addressed, and in fact, it was totally disregarded. Due to the mayor’s very unprofessional outburst, Gina’s concerns weren’t even addressed. The council members weren’t given a chance to comment, and the meeting ended so abruptly that no one had a chance to counter the mayor’s comments.

I was blown away with Mayor Williams’ comment when he said that even he has made similar comments in the past. I can’t believe he made that comment and basically condoned the hurtful things that Rocco O’Neill said to Gina on the voicemail.

Is this how every Evanston citizen is treated when they bring an issue up to the mayor or other city leaders? Are we mocked and made fun of as soon as we walk out the door, or hang up the phone? How is this allowed to happen?

Here are the questions that I have for the mayor and city council members:

• What has been done to address this issue?

• Is Rocco O’Neill’s position an appointed position or an elected position? If it’s an elected position, when is his term up?

• Has there been an investigation into who else was heard on the voicemail left on Gina’s cellphone?

• Once it is determined who the other individuals are in the voicemail, will they be reprimanded for their behavior?

• What’s the status of getting bids from contractors on getting AC installed in the Machine Shop?

• If you can’t get AC in the Machine Shop, then why is the city charging $750 to rent it out in the summer months? That rental cost should be dramatically lowered if AC is not installed in the Machine Shop!

• What procedures have been put into place to ensure that other citizens are not treated in the same degrading way that Gina Sundquist was treated?

• Will Rocco O’Neill and the other city employees that were heard in the voicemail be forced to take sensitivity and leadership training?

Unlike Gina’s original email to the council members, I expect a response from EVERY council member, and I want to know what is going to be done to address these issues. This issue is not going away, and we are not going away!

I want to sincerely thank those council members who have reached out to Gina thus far, and we look forward to hearing from all of you soon!

Matthew W. Morrow

Evanston