ELMHURST, IL – The city of Elmhurst and Elmhurst University “get along very well” because city and school officials communicate a lot, the mayor said Wednesday.
Because of that good relationship, Mayor Scott Levin said, a committee involving the two entities doesn’t always meet.
This year, two of the committee’s meetings were canceled. The only session so far this year was in May.
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During a meeting Wednesday, Levin said when he was growing up in Evanston, a lot of tension existed between Northwestern University and residents.
One of the reasons was that Northwestern was a major property owner, but did not pay taxes as a nonprofit, he said.
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Another was that in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Northwestern students protested a lot, as happened at campuses across the country.
In Elmhurst, Levin said local university students play a big role in making the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade a success.
He was speaking during a city meeting focused on a long-term downtown plan. The university is seen as part of Elmhurst’s downtown.
Officials were talking about making the rest of downtown a more attractive place for students.
Levin said one of the challenges was that most students commute to the university. According to U.S. News & World Report, 72 percent of the school’s students live off campus.
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