Jane Grover

At a glance

Background

Grover practiced general litigation at two Chicago law firms, then worked at the Evanston Community Foundation’s Leadership Evanston program; her campaign says she directed it, and the RoundTable describes her as its assistant director. [5][2] She served eight years on the city’s Mental Health Board and six on the Equity and Empowerment Commission. [2] As an alder she led Evanston’s ban on handheld phone use while driving. [6]

Stated priorities

From the campaign’s website or announcement release. Listed, not evaluated.

• “Stabilize City’s Finances” [5]
• “Strengthen City Services” [5]
• “Move Evanston Forward” [5]

Record

Facts from public records, campaign filings and published news reports, each checked against its primary source. Same categories and the same review for every candidate. Listed, not evaluated. Last reviewed Tue Oct 6, 2026.

Campaign finance

• 2008–2010Grover's first campaign committee, Citizens for Jane Grover (ISBE ID 21492), was created Nov. 25, 2008 and filed its final report Jan. 5, 2010.[7]
• 2008–2025Federal Election Commission records list seven contributions from Grover between April 2008 and June 2025 totaling $646.25, counting each contribution routed through ActBlue once and excluding tips to ActBlue; they include $100 to Biss for Congress in the 2026 race for Illinois' 9th Congressional District, on June 24, 2025.[8]
• 2009–2025Illinois State Board of Elections records list five itemized contributions from Grover to other Illinois political committees between November 2009 and January 2025, totaling $800: Quinn/Simon for Illinois ($300), Friends 4 Kerry ($200), Sheila Simon for Illinois ($175) and Friends of Jeff Smith ($125).[9]
• Aug 2026On Aug. 14, 2026, Grover formed the candidate committee Grover for Evanston (ISBE ID 41351), with herself as treasurer and another individual as chair.[10]
• Aug 2026Grover contributed $2,000 to Grover for Evanston in four $500 contributions between Aug. 26 and Sept. 2, 2026.[11]
• Oct 2026Grover for Evanston's first quarterly report, covering Aug. 14 – Sept. 30, 2026 and filed Oct. 6, 2026, listed $16,460 in receipts, $4,734.76 in expenditures and $11,725.24 on hand.[12]
• Oct 2026Of $14,050 in itemized individual contributions that Grover for Evanston reported for Aug. 14 – Sept. 30, 2026, excluding Grover's own, $750 (5.3%) came from Evanston ZIP codes and $13,050 (92.9%) from out-of-state addresses.[12]

Public office

• Apr 2009Grover was elected 7th Ward alderman on April 7, 2009 in a three-candidate race.[13]
• Jan 2010On Jan. 25, 2010, the City Council voted, subject to a final vote at its next meeting, for an ordinance Grover proposed restricting drivers' use of handheld cell phones; the ban took effect March 15, 2010.[14][15]
• Dec 2011The City Council approved the FY2012 budget, which raised the City's portion of the property tax 4.91% and water rates 5%; the RoundTable reported Alds. Fiske, Wilson and Burrus voted no, and Grover, who spoke at the meeting, was not among the no votes.[16]
• Oct 2012Grover moved to grant Northwestern University's appeal of a Preservation Commission denial for its visitors center, and the City Council approved the appeal 6–2.[17]
• May 2013On May 28, 2013, the City Council adopted 5–4 a two-year drone moratorium resolution that Grover brought forward; the Daily Northwestern described the resolution as proposed by the North Shore Coalition for Peace and Justice and as drafted by Grover.[18][19]
• Dec 2015On Dec. 4, 2015, Grover announced her resignation as alderman effective Dec. 31, 2015, to take a position at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning; the Daily Northwestern reported she would begin at CMAP on Dec. 15, 2015.[20][21]
• Jul 2019Minutes of the July 18, 2019 Equity and Empowerment Commission meeting record Grover as the commission's chair; the commission's reparations recommendations went to the City Council on Sept. 9, 2019.[22]

Property and taxes

• Dec 2009Grover and a second owner took title to 2677 Prairie Ave. by a warranty deed executed Dec. 31, 2009, for $600,000.[23]
• 2016–2026U.S. Bank recorded foreclosure lis pendens notices against 2677 Prairie Ave. on March 2, 2016 (case 16 CH 2375) and May 6, 2019 (case 2019 CH 05621), naming Grover and a second owner as defendants; no judicial sale is recorded, a release of the mortgage was recorded Sept. 16, 2026, and the dockets were not reviewed.[24]

Legal and regulatory

• Jan 2020On Jan. 15, 2020, the Evanston Electoral Board voted 2–1 to sustain objections filed by Grover and two other residents that removed the Evanston Voter Initiative question from the March 2020 ballot; the Cook County Circuit Court and the Illinois Appellate Court affirmed the board.[25][26][27]
• Dec 2020On Dec. 10, 2020, facing an objection that her City Clerk nominating petitions lacked enough valid signatures, Grover withdrew her motion to dismiss the objection before the Electoral Board ruled, saying she did not think she would prevail on appeal and did not want to use more public resources on the matter; she did not appear on the 2021 ballot.[28][29]
• Oct 2026As of Oct. 6, 2026, the Illinois ARDC lists Jane Watson Grover, admitted Nov. 9, 1989, as "Not authorized to practice law as attorney is not currently registered with ARDC and has not demonstrated required MCLE compliance – Last Registered Year: 2020," with no public record of discipline; her campaign describes her law practice in the past tense.[30][31]

Statements and conduct

• Jan 2015Asked about police body cameras, Grover told the Daily Northwestern she would weigh their costs against their benefits if the issue came to the council and, noting that the department's racial makeup roughly matched the city's, said, "The Evanston police really do look like the community. We're not Ferguson. That's for sure."[32]
• Oct 2019Planning and Development Committee minutes of Oct. 28, 2019 record Grover, as a resident, speaking in support of Northwestern's proposed text amendment on temporary events in the U2 zoning district.[33]
• Mar 2021On March 2, 2021, an email sent under Grover's name and organized with former Ald. Delores Holmes and others invited community leaders to a meeting on a "counterpoint" to what it called "a small and determined group of residents, organized under several banners (perhaps OPAL, Community Alliance for Better Government, Reclaim Evanston)" ahead of the April 2021 election; the meeting did not take place.[34][35]
• Feb 2023Grover was one of 18 named signers of the open letter launching Field of Opportunities, a group supporting Northwestern's Ryan Field rebuild and concerts.[36]
• Nov 2023At the Nov. 30, 2023 Equity and Empowerment Commission meeting, Grover said the commission's issuing of a draft Gaza ceasefire resolution was a "self-inflicted wound" and that it was "not the role of this commission to venture into geopolitics"; the Daily Northwestern reported all seven commissioners voted to withdraw the resolution as written.[37][38]
• Dec 2023On Dec. 6, 2023, Grover co-signed an Evanston RoundTable letter to the editor with Ann Rainey, former Mayor Stephen Hagerty and one other signer that supported the City Council's Ryan Field rezoning and criticized opponents' legal challenges.[39]
• Jan 2025Grover spoke at the Jan. 8, 2025 Land Use Commission meeting in support of Envision Evanston 2045, saying the plan "should be about the next generations."[40]
• Aug 2026Announcing her campaign on Aug. 14, 2026, Grover said she would resign from her CMAP position if elected mayor.[41]
• Sep 2023The Evanston RoundTable reported that at the Land Use Commission's Sept. 6, 2023 hearing on Northwestern's Ryan Field proposals, Grover spoke as a representative of Field of Opportunities, saying, "What we're suggesting is that you look at this through an equity lens."[42]