Skokie Community Forum Aims To Guide Elected Officials, Staff

SKOKIE, IL — Village staff invited residents to a community forum to provide feedback on what they want for the future of the community and how to achieve it. Information provided by attendees will be analyzed by staff and reviewed by trustees, according to an announcement from Village Hall.

The forum is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 10 at the Skokie Police Department at 7300 Niles Center Road. There will be coffee and cookies available, the announcement said. It said information collected at the 2019 community forum will provide an updated guide for elected officials and staff about residents' priorities.

Attendees will take part in facilitated small-group discussions to talk about the programs, services and priorities they think are important for the future of the Skokie community. After discussions, each table will report to the larger group and the responses will be recorded by village staff.

Space is limited and advance registration is required. Residents may sign up by emailing the village manager's office at info@skokie.org or by calling 847-933-8210.

The last village-sponsored community forum in Skokie was five years ago. More than 140 residents took part in the November 2014 forum at Oakton Community College. According to a village report summarizing the forum, attendees were prompted to respond to three questions:

• What are the qualities of our community that you value most?
• What would you like Skokie to be like in 2020?
• What do you need to do and what does the village need to do in order for the idea you have chosen to become a reality?

Some of the priorities identified by attendees at the 2014 forum included expanded bicycle links, sustainability, more green space, transparency around tax increment financing funding, public safety, development in downtown Skokie, better use of underutilized properties, higher housing standards for multi-family homes, flood remediation, integrating communities and making village government better reflect Skokie's diversity, a new village brand, making Skokie known for technology jobs and making the village attractive to young families.

The village's report summarizing the forum identified more than a dozen ways Skokie was already addressing concerns by residents raised at the forum. Staff and the village board continue to focus on the priorities raised at the meeting, according to the announcement of this year's forum.

Village staff cited responses from the more than 2,000 respondents to last summer's triennial National Citizen Survey as evidence of progress. In the 2018 survey, the village exceeded national benchmarks in village services, travel, education, police and garbage collection, according to Marketing and Communications Director Ann Tennes. Skokie was not listed as exceeding national benchmarks when it comes to quality of life, its fire department, being an excellent or good place to live and feeling safe in their neighborhood or downtown, according to the highlights of the survey.

Read more:

• 2014 Community Forum Report
• 2018 Citizen Survey Results