Skokie Park District Eyes $53 Million Bond Question For November Ballot

SKOKIE, IL — The Skokie Park District is considering whether to place a 20-year, $53 million bond referendum on the Nov. 2026 ballot to fund capital projects at Sports Park East and a former industrial site on Oakton Street along the North Shore Channel.

According to the park district's proposal, the plan would add a new recreation center, field upgrades and other amenities at Sports Park East, while turning the second site into Channelside Park South.

The park district said community input will guide its next steps after public meetings were held earlier this month. The Board of Commissioners is expected to decide in July 2026 whether to place the referendum on the November ballot.

According to the proposal, both sites were identified through community input as priority locations. The district said Skokie Sports Park is one of its most heavily used recreation areas and lacks some amenities residents have requested for year-round use. The site proposed for Channelside Park South is described as a former industrial asphalt property along McCormick Boulevard that is underused and disconnected from the surrounding community.

Both properties are on land leased from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, which the district said allows park development with some limits, including a ban on synthetic turf. The proposal says environmental remediation at Sports Park East was completed in 2015, and reports for environmental remediation Phases I and II at the future Channelside Park South site are complete with no concerns.

At Sports Park East, the park district is considering a recreation center with multi-sport courts, flexible program and rental rooms, golf simulators, a shaded patio, rain garden and expanded parking. Other proposed additions include a new golf practice green, improvements to cricket and soccer or multipurpose fields, relocated batting cages, a playground challenge course, outdoor fitness equipment, a walking and jogging path, and more native plantings.

At Channelside Park South, the proposal includes an ADA-compliant playground, a walking and biking path, a bridge over the channel connecting to Skokie Sports Park and the North Shore Channel Trail, a renovated multipurpose facility, a band shell, event lawn, splash pad, children’s maze, benches, shelter and native prairie plantings.

The district said the estimated annual tax impact would be about $137, or about $11 per month, for a home with a fair market value of $400,000. If voters approve the referendum, the project would likely begin in spring 2027, with an estimated completion 18 to 24 months later.