A weekly summary of Skokie news sent from the Village right to your inbox.
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Greetings Skokie73.5!
🌞 Up early? Village Hall will open at 7 a.m. on Wednesdays for select services starting this week.
💉 Give blood. Skokie Health and Human Services will host a Community Blood Drive on May 29.
⛳ Hole in one: High-tech mini-golf experience PuttShack will open at Westfield Old Orchard on June 18.
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50th Anniversary: Farmers’ Market Kicks Off June 1!
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Approximately 70 vendors – our largest lineup ever!
- Fun retro events throughout the season, including 70s Day and a Recipe Revival series
- Free children’s activities and Pilates on the Green every week
- More live music, with weekly performances starting at 8 a.m.
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2024 Community-wide Garage Sale. (Photo by Rich Cahan)
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Gettin’ Thrifty: Community-wide Garage Sale, May 30 through June 1
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Looking for great deals on unique items? Mark your calendar for Skokie’s annual Community-wide Garage Sale, May 30 through June 1!
Sell: Participating is free and doesn’t count towards your three allotted garage sales per year. Last year, approximately 300 locations participated! Sign up here.
Shop: Find an interactive map of garage sale locations, hours and anticipated items for sale on the Village’s Garage Sales web page.
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2024 Memorial Day observance ceremony.
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Skokie Observes Memorial Day, May 26
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Please join us for the Village’s Memorial Day observance ceremony on Monday, May 26 at 11 a.m. on the Village Green (between Village Hall and Skokie Public Library).
As a reminder, Village Hall will be closed on May 26. Many Village services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week on the Village website and via Access Skokie.
Refuse, recycling and yard waste collections will occur as follows during the week of May 26:
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- Monday collections move to Tuesday
- Tuesday collections move to Wednesday
- Thursday and Friday collections occur as normal
- Yard waste collection moves to Saturday, May 31
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Traffic Control In Skokie
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At Monday’s Village Board meeting, the Village’s Engineering Division presented an overview of the Village’s approach to traffic control at intersections. Review the key points below or watch the video presentation.
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🛑 Safety at Intersections
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The Village takes a proactive, system-wide approach to maintaining safe and efficient traffic flow throughout Skokie. That approach includes:
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Practicing data-driven decision making. The Village utilizes UrbanSDK software to analyze vehicle speeds system-wide and regularly reviews accident data to guide traffic control upgrades at Skokie intersections.
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Utilizing resident feedback. The Village conducts traffic studies both in response to data trends and resident requests to ensure that all traffic control measures – including stop signs – are implemented based on best practices.
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Why not put a stop sign at every residential intersection? Stop signs are not accepted nationally as a speed control device. Utilizing stop signs where traffic conditions don’t necessitate them can lead to unintended consequences, including:
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- Increased speeding between stop signs
- Higher incidence of rear-end collisions
- Redistribution of traffic onto other side streets
- Increased fuel consumption and emissions
- Decreased driver compliance
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When it comes to traffic control, Village engineers consider a number of factors – including the number of vehicles, vehicle speeds, crash history, sight lines, streetscape features and more – before determining if new measures would be beneficial.
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The Skokie Police Department utilizes vehicle speed and accident data, along with resident feedback, to strategically deploy traffic enforcement units to locations throughout the Village’s more than 1,000 intersections and 176 miles of streets.
The Department also partners with Illinois State Police and other highway partners on targeted traffic enforcement campaigns throughout the year.
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- In April, in addition to its regular traffic enforcement efforts, the Department issued 28 speeding citations, 30 hands-free law violations, 28 seat belt citations, and 63 other citations as part of its Distracted Driving Awareness Month campaign.
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🚗 25 mph Speed Limit for Residential Streets
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Also at Monday’s meeting, the Board discussed and advanced a recommendation to set a Village-wide speed limit of 25 miles per hour for most residential streets in Skokie. The current speed limit is 30 miles per hour unless otherwise posted. Watch the presentation.
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- Vehicle speed data shows that existing traffic on 96 percent of Skokie blocks already falls within the desired 25 miles per hour speed limit range.
- Reducing the speed limit to 25 miles per hour on residential streets would improve speed limit consistency on residential streets and support safer neighborhoods.
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The speed limit recommendation will return to the Board in ordinance form for further discussion and final approval at a future meeting.
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Village Secures Federal Assistance for Skokie Businesses Impacted By Water Main Incident
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The Village has received approval for emergency disaster relief through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to assist Skokie businesses that experienced economic losses resulting from the February 14 water main incident.
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Online: Small businesses can apply for financial assistance online. The application filing deadline is February 17, 2026.
In person: The SBA is establishing a temporary Business Recovery Center at Skokie Village Hall, 5127 Oakton St., to provide direct assistance and guidance with completing applications.
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- The Business Recovery Center will be open May 21 through June 5.
- Center hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Note: The Center will open at 10 a.m. on May 21 and close at 3 p.m. on June 5, and will be closed on May 26.)
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Walk-ins welcome. Businesses may also schedule an appointment in advance starting May 21.
Additional support: Contact the SBA disaster assistance customer service center at disastercustomerservice@sba.gov or 1-800-659-2955.
Although residential properties are not eligible for disaster relief related to this incident through the SBA loan program, the Village continues to work directly with impacted residents to support them.
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Village Board Briefs: May 19, 2025
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At Monday night’s Village Board meeting:
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Barbara Mangler was appointed as corporation counsel on an interim basis
- Proclamations were issued in recognition of Jewish American Heritage Month; Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders Awareness Month; and the Skokie Farmers’ Market’s 50th Anniversary
- Two Skokie Police officers were sworn in, including Officer Daisy Rojas and Officer Kenneth Tate, Jr.
- The Village’s Engineering Division provided presentations on the Village’s approach to traffic control and a recommendation to implement a 25 miles per hour speed limit on most residential streets in Skokie
- The Board approved expansion of the number of permitted Class E2 liquor licenses from 10 to 14 to accommodate new and anticipated restaurants in Downtown Skokie
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The Board authorized the retention of Elrod Friedman, LLP as special counsel for the Village for as-needed legal services
- The first public hearing was held on the Village’s 2025-2026 Community Development Block Grant program, with 17 organizations providing brief presentations on their project requests
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🩺 Health and Human Services |
Environmental Health Officer Lillian LaSanta inspects an alley. (Photo by Rich Cahan.)
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Preventing Rats: 10 Common Factors to Address
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The Village has taken an aggressive approach to address rat activity, and the data shows we’re making progress! Active rat control cases are down by over 50 percent compared to this time last year.
The bottom line: Although we’ve made progress, we need your continued help to reach our goal of a rat-free Skokie. Review these 10 common factors that contribute to rat activity, and see how you can prevent them.
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Summer’s Coming: Combat West Nile Virus
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The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) recently announced the first mosquito pool in Illinois to test positive for West Nile Virus in 2025.
Why it matters: This early detection, which occurred in Rockford, serves as an important reminder to take preventive measures to “fight the bite.”
What you can do: IDPH emphasizes the importance of the Three R's to reduce the risk of mosquito-borne illnesses:
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Reduce: Eliminate standing water in birdbaths, ponds, flowerpots, wading pools, old tires and any other containers where mosquitoes can breed
- Repel: Wear protective clothing and apply EPA-registered insect repellents when outdoors.
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Report: Notify local authorities about stagnant water locations that could serve as mosquito breeding grounds
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Nominate a Skokie Sustainability Superstar!
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Call for Submissions: Tales from the Trails 2025
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Skokie Bike Network is accepting submissions for the 3rd annual Tales from the Trails, a storytelling event celebrating all things bicycle.
Why it matters: Writers, poets and musicians have the chance to perform their work at Sketchbook Brewing Co. on Sunday, July 13 in front of an audience of bike lovers and beer drinkers.
The details:
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Submissions should be bike-related or bike-adjacent stories, poems or songs
- Content must be PG-13 or cleaner
- Deadline: May 27
- Send to: skokiebikenet@gmail.com (Word, PDF, LibreOffice, or similar formats)
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What’s next: Selected works will be performed live at the event.
Support: Tales from the Trails is supported by the Village’s Fine Arts Commission.
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Deputy Chief Denise Franklin, Officer Daisy Rojas, Officer Kenneth Tate, Jr., Chief Jesse Barnes and Deputy Chief John Oakley.
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Welcome, New Skokie Police Officers!
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Welcome to Skokie Police officers Daisy Rojas and Kenneth Tate, Jr., who were sworn in at Monday evening’s Village Board meeting!
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Unless otherwise indicated, all meetings are held at Skokie Village Hall, 5127 Oakton Street.
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Economic Development Commission
May 21, 2025, 8:30AM @ Illinois Science + Tech Park, Conference Room A/B - Public Safety Commission
May 21, 2025, 7 PM @ Skokie Police Station - Zoning Board of Appeals
May 21, 2025, 7:30 PM @ Council Chambers -
Sustainable Environmental Advisory Commission
May 27, 2025, 7 PM @ Conference Room D&E - Skokie Telecommunications and Technology Commission
May 27, 2025, 7PM @ Conference Room A
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5127 Oakton St. | Skokie, IL 60077 US
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