Skokie (; formerly Niles Center) is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the List of counties in Illinois, most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the List of the most populous counties in the United States, second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, C ...

, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 67,824. Skokie lies approximately north of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

's downtown Loop. The name Skokie comes from a

Potawatomi The Potawatomi (), also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, ...

word for 'marsh'. For many years, Skokie promoted itself as "The World's Largest Village". Skokie's streets, like that of many suburbs, are largely a continuation of the Chicago street grid, and the village is served by the

Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of public transport, mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago "L" and List of Chicago Transit Authority bus routes, CTA bu ...

, further cementing its connection to the city. Skokie was originally a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

- Luxembourger farming community, but was later settled by a sizeable

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

population, especially after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. At its peak in the mid-1960s, 58% of the population was

, the largest proportion of any Chicago suburb. Skokie still has many Jewish residents (now about 30% of the population) and over a dozen synagogues. It is home to the

Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash and Ohio rivers to its south. Of the fifty U.S. states, Illinois has the fifth-large ...

, which opened in northwest Skokie in 2009. Skokie has twice received national attention for court cases decided by the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

. In the mid-1970s, it was at the center of '' National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie'', in which a Nazi group, backed by the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...

, invoked the

First Amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

in an attempt to schedule a Nazi rally in Skokie. At the time, Skokie had a significant population of

Holocaust survivors Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universall ...

. Skokie ultimately lost that case, though the rally was never held.

History

Beginnings

In 1888, the community was incorporated as Niles Centre. About 1910, the spelling was

Americanized Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of the American culture and economy on other countries outside the United States, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, technology ...

to "Niles Center". However, the name caused postal confusion with the neighboring village of Niles. A village-renaming campaign began in the 1930s. In a referendum on November 15, 1940, residents chose the Native American name "Skokie" over the name "Devonshire". During the real estate boom of the 1920s, large parcels were subdivided; many two- and three-flat apartment buildings were built, with the "Chicago"-style

bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is typically single or one and a half storey, if a smaller upper storey exists it is frequently set in the roof and Roof window, windows that come out from the roof, and may be surrounded by wide ve ...

a dominant architectural specimen. Large-scale development ended as a result of the Great Crash of 1929 and consequent

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. It was not until the 1940s and the 1950s, when parents of the

baby boom A baby boom is a period marked by a significant increase of births. This demography, demographic phenomenon is usually an ascribed characteristic within the population of a specific nationality, nation or culture. Baby booms are caused by various ...

generation moved their families out of Chicago, that Skokie's housing development began again. Consequently, the village developed commercially, an example being the Old Orchard Shopping Center, currently named Westfield Old Orchard. During the night of November 27–28, 1934, after a gunfight in nearby Barrington that left two

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

agents dead, two accomplices of notorious 25-year-old bank-robber Baby Face Nelson (Lester Gillis) dumped his bullet-riddled body in a ditch along Niles Center Road adjoining the St. Peter Catholic Cemetery, a block north of Oakton Street in the town. The first African-American family to move to Skokie arrived in 1961, and open-housing activists helped to integrate the suburb subsequently.

Name

Historic maps named the Skokie marsh as ''Chewab Skokie'', a probable derivation from ''Kitchi-wap choku'', a

term meaning 'great marsh'. Other Indigenous names include ''skoutay'' or ''scoti'', an Algonquian words for 'fire'. "Skokie Marsh" was used by local botanists, notably Henry Chandler Cowles, as early as 1901. The village name was changed from "Niles Center" to "Skokie" by referendum in 1940. The name change may also have been influenced by James Foster Porter, a Chicago resident, who had explored the "Skoki Valley" in

Banff National Park Banff National Park is Canada, Canada's first National Parks of Canada, national park, established in 1885 as Rocky Mountains Park. Located in Alberta's Rockies, Alberta's Rocky Mountains, west of Calgary, Banff encompasses of mountainous ter ...

in Canada in 1911 and admired the name; Porter supported the name "Skokie" in the referendum.

Supreme Court rulings

Twice in its history, Skokie has been the focal point of cases before the United States Supreme Court. '' National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie'', 432 U.S. 43 (1977), involved a

issue. '' Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers'', 531 U.S. 159 (2001) touched upon the

Commerce Clause The Commerce Clause describes an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution ( Article I, Section 8, Clause 3). The clause states that the United States Congress shall have power "to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and amon ...

''National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie''

In 1977 and 1978, Illinois neo-Nazis of the National Socialist Party of America (NSPA) attempted to hold a march in Skokie, far from their headquarters on Chicago's south side. Originally, the neo-Nazis had planned a political rally in Marquette Park in

. The park is located in what was then a predominantly all-white neighborhood, similar to the situation in 1966, when a crowd of 4,000 Marquette Park residents gathered to watch

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

lead a march, some waving Confederate flags or throwing bottles, bricks and rocks at the protesters; King was knocked to his knees when struck by a rock. However, the Chicago authorities thwarted the NSPA's plans. Seeking another free-speech political venue, the NSPA group chose to march on Skokie. Given the many

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

survivors living in Skokie, the village's government thought the Nazi march would be disruptive, and refused the NSPA permission to hold the event. The NSPA appealed that decision, and the

interceded on their behalf, in '' National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie''. An Illinois appeals court raised the injunction issued by a Cook County Circuit Court judge, ruling that the presence of the

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍, ) is a symbol used in various Eurasian religions and cultures, as well as a few Indigenous peoples of Africa, African and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American cultures. In the Western world, it is widely rec ...

, the Nazi emblem, would constitute deliberate provocation of the people of Skokie. However, the Court also ruled that Skokie's attorneys had failed to prove that either the Nazi uniform or their printed materials, which it was alleged that the Nazis intended to distribute, would incite violence. Moreover, because Chicago subsequently lifted its Marquette Park political demonstration ban, the NSPA ultimately held its rally in Chicago. The attempted Illinois Nazi march on Skokie was dramatized in the television film '' Skokie'' in 1981. It was satirized in the film ''

The Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers (formally, The Fabulous Blues Brothers’ Show Band and Revue) are an American blues and soul music, soul revue band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, who met and began collaborating as original cast ...

'' in 1980.

Migratory bird rule

In 2001, the decision by Skokie and 22 other communities belonging to the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County to use an isolated

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

as a solid waste disposal site resulted in a lawsuit. Ultimately, the case went all the way to the United States Supreme Court, and resulted in an overturn of the federal migratory bird rule.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Skokie has a total area of , all land. The village is bordered by Evanston to the east,

to the southeast and southwest, Lincolnwood to the south, Niles to the southwest, Morton Grove to the west, Glenview to the northwest, and Wilmette to the north. The village's street circulation is a street-grid pattern, with a major east–west thoroughfare every half mile: Old Orchard Road, Golf Road, Church Street, Dempster Street, Main Street, Oakton Street, Howard Street, and Touhy Avenue. The major north–south thoroughfares are Skokie Boulevard, Crawford Avenue, and McCormick Boulevard; the major diagonal streets are Lincoln Avenue, Niles Center Road, East Prairie Road and Gross Point Road. Skokie's north–south streets continue the street names and (house number) grid values of Chicago's north–south streets – with the notable exceptions of Cicero Avenue, which is renamed Skokie Boulevard within Skokie, and Chicago's Pulaski Road retains its original Chicago City name, Crawford Avenue. The east–west streets continue Evanston's street names, but with Chicago grid values, such that Evanston's Dempster Street is 8800 north in Skokie addresses.

Climate

Skokie is in the Hot-summer humid continental climate, or

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

Dfa zone. The zone includes four distinct seasons. Winter is cold with snow. Spring warms up with precipitation and storms, some of which can be severe and include tornadoes. Summer has high precipitation and storms. Fall cools down.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 67,824 people, 22,503 households, and 16,206 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 25,256 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 51.36%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 7.94%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.48% Native American, 27.78% Asian, 0.05%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 4.61% from other races, and 7.78% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 10.59% of the population. There were 22,503 households, out of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.68% were married couples living together, 11.23% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.98% were non-families. 25.48% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.28% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.37 and the average family size was 2.78. The village's age distribution consisted of 23.3% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 22.2% from 25 to 44, 27.6% from 45 to 64, and 20.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.5 males. The median income for a household in the village was $74,725, and the median income for a family was $93,491. Males had a median income of $46,915 versus $37,025 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $37,827. About 7.5% of families and 9.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 12.9% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over. Skokie is approximately 28% Jewish and has over a dozen synagogues. Skokie also contains a sizeable Assyrian population. Some Assyrian American organizations, such as the Assyrian Universal Alliance Foundation, report that Assyrians make up the largest ethnic group in Skokie, with the population estimate being upwards of 20,000. The population of the local high school district, Niles Township High School District 219, is reported to be about 30% Assyrian, making them the largest ethnic group at the school district as well.

Economy

The village's AAA

bond rating In investment, the bond credit rating represents the credit worthiness of corporate or government bond (finance), bonds. The ratings are published by Credit rating agency, credit rating agencies and used by investment professionals to assess the li ...

attests to strong economic health via prudent fiscal management. In 2003, Skokie became the first municipality in the United States to achieve nationally accredited police, fire, and public works departments, and a Class-1 fire department, per the

Insurance Services Office Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO), a subsidiary of Verisk Analytics, is a provider of statistical, actuarial, underwriting, and claims information and analytics; compliance and fraud identification tools; policy language; information abou ...

(ISO) ratings. Likewise, in 2003 ''

Money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are: m ...

'' magazine named Skokie one of the 80 fastest-growing suburbs in the U.S. Besides strong manufacturing and retail commerce bases, Skokie's economy will add

health sciences The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to health sciences: Health sciences – those sciences that focus on health, or health care, as core parts of their subject matter. Health sciences relate to multiple a ...

jobs; in 2003, Forest City Enterprises announced their re-development of the vacant

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered at The Spiral (New York City), The Spiral in Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 184 ...

research laboratories, in downtown Skokie, as the Illinois Science + Technology Park, a campus of research installations— of chemistry, genomics, toxicology laboratories, clean rooms, NMR suites, conference rooms, etc.). In 2006, NorthShore University HealthSystem announced installing their consolidated data center operations at the park, adding 500 jobs to the economy. Map maker

Rand McNally Rand McNally is an American technology and publishing company that provides mapping software and hardware for consumer electronics, commercial transportation, and education markets. The company is headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois with a di ...

is also headquartered in Skokie. More recently, the village has focused heavily on the revitalization of both the downtown and

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

s, incorporating Transit Oriented Development principles in the process.

Top employers

According to the Village's 2018 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the village are:

Notable corporations

* Peapod, online grocer *FelPro, now

Tenneco Tenneco, Inc. (formerly Tenneco Automotive and originally Tennessee Gas Transmission Company) is an American automotive components original equipment manufacturer and an aftermarket ride control and emissions products manufacturer. It is a ''F ...

Mayfair Games Mayfair Games was an American publisher of board game, board, card game, card, and roleplaying games that also licensed German-style board game, Euro-style board games to publish them in English. The company licensed worldwide English-language pub ...

USRobotics U.S. Robotics Corporation, often called USR, is a company that produces USRobotics computer modems and related products. Its initial marketing was aimed at bulletin board systems, where its high-speed HST protocol made FidoNet transfers much fast ...

Bell & Howell Bell and Howell is a United States brand of cameras, lenses, and motion picture machinery. It was originally founded as a company in 1907, and headquartered in Wheeling, Illinois. The company was acquired by Böwe Systec in 2003. Since 2010, the ...

* G.D. Searle, now

Arts and culture

Westfield Old Orchard, an upscale shopping center, is one of the country's first and is the third largest mall by total square footage in Illinois. Skokie-Orchard-Fountain

The Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park is situated along the North Shore Channel between Dempster Street and Touhy Avenue on the east side of McCormick Boulevard. The first sculptures were built in the park in 1988 and it now has over 70 sculptures. Three areas are toured May through October of each year, on the last Sunday of the month with a presentation by a

docent The term "docent" is derived from the Latin word , which is the third-person plural present active indicative of ('to teach, to lecture'). Becoming a docent is often referred to as habilitation or doctor of science and is an academic qualifi ...

. Just north of the sculpture garden is a statue to

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

with five of his famous quotations engraved around the base. This was dedicated on October 2, 2004. In addition to municipally-managed public spaces, the village is also home to the North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, encompassing Centre East, Northlight Theatre and th
Skokie Valley Symphony Orchestra
The facility celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2016.

Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center 3

The

opened in Skokie on April 19, 2009. Skokie's founding and early days were the subject of the 2023 documentary, ''Holy Ground''.

Library

On October 7, 2008, the Skokie Public Library received the 2008

National Medal for Museum and Library Service The National Medal for Museum and Library Service is an award given annually by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to American libraries and museums with outstanding service to their communities. The IMLS refers to the medal as " ...

, notably for its cultural programming and multilingual services.

Parks and recreation

The Skokie Park District maintains public spaces and historical sites within its more than of parkland and in its ten facilities. The Skokie Valley Trail is a multi-use trail connecting the northwest side of Chicago to the communities of Lincolnwood and Skokie. In 2023, the Village announced plans to extend the Valley Line Trail from its current terminus at Dempster-Skokie Station to its northernmost boundary at Old Orchard Road. The result will be a continuous trail from the

City of Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

to the northern suburbs beyond Skokie. The project is estimated to be completed by 2025. The North Shore Channel Trail also passes through town.

Education

Public schools

Primary school districts include: * Skokie School District 68 * Skokie/Morton Grove School District 69 * Fairview South School District 72 * East Prairie School District 73 * Skokie School District 73.5 Niles Township High School District 219 operates public high schools. A portion of the city is served by the Evanston/Skokie School District 65 and

Evanston Township High School Evanston Township High School (ETHS) (District 202) is a public high school in Evanston, Illinois. The campus is located in a northern suburb of Chicago along the Lake Michigan shore. ETHS was established in 1883 and serves the city of Evanston a ...

High schools

* Niles North of District 219 * Niles West of District 219 * Niles Township District 219, known for its fine arts program, was awarded the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts Top program for fine arts education in the United States on April 27, 2007. * Niles East High School closed in 1980 after community efforts to save the school failed.

Junior high schools

* Oliver McCracken Middle School (formerly Oakview Junior High) of District 73.5 * East Prairie School (Pre-K through 8th) of District 73 * Fairview South School of District 72 * Lincoln Junior High of District 69 * Old Orchard Junior High of District 68 * Chute Middle School in Evanston serves a small portion of Skokie residents of Evanston/Skokie District 65

Elementary schools

See the same map as middle schools. * Jane Stenson School, (K through 5th) of District 68 * Devonshire School, (K through 5th) of District 68 * Highland School, (K through 5th) of District 68 * Madison School, (pre-K through 2nd) of District 69 * Edison School, (3rd through 5th) of District 69 * Fairview North formerly of District 72 * Fairview South School, (K through 8th) of District 72 * Elizabeth Meyer School, (pre-K and K) of District 73.5 * John Middleton School, (1st through 5th) of District 73.5 * East Prairie School, (Pre-K through 8th) of District 73 * Walker Elementary School, (K through 5th) of Skokie/Evanston District 65 * Dr. Bessie Rhodes Magnet School, (K through 8th) of Skokie/Evanston District 65, formerly Timber Ridge Magnet School (may be attended by Skokie students in District 65)

Religious day schools

Jewish: * Arie Crown Hebrew Day School (pre-K through 8th), boys and girls * Cheder Lubavitch Hebrew Day School (pre-K through 8th), separate boys and girls programs * Hillel Torah North Suburban Day School (pre-K through 8th), boys and girls * Ida Crown Jewish Academy (9th through 12th), boys and girls * Fasman Yeshiva High School (9th through 12th), boys only * Solomon Schechter Day School Ginsburg Early Childhood Center. From 1978 to 2012 the day school had a campus in Skokie. After 2012 day students were moved to Northbrook, and the building is now MCC Academy's elementary school. The closure of the Skokie facility occurred as fewer Jewish people lived in Skokie. Muslim: * MCC Academy (Pre-K through elementary are in Skokie, with secondary students in Morton Grove) Roman Catholic: * St. Joan of Arc School (K-8), of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago The Archdiocese of Chicago () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church located in Northeast Illinois, Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. The Vatican erected it as a diocese in 1843 and e ...

Post-secondary education

* Oakton College (Ray Hartstein Campus) This is the site of the old Niles East High School. The original structure, built in the 1930s, was demolished in the 1990s. * Hebrew Theological College, a private university. It was chartered in 1922 as one of the first Modern Orthodox Jewish institutions of higher education in America. *

National-Louis University National Louis University (NLU) is a private university, private nonprofit university with its main campus in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. NLU enrolls undergraduate and graduate students in more than 60 programs across its four colleges. It has lo ...

has a campus near the Skokie Courthouse.

Infrastructure

Public transportation

The

Chicago "L" The Chicago "L" (short for "elevated railway, elevated") is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs in the U.S. state of Illinois. Operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), it is the four ...

s Yellow Line terminates at the Dempster Street station in Skokie. Construction has been completed on a new Yellow Line train station at Oakton Street, to serve downtown Skokie. It opened on April 30, 2012. Additionally, the CTA is commissioning an alternatives analysis study on the extension of the Yellow Line terminal to Old Orchard Road for

Federal Transit Administration The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transportation systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administration ...

New Start grants. The New Starts program allows federal funds to be used for capital projects provided that all extensions for a given problem (i.e., enabling easy transportation for reverse commuters to Westfield Old Orchard) are considered. The extension recommended by the CTA, is the elevation of the Yellow Line to a new terminal south of Old Orchard Road. This extension was canceled. Although the Yellow Line is the fastest transportation to and from the city, the village also is served by CTA and Pace bus routes. The Pace Pulse Dempster Line opened through the village in 2023. However, Greyhound Bus service to the Dempster Street train station has been discontinued. For automobile transport,

Interstate 94 Interstate 94 (I-94) is an east–west Interstate Highway connecting the Great Lakes and northern Great Plains regions of the United States. Its western terminus is just east of Billings, Montana, at a junction with I-90; its eastern ter ...

, the Edens Expressway, traverses western Skokie, with interchanges at Touhy Avenue, Dempster Street, and Old Orchard Road.

Major highways

Major highways in Skokie include: Interstate Highways * I-94

US Highways * US 41

US 41 U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part i ...

Illinois Highways * Illinois 50

Route 50 * Illinois 58

Route 58

Notable people

* Eric Rosen, chess player and Twitch streamer * Rob Ambrose, former head coach of Towson Tigers football team of

Towson University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its foundin ...

* Louie Belpedio, NHL player for the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...

Mike Byster Michael Byster (born March 5, 1959) is an American mental calculator, and math educator. He worked as a commodities market, commodity trader until he quit his job to devote himself to teaching children his methods. He has spoken to over 10,000 cl ...

, mathematician, mental calculator and math educator * Jovita Carranza (born 1949), 26th

Administrator of the Small Business Administration The administrator of the Small Business Administration is the head of the Small Business Administration of the United States. The administrator is responsible for managing and the day-to-day operations of the agency. The administrator is nominat ...

(2020–present). She is a past resident of Skokie. *

Bobby Ciraldo Bobby Ciraldo (born 12 October 1974 in Skokie, Illinois, Skokie, Illinois) is a filmmaker and web-based artist whose works include ''Hamlet A.D.D.'', ''William Shatner's Gonzo Ballet'',Bart Conner, Olympic gymnast, 1984 gold medalist *

David Cromer David Cromer (born October 17, 1964) is an American theatre director, and stage, film, and TV actor. He has received recognition for his work on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in his native Chicago. Cromer has won or been nominated for numerous a ...

, theatre director and stage actor * David Draiman, lead singer of Disturbed *

Robert Feder Robert Feder (born May 17, 1956) is an American media blogger who was the television and radio columnist for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1980 until 2008, a blogger for Vocalo.org from 2009 until 2010, and a blogger for ''Time Out Chicago'' fr ...

, media blogger, former columnist for ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' * Brenda A. Ferber, author of children's literature * Ken Goldstein, singer and author * Woody Goss, musician * Joel Pollak, politician and journalist * Nancy Lee Grahn, actress *

Phil Handler Philip Jacob Handler (July 21, 1908 – December 8, 1968) was an American football player and coach who spent his entire professional career in the city of Chicago. He had a seven-year, 53-game NFL playing career, during which he was named All-P ...

(1908–1968), NFL football player and coach * Erin Heatherton, fashion model and actress * Amanda Jones, 1973

Miss USA Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020. ...

Shelly Kagan Shelly Ian Kagan (; born 1956) is the Clark Professor of Philosophy at Yale University, where he has taught since 1995. He is best known for his writings about moral philosophy and normative ethics. In 2007, Kagan's course about death was offered ...

, philosopher * David Kaplan, columnist, radio and television personality * Jonathan Kite, actor and comedian * George Kotsiopoulos, magazine editor, fashion consultant, TV personality * Ken Kramer, former Congressman * Lou Lang, politician * Rashard Mendenhall, former running back in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

* Abdel Nader, professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association * Brent Novoselsky, NFL tight end * Noam Pikelny, banjo player, known for association with string quintet Punch Brothers * Esther Povitsky, standup comedian, actress and podcast host * Matt Reichel, politician * Clarke Rosenberg (born 1993), American-Israeli basketball player in the

Israel Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

* Jessy Schram, actress * John Gideon Searle, businessman * Randy Suess, co-founder of CBBS, the first

Bulletin Board System A bulletin board system (BBS), also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS), is a computer server running list of BBS software, software that allows users to connect to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, the user perfor ...

(BBS) ever brought online * Calvin Sutker, politician and lawyer * Azhar Usman, Indian-American Muslim standup comedian, actor, writer, and producer. * Bushra Amiwala, First Gen Z Elected Official in the United States * Wesley Willis, visual artist and musician

In popular culture

An image of Oakton Street in Skokie portrayed the fictional town of Mayfield in television show ''

Leave it to Beaver ''Leave It to Beaver'' is an American television sitcom that follows the misadventures of a suburban boy, his family and his friends. It starred Barbara Billingsley, Hugh Beaumont, Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers. CBS first broadcast the show ...

''.https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/eye-on-chicago-for-dec-13/

References

External links

*
Brief history of Skokie
{{Authority control Jewish communities in the United States Jews and Judaism in Chicago Chicago metropolitan area Villages in Cook County, Illinois Populated places established in 1888 1888 establishments in Illinois Majority-minority cities and towns in Cook County, Illinois Villages in Illinois