Skokie, Illinois
Encyclopedia
Skokie (ˈskoʊki; formerly Niles Center) is a village in Cook County
, Illinois
, United States
. Its name comes from a Native American
word for "fire". A Chicago
suburb
, for many years Skokie promoted itself as "The World's Largest Village". Its population, per the 2000 census, was 63,348. Sharing a border with the City of Chicago, Skokie's streets, like that of many suburbs, are largely a continuation of the Chicago street grid, and it is serviced by the Chicago Transit Authority
, further cementing its connection to the city.
Skokie was originally a German-Luxembourger farming community, but was later settled by a sizeable Jewish
population, especially after World War II
. At its peak in the mid 60s, 40% of the population was Jewish, the largest percent of any Chicago suburb. In recent years, however, Skokie's population has become significantly more diverse and several Jewish synagogues and schools have closed. Nevertheless, it was considered the logical location for the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center
, which opened in northwest Skokie in 2009.
Skokie has received national attention twice for court cases decided by the United States Supreme Court. In the mid-1970s, Skokie was at the center of a case concerning the First Amendment
right to assemble
and the National Socialist Party of America
, a neo-Nazi group. Skokie ultimately lost that case. In 2001, although Skokie was not a direct party to the case, a decision by the Village regarding land use led the Court to reduce the power of the United States Environmental Protection Agency
.
, Chicago
, Lincolnwood
, Niles
, Morton Grove
, Glenview
, and Wilmette.
The village's street circulation is a standard street-grid pattern, with 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
in 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.
In 1888, the community was incorporated as Niles Centre. About 1910, the spelling was Americanized
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 Indian 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 dominant architectural specimen. Large scale development ended as a result of the Great Crash of 1929
, and consequent Great Depression. It was not until the 1940s and the 1950s, when parents of the baby boom
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 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 Avenue in the town.
words for fire. The reference is to the fact that marshy grasslands, such as occurred in the Skokie region, were burned by the Indians to flush out the game”.
Allowing for inevitable usage corruptions, this seems correct since maps long named the Skokie marsh as Chewab Skokie, a probable derivation from Kitchi-wap choku, a Potawatomi
term meaning great marsh. The explanation is thus credible, because it is consistent with the Skokie area's former physiography. Similarly, Skokie might derive from the same Algonquian roots as derives the word Chicago — zh'gak and sh'kag, two, different voicings of the base words for skunk and wild leek in languages of this group. Moreover, in Native Placenames of the United States (U. of Oklahoma Pr, 2004), William Bright lists Vogel's Potawatomi derivation first, but adds reference to the Ojibwa term miishkooki (marsh) recorded in the Eastern Ojibwa-Chippewa-Ottawa Dictionary (Mouton, 1985), by Richard A. Rhodes.
issue, the other touching upon the Commerce Clause
.
(derived from the American Nazi Party
) attempted to demonstrate their political existence with a march in Skokie, far from their headquarters on Chicago's south side. Originally, the NSPA had planned a political rally in Marquette Park in Chicago
; however the Chicago authorities thwarted these plans, first, by requiring the NSPA post an onerous public-safety-insurance bond, then, by banning all political demonstrations in Marquette Park.
Seeking another free-speech political venue, the NSPA chose to march on Skokie. Given the many Holocaust survivors living in Skokie, the Village's Government thought the Nazi march would be politically provocative and socially disruptive, and refused the NSPA its permission. In the event, the American Civil Liberties Union
interceded in behalf of the NSPA, in the case of the National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie
, wherein an Illinois appeals court raised the injunction issued by a Cook County Circuit Court judge, ruling that the presence of the swastika
, 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. In 1981, the attempted Illinois Nazi march on Skokie was dramatised in the television movie, Skokie
.
. See Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook Cty. v. Army Corps of Engineers
for more information.
Skokie also has a sculpture garden that is situated between Dempster Street and Touhy Avenue on the East side of McCormick Blvd. It was started in 1988 and now has over 70 sculptures. Three areas that are toured in May through October of each year, on the last Sunday of the month with a presentation by a docent
.
Just north of the sculpture garden is a statue to Mahatma Gandhi
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 state of the art North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, encompassing Centre East, Northlight Theatre and the Skokie Valley Symphony Orchestra. The facility celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2006.
The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center
opened in Skokie on April 19, 2009.
(ISO) ratings. Likewise, in 2003 Money
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 jobs; in 2003, Forest City Enterprises
announced their re-development of the vacant Pfizer
research laboratories, in downtown Skokie, as the Illinois Science + Technology Park, a 23 acres (93,077.8 m²) campus of research installations (2-million ft.² [180,000 m²] of chemistry, genomics, toxicology laboratories, clean rooms, NMR suites, conference rooms, etc.). In 2006, the Evanston Northwestern Healthcare company announced installing their consolidated data center operations at the park, adding 500 jobs to the economy. Also, map maker Rand McNally
, private label cooperative Topco and online grocer Peapod
are headquartered in Skokie.
of 2000, the Village of Skokie was composed of 63,348 people who formed in 23,223 households containing 17,045 families. The village's population density
was 6,308.70 people per square mile (2,436.1/km²) living in 23,702 housing units (average population density: 2,360.4/square mile [911.5/km²]). The village's racial composition was: 65.6% White, 4.51% African American, 0.17% Native American, 21.28% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.86% from other races
, 3.23% from two or more races. The Hispanic and Latino population, of any race, made up 5.71% of the village.
The 23,223 households comprise: 32.2% with minority-age children (younger than 18 years), 60.5% were cohabiting married couples
, 9.9% of households were headed by a woman (with no husband present), and 26.6% were non-family cohabitants, 23.6% were single-person households, and 13.6% included an elder person (65 years of age or older). The average Skokie household size was 2.68 persons, and the average household family size was 3.20 persons.
Chronologically, Skokie's age population comprises: 23.0% of minority age (younger than 18 years); 7.0% aged from 18 to 24 years; 25.0% aged from 25 to 44, 25.5% aged from 45 to 64, and 19.6% aged 65 years and older. The median Villager's age is 42 years; for every 100 women younger than 18 years, there were 90.1 men; for every 100 women age 18 and older, there were 85.2 men.
Financially, Skokie's median household income
was $57,375; the median family income was $68,253; a man's median income was $44,869; a woman's median income was $33,051. The per capitum income is approximately $27,136; 4.2% of families and 5.4% of the population lived on an income inferior to the Government's Federal poverty line income, including 5.9% of children under 18 and 5.3% of elders aged 65 years and older.
's Yellow Line
rapid transit train (formerly the Skokie Swift) has its terminus at the Dempster Street
station in Skokie. Currently, construction has begun to build a new Yellow Line train station at Oakton Street, to serve downtown Skokie and environs. It is slated to open in 2011. Additionally, the CTA is commissioning an Alternative Analysis Study on the extension of the Yellow Line terminal to Old Orchard Road for Federal Transit Administration
New Start grants.
The New Starts program allows federal funds to be used for capital project
s provided all solutions for a given problem (i.e., enabling easy transportation for reverse commuters to Old Orchard Mall) is considered. The solution recommended by the CTA is the elevation of the Yellow Line north of Searle Parkway to a rebuilt Dempster Street station, then following abandoned Union Pacific Railroad
tracks and the east side of the Edens Expressway
to a new terminal south of Old Orchard Road. Currently this solution needs to undergo public commenting as well as FTA and CTA board approval to continue.
Although the Yellow Line is the principal, and fastest transport to and from the city, the Village also is served with CTA and PACE bus routes, as well as a Greyhound Bus Terminal at the Dempster Street train station. For automobile transport, Interstate 94
, the Edens Expressway
, traverses western Skokie, with interchanges at Touhy Avenue, Dempster Street, and Old Orchard Road.
, a city on India's Kathiawar Peninsula, became sister cities. Porbandar is Mahatma Gandhi's birthplace; in his honor, the Village erected a statue of India's "Father of the Nation", on the McCormick bicycling trail.
Novelist Stephen Witt was born in Chicago and raised in Skokie. The main character in his novel, American Moses, is from Skokie.
Past
Cook County, Illinois
Cook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Its name comes from a Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
word for "fire". A Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
, for many years Skokie promoted itself as "The World's Largest Village". Its population, per the 2000 census, was 63,348. Sharing a border with the City of Chicago, Skokie's streets, like that of many suburbs, are largely a continuation of the Chicago street grid, and it is serviced by the Chicago Transit Authority
Chicago Transit Authority
Chicago Transit Authority, also known as CTA, is the operator of mass transit within the City of Chicago, Illinois and some of its surrounding suburbs....
, further cementing its connection to the city.
Skokie was originally a German-Luxembourger farming community, but was later settled by a sizeable Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
population, especially after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. At its peak in the mid 60s, 40% of the population was Jewish, the largest percent of any Chicago suburb. In recent years, however, Skokie's population has become significantly more diverse and several Jewish synagogues and schools have closed. Nevertheless, it was considered the logical location for the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center
Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center
The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center is the main memorial and educational center for The Holocaust in the Midwestern United States...
, which opened in northwest Skokie in 2009.
Skokie has received national attention twice for court cases decided by the United States Supreme Court. In the mid-1970s, Skokie was at the center of a case concerning the First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
right to assemble
Freedom of assembly
Freedom of assembly, sometimes used interchangeably with the freedom of association, is the individual right to come together and collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests...
and the National Socialist Party of America
National Socialist Party of America
The National Socialist Party of America was a Chicago-based organization founded in 1970 by Frank Collin shortly after he left the National Socialist White People's Party. The NSWPP had been the American Nazi Party until shortly after the assassination of leader George Lincoln Rockwell in 1967...
, a neo-Nazi group. Skokie ultimately lost that case. In 2001, although Skokie was not a direct party to the case, a decision by the Village regarding land use led the Court to reduce the power of the United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
.
Geography
The Village of Skokie has a total area of 10.0 square miles (26.0 km²), all land. The village is bordered by EvanstonEvanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Lincolnwood
Lincolnwood, Illinois
Lincolnwood is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 12,359 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Lincolnwood is located at ....
, Niles
Niles, Illinois
Niles is a village in Maine and Niles Townships, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The 2010 population from the U.S. Census Bureau is 29,803.The current mayor of Niles is Robert M. Callero.-History:Niles was first settled in 1827....
, Morton Grove
Morton Grove, Illinois
Morton Grove is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,451 at the 2000 census.The Village President of Morton Grove since April 27, 2009, is Daniel J...
, Glenview
Glenview, Cook County, Illinois
Glenview is a suburban village located approximately north of downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 41,847...
, and Wilmette.
The village's street circulation is a standard street-grid pattern, with 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
Lincoln Avenue (Chicago)
Lincoln Avenue is a major diagonal thoroughfare of the north side of city of Chicago. It runs from Clark Street on the western border of Lincoln Park largely to the northwest, ending in Morton Grove, Illinois...
, 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
Skokie Highway
The Skokie Highway is a major arterial highway running north of Chicago through the far northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Illinois. It runs from the intersection of Illinois Route 50 in Skokie north to the Wisconsin state line at Interstate 94 near Wadsworth. All of the Skokie Highway is...
in 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.
Beginnings
American and British English spelling differences
One of the ways in which American English and British English differ is in spelling.-Historical origins:In the early 18th century, English spelling was not standardized. Differences became noticeable after the publishing of influential dictionaries...
to "Niles Center". However, the name caused postal confusion with the neighboring village of Niles
Niles, Illinois
Niles is a village in Maine and Niles Townships, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The 2010 population from the U.S. Census Bureau is 29,803.The current mayor of Niles is Robert M. Callero.-History:Niles was first settled in 1827....
. A village-renaming campaign began in the 1930s. In a referendum on November 15, 1940, residents chose the Indian 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 dominant architectural specimen. Large scale development ended as a result of the Great Crash of 1929
Wall Street Crash of 1929
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 , also known as the Great Crash, and the Stock Market Crash of 1929, was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its fallout...
, and consequent Great Depression. It was not until the 1940s and the 1950s, when parents of the baby boom
Baby boom
A baby boom is any period marked by a greatly increased birth rate. This demographic phenomenon is usually ascribed within certain geographical bounds and when the number of annual births exceeds 2 per 100 women...
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
Westfield Old Orchard
Westfield Old Orchard, formerly Old Orchard Shopping Center, is an open-air upscale shopping center in Skokie, Illinois. It is the third largest mall by total square footage in Illinois. Its anchor stores are Bloomingdale's, Macy's , Lord & Taylor, L.L. Bean and Nordstrom...
.
During the night of November 27–28, 1934, after a gunfight in nearby Barrington
Barrington
- Australia :* Barrington, New South Wales* Barrington River * Barrington Tops National Park, New South Wales* Barrington, Tasmania* Barrington, Queensland- Canada :* Barrington, Nova Scotia* Barrington Head, Nova Scotia...
that left two FBI agents dead, two accomplices of notorious 25-year-old bank-robber Baby Face Nelson
Baby Face Nelson
Lester Joseph Gillis , known under the pseudonym George Nelson, was a bank robber and murderer in the 1930s. Gillis was known as Baby Face Nelson, a name given to him due to his youthful appearance and small stature...
(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 Avenue in the town.
Toponymy
Virgil Vogel's Indian Place Names in Illinois (Illinois State Historical Society, 1963), records the name Skokie deriving “directly from skoutay or scoti and variant AlgonquianAlgonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
words for fire. The reference is to the fact that marshy grasslands, such as occurred in the Skokie region, were burned by the Indians to flush out the game”.
Allowing for inevitable usage corruptions, this seems correct since maps long named the Skokie marsh as Chewab Skokie, a probable derivation from Kitchi-wap choku, a Potawatomi
Potawatomi
The Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...
term meaning great marsh. The explanation is thus credible, because it is consistent with the Skokie area's former physiography. Similarly, Skokie might derive from the same Algonquian roots as derives the word Chicago — zh'gak and sh'kag, two, different voicings of the base words for skunk and wild leek in languages of this group. Moreover, in Native Placenames of the United States (U. of Oklahoma Pr, 2004), William Bright lists Vogel's Potawatomi derivation first, but adds reference to the Ojibwa term miishkooki (marsh) recorded in the Eastern Ojibwa-Chippewa-Ottawa Dictionary (Mouton, 1985), by Richard A. Rhodes.
Supreme Court rulings
Twice in its history, Skokie has been the focus point of cases before the United States Supreme Court, once involving a First AmendmentFirst Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
issue, the other touching upon the Commerce Clause
Commerce Clause
The Commerce Clause is an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution . The clause states that the United States Congress shall have power "To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes." Courts and commentators have tended to...
.
NSPA controversy
In 1977 and 1978, Illinois Nazis of the National Socialist Party of AmericaNational Socialist Party of America
The National Socialist Party of America was a Chicago-based organization founded in 1970 by Frank Collin shortly after he left the National Socialist White People's Party. The NSWPP had been the American Nazi Party until shortly after the assassination of leader George Lincoln Rockwell in 1967...
(derived from the American Nazi Party
American Nazi Party
The American Nazi Party was an American political party founded by discharged U.S. Navy Commander George Lincoln Rockwell. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, Rockwell initially called it the World Union of Free Enterprise National Socialists , but later renamed it the American Nazi Party in...
) attempted to demonstrate their political existence with a march in Skokie, far from their headquarters on Chicago's south side. Originally, the NSPA had planned a political rally in Marquette Park in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
; however the Chicago authorities thwarted these plans, first, by requiring the NSPA post an onerous public-safety-insurance bond, then, by banning all political demonstrations in Marquette Park.
Seeking another free-speech political venue, the NSPA chose to march on Skokie. Given the many Holocaust survivors living in Skokie, the Village's Government thought the Nazi march would be politically provocative and socially disruptive, and refused the NSPA its permission. In the event, the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
interceded in behalf of the NSPA, in the case of the National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie
National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie
National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie, 432 U.S. 43 , was a United States Supreme Court case dealing with freedom of assembly.-Facts of the case:...
, wherein an Illinois appeals court raised the injunction issued by a Cook County Circuit Court judge, ruling that the presence of the swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
, 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. In 1981, the attempted Illinois Nazi march on Skokie was dramatised in the television movie, Skokie
Skokie (film)
Skokie is a 1981 television movie directed by Herbert Wise, based on the real life NSPA Controversy of Skokie, Illinois, which involved the National Socialist Party of America.The film premiered in the U.S. on November 17, 1981...
.
Migratory bird rule
In 2001, Skokie's decision to use an isolated wetland 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 ruleMigratory bird rule
The migratory bird rule, adopted by the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency asserted that the Clean Water Act covers regulation of isolated waters "which are or would be used as habitat by.....
. See Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook Cty. v. Army Corps of Engineers
Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook Cty. v. Army Corps of Engineers
Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 531 U.S. 159 , was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States interpreting a provision of the Clean Water Act...
for more information.
Parks, recreation and attractions
The Skokie Park District maintains public spaces and historical sites within its more than 240 acre (0.9712464 km²) of parkland and in its ten facilities. The district is a recent winner of the national "Gold Medal for Excellence" in parks and recreation management. Every May since 1991, the park district hosts the Skokie Festival of Cultures to celebrate the village's diverse ethnic composition.Skokie also has a sculpture garden that is situated between Dempster Street and Touhy Avenue on the East side of McCormick Blvd. It was started in 1988 and now has over 70 sculptures. Three areas that are toured in May through October of each year, on the last Sunday of the month with a presentation by a docent
Museum docent
Museum docent is a title used in the United States for educators trained to further the public's understanding of the cultural and historical collections of the institution, including local and national museums, zoos, historical landmarks, and parks. In many cases, docents, in addition to their...
.
Just north of the sculpture garden is a statue to Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
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 state of the art North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, encompassing Centre East, Northlight Theatre and the Skokie Valley Symphony Orchestra. The facility celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2006.
The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center
Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center
The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center is the main memorial and educational center for The Holocaust in the Midwestern United States...
opened in Skokie on April 19, 2009.
Library
On October 7, 2008, Skokie Public Library received the 2008 National Medal for Museum and Library Service from First Lady Laura Bush in a ceremony at the White House. The National Medal is awarded annually by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, the primary source of federal support for the nation's 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums, to 5 libraries and 5 museums. The library's cultural programming and multilingual services were cited in the award presentation. Skokie Public Library is the first public library in Illinois to be awarded the medal.Economy
The Village's AAA bond rating 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 OfficeInsurance Services Office
Insurance Services Office, Inc. , a subsidiary of Verisk Analytics, is a provider of data, underwriting, risk management and legal/regulatory services to property-casualty insurers and other clients...
(ISO) ratings. Likewise, in 2003 Money
Money (magazine)
Money is published by Time Inc. Its first issue was published in October 1972. Its articles cover the gamut of personal finance topics ranging from investing, saving, retirement and taxes to family finance issues like paying for college, credit, career and home improvement...
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 jobs; in 2003, Forest City Enterprises
Forest City Enterprises
Forest City Enterprises is a $9-billion diversified real estate management and development company based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Its portfolio includes interests in retail centers, apartment communities, office buildings and mixed-use projects in the U.S...
announced their re-development of the vacant Pfizer
Pfizer
Pfizer, Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation. The company is based in New York City, New York with its research headquarters in Groton, Connecticut, United States...
research laboratories, in downtown Skokie, as the Illinois Science + Technology Park, a 23 acres (93,077.8 m²) campus of research installations (2-million ft.² [180,000 m²] of chemistry, genomics, toxicology laboratories, clean rooms, NMR suites, conference rooms, etc.). In 2006, the Evanston Northwestern Healthcare company announced installing their consolidated data center operations at the park, adding 500 jobs to the economy. Also, map maker Rand McNally
Rand McNally
Rand McNally is an American publisher of maps, atlases, textbooks, and globes for travel, reference, commercial, and educational uses. It also provides online consumer street maps and directions, as well as commercial transportation routing software and mileage data...
, private label cooperative Topco and online grocer Peapod
Peapod
Peapod, LLC is an online grocery delivery service owned by Royal Ahold and operating only in a select number of US cities. The company is based in Skokie, Illinois."." Peapod. Retrieved on February 15, 2011. "Corporate Headquarters 9933 Woods Drive, Skokie, IL 60077 ."-History:Peapod was founded in...
are headquartered in Skokie.
Top employers
According to the Village's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the village are:| # | Employer | # of Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pfizer Pfizer Pfizer, Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation. The company is based in New York City, New York with its research headquarters in Groton, Connecticut, United States... |
2,127 |
| 2 | Skokie Hospital NorthShore University HealthSystem NorthShore University HealthSystem is an integrated healthcare delivery system serving patients throughout the Chicago metropolitan area.... |
1,500 |
| 3 | Woodward-MPC Airframe Systems Woodward Governor Company Woodward Inc. is the world's oldest and largest independent designer, manufacturer, and service provider of energy control solutions for aircraft engines, industrial engines and turbines, power generation and mobile industrial equipment.... |
1,200 |
| 4 | Evanston Northwestern Health Care NorthShore University HealthSystem NorthShore University HealthSystem is an integrated healthcare delivery system serving patients throughout the Chicago metropolitan area.... |
700 |
| 5 | Anixter | 665 |
| 6 | Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County The Circuit Court of Cook County is the largest of the 22 circuits in Illinois as well as one of the largest unified court systems in the world. It was created by a 1964 amendment to the Illinois Constitution which reorganized the courts of Illinois... |
513 |
| 7 | Continental Electrical Construction | 500 |
| 8 | Village of Skokie | 490 |
| 9 | Forsythe Technology | 350 |
| 10 | Topco | 350 |
Demographic composition
Per the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, the Village of Skokie was composed of 63,348 people who formed in 23,223 households containing 17,045 families. The village's population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 6,308.70 people per square mile (2,436.1/km²) living in 23,702 housing units (average population density: 2,360.4/square mile [911.5/km²]). The village's racial composition was: 65.6% White, 4.51% African American, 0.17% Native American, 21.28% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.86% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 3.23% from two or more races. The Hispanic and Latino population, of any race, made up 5.71% of the village.
The 23,223 households comprise: 32.2% with minority-age children (younger than 18 years), 60.5% were cohabiting married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
, 9.9% of households were headed by a woman (with no husband present), and 26.6% were non-family cohabitants, 23.6% were single-person households, and 13.6% included an elder person (65 years of age or older). The average Skokie household size was 2.68 persons, and the average household family size was 3.20 persons.
Chronologically, Skokie's age population comprises: 23.0% of minority age (younger than 18 years); 7.0% aged from 18 to 24 years; 25.0% aged from 25 to 44, 25.5% aged from 45 to 64, and 19.6% aged 65 years and older. The median Villager's age is 42 years; for every 100 women younger than 18 years, there were 90.1 men; for every 100 women age 18 and older, there were 85.2 men.
Financially, Skokie's median household income
Median household income
The median household income is commonly used to generate data about geographic areas and divides households into two equal segments with the first half of households earning less than the median household income and the other half earning more...
was $57,375; the median family income was $68,253; a man's median income was $44,869; a woman's median income was $33,051. The per capitum income is approximately $27,136; 4.2% of families and 5.4% of the population lived on an income inferior to the Government's Federal poverty line income, including 5.9% of children under 18 and 5.3% of elders aged 65 years and older.
Public transport
The Chicago Transit AuthorityChicago Transit Authority
Chicago Transit Authority, also known as CTA, is the operator of mass transit within the City of Chicago, Illinois and some of its surrounding suburbs....
's Yellow Line
Yellow Line (Chicago Transit Authority)
The Yellow Line, formerly known as the Skokie Swift, is part of the Chicago Transit Authority's Chicago 'L' heavy rail rapid transit system in Chicago, Illinois...
rapid transit train (formerly the Skokie Swift) has its terminus at the Dempster Street
Skokie (CTA Yellow Line)
Dempster-Skokie, also known as Dempster, or Skokie, is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system, on the Yellow Line at 5005 W. Dempster Street in Skokie, Illinois...
station in Skokie. Currently, construction has begun to build a new Yellow Line train station at Oakton Street, to serve downtown Skokie and environs. It is slated to open in 2011. Additionally, the CTA is commissioning an Alternative Analysis Study on the extension of the Yellow Line terminal to Old Orchard Road for Federal Transit Administration
Federal Transit Administration
The Federal Transit Administration is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transit systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administrations within the DOT...
New Start grants.
The New Starts program allows federal funds to be used for capital project
Capital expenditure
Capital expenditures are expenditures creating future benefits. A capital expenditure is incurred when a business spends money either to buy fixed assets or to add to the value of an existing fixed asset with a useful life extending beyond the taxable year...
s provided all solutions for a given problem (i.e., enabling easy transportation for reverse commuters to Old Orchard Mall) is considered. The solution recommended by the CTA is the elevation of the Yellow Line north of Searle Parkway to a rebuilt Dempster Street station, then following abandoned Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
tracks and the east side of the Edens Expressway
Edens Expressway
The Edens Expressway is the main major expressway north from the city of Chicago. For most of its length, the Edens carries Interstate 94; it also carries U.S. Route 41 from Wilmette to its northern terminus. Only the short portion from the Spur Ramp to the expressway's end in Highland Park does...
to a new terminal south of Old Orchard Road. Currently this solution needs to undergo public commenting as well as FTA and CTA board approval to continue.
Although the Yellow Line is the principal, and fastest transport to and from the city, the Village also is served with CTA and PACE bus routes, as well as a Greyhound Bus Terminal at the Dempster Street train station. For automobile transport, Interstate 94
Interstate 94
Interstate 94 is the northernmost east–west Interstate Highway, connecting the Great Lakes and Intermountain regions of the United States. I-94's western terminus is in Billings, Montana at a junction with Interstate 90; its eastern terminus is the U.S...
, the Edens Expressway
Edens Expressway
The Edens Expressway is the main major expressway north from the city of Chicago. For most of its length, the Edens carries Interstate 94; it also carries U.S. Route 41 from Wilmette to its northern terminus. Only the short portion from the Spur Ramp to the expressway's end in Highland Park does...
, traverses western Skokie, with interchanges at Touhy Avenue, Dempster Street, and Old Orchard Road.
Sister city
In 1967, Skokie and PorbandarPorbandar
Porbandar is a coastal city in the Indian state of Gujarat, perhaps best known for being the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sudama...
, a city on India's Kathiawar Peninsula, became sister cities. Porbandar is Mahatma Gandhi's birthplace; in his honor, the Village erected a statue of India's "Father of the Nation", on the McCormick bicycling trail.
Movies filmed on location in Skokie
- Home Alone 3Home Alone 3Home Alone 3 is a 1997 family comedy film written and produced by John Hughes. It is the third film in the Home Alone series and the first not to feature actor Macaulay Culkin or director Chris Columbus. The film is directed by Raja Gosnell, who served as the editor of both original films, and...
- Risky BusinessRisky BusinessRisky Business is a 1983 American teen comedy-drama film written by Paul Brickman in his directorial debut. It stars Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay. The hit film launched Cruise to stardom.-Plot:...
- Sixteen CandlesSixteen CandlesSixteen Candles is a 1984 American film starring Molly Ringwald, Michael Schoeffling and Anthony Michael Hall. It was written and directed by John Hughes.- Plot :...
- The Weather ManThe Weather ManThe Weather Man is a 2005 American comedy-drama film, directed by Gore Verbinski. Written by Steve Conrad, it stars Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine and Hope Davis and tells the story of a weatherman in the midst of a mid-life crisis....
- She's Having A BabyShe's Having a BabyShe's Having a Baby is a 1988 American romance film directed by John Hughes.The film portrays a young newlywed couple, Kristy and Jake Briggs played by Elizabeth McGovern and Kevin Bacon, who try to cope with being married and what is expected of them by their parents. Jake must also deal with the...
- SkokieSkokie (film)Skokie is a 1981 television movie directed by Herbert Wise, based on the real life NSPA Controversy of Skokie, Illinois, which involved the National Socialist Party of America.The film premiered in the U.S. on November 17, 1981...
, a television movie. - The Breakfast ClubThe Breakfast ClubThe Breakfast Club is a 1985 American teen drama film written and directed by John Hughes. The storyline follows five teenagers as they spend a Saturday in detention together and come to realize that they are all deeper than their respective stereotypes.-Plot:The plot follows five students at...
- Weird ScienceWeird Science (film)Weird Science is a 1985 American teen comedy film written and directed by John Hughes and starring Anthony Michael Hall, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, and Kelly LeBrock...
- The Blues BrothersThe Blues BrothersThe Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedy actors Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on Saturday Night Live...
- Running Scared
- Usual Suspects
- House Of 1000 CorpsesHouse of 1000 CorpsesHouse of 1000 Corpses is a 2003 exploitation horror film written and directed by Rob Zombie; it is his directorial debut. It was released in the United States on April 11, 2003 by Lions Gate Entertainment.-Plot:...
Novel mention
In K.A. Applegate's Everworld fantasy series, one of the main characters (Jalil) works in the Boston Market grocery store in Skokie.Novelist Stephen Witt was born in Chicago and raised in Skokie. The main character in his novel, American Moses, is from Skokie.
High schools
- Niles NorthNiles North High SchoolNiles North High School, or NNHS, is a public four-year high school located in Skokie, Illinois, a North Shore suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Niles Township Community High School District 219, which also includes Niles West High School. It is also home to several...
of District 219 - Niles WestNiles West High SchoolNiles West High School, or NWHS, is a public four-year high school located in Skokie, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in the United States. It is part of Niles Township Community High School District 219, which also includes Niles North High School. Its school teams were originally the Indians, but...
of District 219 - Niles EastNiles East High SchoolNiles East High School was a public secondary school operated by Niles Township High Schools District 219 in Skokie, Illinois between 1938 and 1980. Its sister schools Niles West High School and Niles North High School remain open....
of District 219 (closed and building razed) - Evanston Township High SchoolEvanston Township High SchoolEvanston Township High School District 202, is a four-year, comprehensive high school occupying a campus in Evanston, Illinois, a Chicago suburb along the Lake Michigan shore. ETHS serves the multiracial city of Evanston and a small portion of the neighboring village of Skokie, for a total...
of District 202 (only serves students who live on the border of Skokie and Evanston east of Crawford, south of Golf and north of Greenleaf St. in zipcode 60203 and a small part of zipcode 60076) - Niles Township District 219 was awarded the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts Top program for fine arts education in the United States on April 27, 2007.
Junior high schools
- Oliver McCracken Middle School, (formerly Oakview Junior High) of District 73.5
- East Prairie Middle 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 of Skokie/Evanston 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
- Sharp Corner School, (K through 8th), formerly Sharp Corners School of District 68, located at 9301 Gross Point Road. Closed and renamed Solomon Schecter Day School
- 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
- Cleveland School, (K through 6th) of District 73.5 (school closed and building razed)
- 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, located in Skokie) of Skokie/Evanston District 65
- Dr. Bessie Rhodes Magnet School, (K through 8th, located in Skokie) of Skokie/Evanston District 65, formerly Timber Ridge Magnet School (may be attended by Skokie students in District 65)
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Laboratory School, (K through 8th magnet school, located in Evanston) of Skokie/Evanston District 65 (may be attended by Skokie students in District 65)
Jewish day schools
- Arie Crown Hebrew Day School, (pre-K through 8th) Orthodox Judaism
- Cheder Lubavitch Hebrew Day School, (pre-K through 8th) Orthodox Judaism, separate boys and girls programs
- Hillel Torah North Suburban Day School, (pre-K through 8th) Orthodox Judaism
- Skokie Solomon Schechter Day School, (K through 5th) Conservative Judaism
- Fasman Yeshiva High SchoolFasman Yeshiva High SchoolFasman Yeshiva High School, also known as Skokie Yeshiva, or simply "the Yeshiva" to its students and to members of the Chicago Jewish community, is the all-boys high school division of Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Illinois. As of 2006, the school has about 140 students enrolled in grades...
, (9th through 12th) Orthodox Judaism, boys only
Catholic elementary schools
- Saint Peter School, Downtown Skokie
- Saint Joan of Arc School, northeast Skokie
- Saint Lambert School, east central Skokie (closed down in 2003 due to low enrollment)
Post-secondary education
- Oakton Community CollegeOakton Community CollegeOakton Community College is a two-year community college with campuses in Skokie, Illinois and Des Plaines, Illinois. District 535 serves 450,000 residents in northeast Cook County, Illinois...
(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 CollegeHebrew Theological CollegeThe Hebrew Theological College, known as "Skokie Yeshiva," is a Yeshiva in Skokie, Illinois which also functions as a private university on campus. The primary focus of the Yeshiva is to teach Torah and Jewish traditions...
, a private university. It was chartered in 1922 as one of the first Modern Orthodox Jewish institutions of higher education in America. - Ort Technical Institute, http://www.zg-ort.edu For over 125 years ORT has been training people in over 60 countries for jobs in technical fields.
- Knowledge Systems Institute (KSI), a private graduate school of computer and information sciences. KSI is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA).
- National-Louis UniversityNational-Louis UniversityNational–Louis University is a private non-profit American university. NLU has campuses in and near Chicago, Illinois, as well as in Wisconsin, Florida, and Nowy Sącz, Poland. Many NLU courses and programs are also offered at-a-distance. The university practices multi-campus, at-a-distance, and...
has a campus near the Skokie Courthouse and is a high-ranking school for education.
Notable corporations
- PeapodPeapodPeapod, LLC is an online grocery delivery service owned by Royal Ahold and operating only in a select number of US cities. The company is based in Skokie, Illinois."." Peapod. Retrieved on February 15, 2011. "Corporate Headquarters 9933 Woods Drive, Skokie, IL 60077 ."-History:Peapod was founded in...
- Online grocer - FelPro - now Federal-MogulFederal-MogulFederal-Mogul Corporation is a global automotive supplier based in Southfield, Michigan, USA. It is one of the leading engine-parts suppliers in the United States, including engine bearings, pistons, piston pins, piston rings, cylinder liners, valve seats and guides, transmission products and...
- Klein ToolsKlein ToolsKlein Tools is an American company based in Lincolnshire, Illinois that manufactures hand tools. The company is known for its popularity with workers in the electrical and telecommunications industries...
- Mayfair GamesMayfair GamesMayfair Games is a publisher of board, card, and roleplaying games. They also license German-style board games and publish them in English throughout the world...
- Rand McNallyRand McNallyRand McNally is an American publisher of maps, atlases, textbooks, and globes for travel, reference, commercial, and educational uses. It also provides online consumer street maps and directions, as well as commercial transportation routing software and mileage data...
- Topco Associates, LLC
- Quartet Manufacturing Co
Past
- U.S. RoboticsU.S. RoboticsUSRobotics Corporation is a company that makes computer modems and related products. It sold high-speed modems in the 1980s, and had a reputation for high quality and compatibility. With the reduced usage of voiceband modems in North America in the early 21st century, USR is now one of the few...
- Bell & Howell - now Böwe Bell & HowellBöwe Bell & HowellBell & Howell is a U.S.-based former manufacturer of motion picture machinery, founded as Bell & Howell in 1907 by two projectionists, and headquartered in Wheeling, Illinois. The company merged with Böwe Systec Inc...
- G.D. Searle- now Pfizer
- Rauland Borg
External links
- Village of Skokie
- Brief history of Skokie
- SkokieNet Community Information Network (community blog)
- Skokie Historical Society
- Skokie History Center
- Archive on the attempted Nazi march (newspaper clippings and other documents)
- The ACLU and the Skokie march (pdf)
- Skokie History Project (historic photographs)
- At Home in Skokie (historic photographs)
- Dr. Louise Klehm Archive
- Skokie Fire Department History
- Skokie Festival of Cultures
- Skokie Public Library