Inaugural Skokie Youth Commission begins work with 23 members — an increase from original idea

“So what does local government do?” Skokie Village Manager John Lockerby asked an audience of 23 local teenagers last week. “In a very simplistic way, it boils down to services and infrastructure.”

Lockerby was addressing the newly minted members of Skokie’s Youth Commission, an “advisory and action-oriented body” the Village Board created last March, during the group’s first session in the Skokie Police Department on Monday, Aug. 31. 

Trustees created the commission to elevate the voices of area youths and shape “policies, programs and initiatives that reflect their priorities,” village documents state. It apparently gained so much interest the Village Board voted on Aug. 17 to expand its size to 23 commissioners, from 16. 

The commission did not provide a first reading to or vote on take action on any ordinances during their first meeting. Lockerby provided the teens a crash course on Skokie’s system of governance, and Trustee Keith Robinson discussed the importance of public service. 

But Mike Charley, Skokie’s director of health and human services, said the commission will review Skokie’s strategic plan during its next meeting in October and eventually select three “priorities” to present a report on with recommendations to the Village Board in June 2027. 

“What was interesting to me about it was it’s the first of its kind,” said Isabella Perry, a sophomore at Niles North High School, of why she applied to the commission. “I feel like I’ve never heard of something like that, and youth voices are something in the world that isn’t really represented.”

“But a lot of youth have a lot of different opinions because we see a lot of firsthand things. I feel like that’s really a huge part of why I wanted to do it, because I want my voice to be heard too.”

In his presentation, Lockerby outlined how the Village of Skokie employs 475 employees tasked with overseeing the community’s legislation, police, fire, public works and economic vitality. 

Robinson, an educator of 30 years, explained he decided to pursue public service after the death of George Floyd because he wanted to be able to say and do more for the community. 

Robinson, who is Skokie’s first Black trustee, emphasized that elected officials serve as a bridge between residents and their government so it’s the trustees’ or commissioners’ responsibility to listen to community members, raise their concerns and ask lots of questions during meetings. 

He encouraged the teens “to dream big” in addressing how they want the experience of local youths to improve, and added that he hopes the commission will encourage the youth participating to pursue public service after they grow older.

“What you guys are going to do is you’re going to advise us, you’re going to share some perspective with us. Our promise is to let you know how this thing works. You’ll build real civic skills as this is an action-oriented group, and you’re going to represent your peers,” Robinson said.

“So part of our challenge is to make sure you go back to your spaces and you can tell people what we’re talking about.”

After the Skokie announced the Youth Commission, village staff received nearly 40 applications. Due to their “quality and diversity,” Mayor Ann Tennes proposed appointing 22 commissioners and reserving three seats for targeted outreach to Evanston Township High School District 202, village documents say. 

The final appointees came from six different schools: Niles North High School, Niles West High School and Ida Crown Jewish Academy in Skokie; Evanston Township High School in Evanston; Loyola Academy in Wilmette; and Rochelle Zell Jewish High School in Deerfield. 

Qintara Arshad, a junior at Niles North, said she worked with the Forest Preserve of Cook County last summer, and one of the priorities she wants the commission to pursue is creating more green “third spaces” — areas other than school or home where teens can congregate. 

“Being a minority myself, I really value voices being heard that are not necessarily considered in spaces like this and I saw this as a great opportunity to do something like that among my peers,” Arshad said. 

Muhammadumar Munshi, a senior at Niles North, said he decided to apply to the Youth Commission in part because he’s involved in other volunteer efforts, like the high school’s Dance Marathon club, and he wants to make access to resources more equitable. 

“I thought it would be a great way to help give back to the community a little bit,” Munshi said.

“I’m involved in a lot of things so I thought this was another way I could get involved, find out a lot more about local government.”

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