Skokie Parks referendum passes, paving way for a new park and property-tax hike

The Skokie Park District will move forward with its largest capital campaign in decades after residents voted in favor of raising property taxes to fund developing 46 acres worth of parkland. 

With all precincts counted in the Cook County Clerk Office’s unofficial results on Tuesday evening, 60.7% of voters supported the Skokie Park District issuing $53 million in bonds to renovate the Skokie Sports Park, 3459 Oakton St., and transform a vacant industrial site nearby into a new park.

The Record could not immediately reach park officials.

With voters apparently giving the green light, the district will move forward, which will result in in an annual property tax increase of approximately $0.129 per $100 in home value for the next 20 years. Residents can estimate how much their property tax bill will increase by visiting the park district’s website. 

The funds reportedly will go toward creating multiple lit sports fields, an indoor recreation center, outdoor bathrooms and other enhancements at the Skokie Sports Park. A vacant stretch nearby will be transformed into Channelside Park South with an accessible playground, bandshell and walking path.

In the months leading up to November, district staff argued the project would provide amenities residents have requested, support new programming, improve park accessibility, and offer the landlocked district a unique opportunity to expand and correct a deficit of 152 acres, according to national benchmarks.

During public informational sessions and on social media, residents expressed concerns about how Channelside Park South could smell given its proximity to a nearby sewage treatment plant, the terms of the district’s lease on the properties and whether the referendum clearly communicated it was a tax hike.

In the unofficial results, 11,019 residents voted in favor of the bond and 7,269 residents voted against it. The Skokie Park District boasts more than 63,000 people as it encompasses all of Skokie and parts of Evanston, Morton Grove and Chicago. Voter turnout is 40.76% as of Tuesday night.

The proposal was possible in part because the district has entered into a 50-year lease with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago to maintain the property where the two parks are located for the exclusive purpose of public recreation. The lease cost $10. 

Corrie Guynn, superintendent of Skokie’s parks and facilities, previously said the district will apply for grants if the referendum passes but could not secure grant funding for the project before the referendum.

If the Skokie Park District does secure grant funding to help fund the project, the agency does not have to levy the full $53 million bond, Director Michelle Tuft previously said. If construction costs increase, staff will cut certain amenities from the plan as they will not exceed the $53 million issuance, she said.

Tuft said the district does not anticipate needing additional full-time staff for the new properties and the district would budget their operational expenses outside of the $53 million bond. 

Joe Nowik, a former candidate for the Skokie Village Board, was one of many people who shared information about the park district referendum on social media and urged residents to vote against it.

“While I had concerns about the size, scope, and long-term financial impact of the proposed project, I also believe we must respect the democratic process. The responsibility now is to make sure the project is managed responsibly and delivers the benefits promised to the Skokie community,” Nowik said via text.

The Skokie Park District last put a referendum on the ballot in 1982, and, though results are difficult to locate, Tuft said in an email that she thinks it failed.

Before then, residents voted in 1955 to back a $1.75 million bond to fund the acquisition of parks and the construction of the Devonshire Community Center. Voters also approved a 1951 referendum that allowed the district to levy a tax for programming, a Skokie Park District website shows.

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