Residents give feedback on Skokie Park District’s upcoming referendum; two more Q&A’s planned

The Skokie Park District on Tuesday hosted the first of three informational sessions to educate the public about its proposal to raise property taxes to fund the development of 46 acres worth of parkland.

About a dozen people gathered in the Weber Leisure Center on Tuesday, Sept. 22, to express their concerns, support and questions about the proposal, which will be posed to voters via a referendum on the ballot of the upcoming Nov. 3 election. 

If residents vote in favor of the project, the Skokie Park District will issue a 20-year, $53-million bond to fund comprehensive renovations to Skokie Sports Park, 3459 Oakton St., and transform a vacant industrial site nearby into a new park called Channelside Park South.

As The Record previously reported, the project would be the largest capital program the park district has undertaken since the 1990s. New facilities would include numerous lit sports fields, an indoor recreation center, an accessible playground, bandshell and walking paths.

If voters support the referendum, the annual property taxes for the average home worth $450,000 would increase by $163, park district projections show. Residents can learn more about the proposal and estimate how much it would increase their property tax bills by visiting the park district’s website.

The Skokie Park District’s two other informational sessions will take place virtually via Zoom.

The next session is scheduled to take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14. The third session will take place at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 18. 

Early voting begins on Oct. 7 at the Skokie Courthouse, 5600 Old Orchard Road. 

Questions about sewage smells

One person who attended the Sept. 22 information session, Ute Richter, said she would not support the proposal because it seeks improvements to both Sports Park and Channelside Park South. 

Richter said she would like to be able to vote in favor of portions of the project as she’s concerned about how other areas of the parks may smell with their proximity to the Terrence J. O’Brien Water Reclamation Plant, which is located less than a mile away. 

Sally Clark Arden, who said she is a Skokie resident who lives near the project, echoed concerns about the water plant’s smell and the wish for two different referendums. 

Skokie Park District Executive Director Michelle Tuft acknowledged there are days when the smell from the sewage treatment plant is noticeable, but Tuft said she is often at the property and does not notice any issues. 

Tuft said most of the development to Channelside Park South is concentrated on their northern halves, farther upstream from the water plant.

“If it’s a no then we will have to put our thinking caps back on and try to figure out what we want to do,” Tuft said in the event voters reject the district’s proposal. 

“We certainly want to be able to develop either of the properties in the way that is proposed currently. The reason we put them together is there is a lot of cost saving by adding those two projects together.”

Ross Mathee, another attendee, noted that many businesses operate along the channel despite concerns about smells and it is unlikely the property, which is owned by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, will be developed otherwise.

“I’ve lived here for 25 years. There are days when (the smell) is worse and the air is not moving and it’s really a bad day. But that facility is huge and this is a great opportunity for the park district,” Mathee said in support of the referendum.

Questions about referendum’s design, cost

Richter asked how the park district previously sought input from the public about the park referendum’s design, because she had only recently heard about it. 

Arden said she was worried that the bandshell proposed at Channelside Park South would be too far from residences and not easily accessible by walking; though she applauded the “aspirational” and “desirable” designs of the projects.

Another attendee said they were concerned how the bandshell could take away performances from other local parks and that Skokie needs an indoor pool instead. 

Tuft said the district mailed out a survey in the summer of 2025 seeking input on the park project and has used social media and its website to spread information. Tuft also said district staff no longer have time to change what proposed amenities are going to be on the ballot. 

Staff opted not to add a pool to the design because pools “lose money,” Tuft said.

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

If the Skokie Park District does secure grant funding to help fund the project it does not have to levy the full $53 million in bonds, Tuft said, and construction costs increase then staff will cut certain amenities from the plan because they will not exceed the $53 million issuance.

The added cost of operating the renovated parks should be offset by revenue from renting out the new fields, Tuft said, and she does not anticipate needing new full-time employees to staff them.

Dennis Clarke, another session attendee, said he supports the project because the Skokie district is “under-parked” in respect to how many people it serves. A previous district presentation said it serves 63,000 residents and should have 398 acres according to national benchmarks. 

Clarke said his only concern was that construction would tear down trees. Guynn said they only anticipate tearing down buckthorn in the area, which are considered invasive.

One other attendee said he disliked the wording of the referendum the Skokie Park District voted in July to add to the November ballot because it does not explicitly explain that voting in favor of a bond will increase residents’ property taxes. 

The referendum that will be on voters ballots come Nov. 3 reads as follows:

"Shall the Skokie Park District, Cook County, Illinois, address facility and site improvements at Sports Park East, including building and equipping a new recreation center, constructing a walking/jogging path, park shelter, playground, and golf chipping and putting area, improving athletic fields, including bu not limited to cricket, soccer and multipurpose fields, and adding sports lighting, and converting a former industrial site along the North Shore Channel into a new park that includes green space, an ADA-compliant playground, walking/biking path, bandshell, park shelter, and multipurpose facility, and other park improvements, and issue its bonds to the amount of $53,000,000 for the purpose of paying the costs thereof?"

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