hey Skokie fathers, no wonder no businesses want to come here.

Just off of the Old Orchard ramps. Wouldn't it be a great idea to extend the Skokie Swift to Old Orchard Road?

This happened two blocks from my house and just hours before it happened I walked my dog down that block. As a result, Skokie is going to have my law abiding, tax paying, neighborly family moving out. It has been said that the crime rate is going down but it was never addressed that violent crimes are on the rise. Skokie officials continue to line their pockets by accepting government money and allowing this in our community.

The mayor and the police chief or a high ranking officer ought to call a meeting of the people in this neighborhood to assure them that you will do all you can to combat drug dealing in their neighborhood & follow this up with a renewed visible presence.

You need to publicly assure the citizens of Skokie that you are going to emphasize a war on drug dealing and armed crime in this village. You cannot afford to publicly play down this very real problem. You need to assure Skokians that A: you recognize these two real problems and B. Share specifically what you plan to do about it.

This is a problem that will not go away. Publicly ignoring will not only demoralize Skokie citizens, but reflect badly on the village with our neighbors. This will affect the future growth & vitality of the village.

Trustees, confront this issue with the mayor, Manager Rigoni, the Village attorney, & Police Chief Scarpeli and get ahead of this before it gets out of control.

It is election time, but even if it were not, you need to acknowledge that Skokie has a problem; don't either ignore it publicly or soft peddle it. Help the police to face this head on & give them whatever support they need that is lacking. Talk to the people in Skokie. Begin a public conversation & reassure the public through proactive plans of action. Help the police by enlisting more cooperation from the public.

You know me & realize I am not some wild nut crying wolf. Are you listening?

Violent crimes are not on the rise.

Seymour,
C'mon, Haven't you been listening? They aren't listening.
Easier to lynch the landlords and appease skokie voices.

I know what I am going to do come a few short weeks from now.

I am a Skokie landlord who is going to sell his three buildings and leave this well deserved mess to those of you who accuse landlords who have been fighting this crap for years now.

Somehow, I don't feel loved and appreciated. So why bother? I don't believe Skokie is EVER coming back.

What have your city fathers done that you would call successful? Do your Park District or Schood Districts care about the huge property tax loads they have placed on residents?

The good thing is that nothing is anybody's fault. Too many predators gnawing on my carcASS. I am tired of that role. Were all landlords Jewish, we would call this action against us ANTISEMETIC, and this action would be deemed intolerable...unacceptable.

But we can't use that label unfortunately ...because all landlords are "DIVERSE". I use that metaphor only because I do not know what you call it when a lynch mob forms and places blame on innocent landlords?

And yet Skokie so prides itself on its diversity. And wants to further deplete our tiny trickle of a cash flow. Because we are GUILTY? Of what? Seem fair to ANY readers?

I am just too tired of people who skim the surface and think they know what they are doing. I will sell, and Skokie will gain 3 new absentee landlords...who won't watch who they rent to like resident landlords do. Who won't be in the neighborhood to care for it and watch over it. And so I will bid my 23 year home adieu.

I will laugh and smile as I walk away from the closing table and make my financial losses real for having over improved my properties. For having loved them, as you would your child.

I am tired of rotted out streets, clogged sewers, rats, slow village response to EVERYTHING...with the ubiquitous response of 'we are real busy'. 23 years of that now.

In 23 years, my block has NEVER been resurfaced Eric Cook is the village guy who gave me the excuse on that one. And who really need resurfacing when you can throw down another crappy patch...about 200 lineal feet of it.They are always busy. Why would a street get resurfaced when the best asphalt road made, only lasts 20 years. I know. Worked for Cat Tractor right out of college and studied it for them. Cat had a big new idea...needed it researched. Sorry I know more than you Eric.

"LIZ" ....just Liz, no last name, is the village employee who gave me the latest EXCUSE just a day ago as to why they have still not removed the dying tree...tagged for removal for more than 6 months now. Busy. To look around you would never guess it. If everybody was so damned busy you would think the town's appearance would be nicer?

But they have to put some multi-family streets on hold. Apparently not the four blocks north of me where you can spot the remnants of trees freshley removed. On every block.

In the Lee Wright Park too.

Oh, and they won't be able to "stump" the tree out for several years, thus they cannot promptly replace it. Till the old stump rots away...and remains a trip and fall hazard for a few years. Who cares if you fall on the curb and get hurt. Just another of Skokie's zillions of law suits. You see, Liz says they don't have a stumper that can remove a Maple tree stump that size. (It isn't really all that large). I really thought that was a great excuse. Not lame at all. You would think a decent stumper would be cheaper than a single lawsuit, no?

But seriously, a village of 63,000+ residents doesn't own a decent stumper? Maybe we will have one when our population hits 100,000+ ?

And apparently our $80 million dollar + flood control project didn't work in some areas as well. So I spent $15,000 of my own money and bought the three I needed, to protect my property and my tenants.

I hope the village enjoys the three new absentee landlords they will pick up after I go. Elm street will suffer greatly for my departure. But sooner or later, You even get tired of hearing YOURSELF whine. I can spot "We don't care when I see it."

And soon, as more and more properties go up for sale in Skokie, residential property losses will mount and prices will decline further. But hey, won't that make them even more attractive, in spite of record taxes and foreclosures? Sure. Skokie, you thoroughly "purchased" your problems. With fine village management and government. Cannot believe village manager Al Rigoni and old George Van Dusen are still hanging around. Unfettered greed and egos.

Hell, those two commodities don't come cheap. And "Open Communities" will continue shoveling loads of low income residents into our community. Soon the median income will be so low in Skokie. what decent retailer would want to come here. Yes, they do look at that number. And our extra 1% of sales tax, since 2010 now. Good bye Nano Ink...Illinois Science and Technology park ...only about 70% occupied, with low end jobs, over more than 8 years after they opened for leasing. And it's leasing agent, bemoaning how difficult tenant retention is with such high property taxes. Cannot argue with success, can you?

Skokie is just so, so broken on so very many levels. Multi-faceted failure is all you can say. BROKEN SKOKIE...a single additional farewell joining over 10,000 other farewells.

@Jon -- Yes they are.

Jon, Guessing you are in some capacity affiliated with our do nothing but deny civil servants. Yes crime is up. Shootings in Skokie heretofore have never been a "way of life", but apparently they are now, in the NewSkokie. Just more diversity to enjoy.

Jon, are you familiar with the term "GOA" ?

A term of art with law enforcement. It refers to "we arrived too late" ooops. The bad guys were Gone On Arrival. And so the drug deal that went down, or the kid that got mugged and ran home,...well Jon, NO CRIME. Because we didn't catch the bad guys and so "no crime to record".

All gone. All done. More "reduced crime". That's just one way of "REDUCING CRIME". Don't make any arrests. : ) Happy face time!!

Another way you reduce crime, would be when you tackle the "youths" in your garage, basement, or first floor and hand them over to the cops.....the DA tells you it's their first time (read first time caught) not REALLY their first time. And so Jon, what should have been two crimes for all the perps becomes a lesser single crime for each of them. Oh and also for the one guy they wouldn't rat out ...who was "GOA". Even more "less crime". I have 'been there...done that'. We got lots less crime nowadays. Lots less.

I live near Main and McCormick. We have had roaming bands of kids (black hoodies, backpacks, black jeans,,,,yes they are black kids.....) 'patroling' this area for about 3 years, sometimes in packs. They hang out at a park just over the canal across from Food for Less, which is Evanston. Is this why no one does a thing about it? I have called police 4 this year already because two or three were walking down the street glancing in everyone's car window. The other day we called the police because we heard 6 gunshots (I was in the army, I know what they sound like. )
They freely deal drugs on the corner and pull up to the building across from me all night. Even the mailman knows who they are and the "really bad building" on the next block. I talked to an officer who said just call, just call just call, they will come out. Wasn't interested in the details. I call often and gave up. Nothing changes. Skokie has. We have watched it over the last few years, and wonder why it has been allowed. It has not been nipped in the bud and now it's a full grown weed. I'm with some of you...we are planning to move in the next year and a half. Skokie is turning into a slum.

http://www.skokie.org/MulitFamilyLicensing.cfm
READ THE NEW SET OF LIES ABOVE AT SKOKIE'S WEB SITE.

The Village Board voted to concur with the proposal at their regularly scheduled meeting on July 16, 2012 and the proposal was converted to an ordinance. The Village Board considered the ordinance and amended it at the September 4, 2012 Board meeting. In addition, the Village Board deferred the proposed rental licensing program to a date uncertain. Click here for the Ordinance.

In addition, an interim Landlord - Resident Advisory Committee was formed to further consider the proposal and see if common ground can be found. Village Trustee and Chairman of the Committee presented the Committee's report to the Village Board at the February 19, 2013 Village Board Meeting. {THAT ENTIRE SENTENCE IS A BALD FACED LIE} (ASK ANY OF THE LANDLORD'S PRESENT AT THAT BEHIND CLOSED DOORS MEETINGS WHICH NO ONE IN THE VILLAGE WAS AWARE OF. HOWEVER, 3 LANDLORD'S HANDPICKED BY OUR MAYOR WERE ON "THE COMMITTEE". WELL WHEN MAYOR VAN DUSEN SELECTS WHAT LANDLORDS WILL BE ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE, YOU JUST KNOW IT IS GOING TO BE OBJECTIVE, NO?) THE ENTIRETY OF THE COMMITTE MEETINGS WERE A FARCE. A DECK STACKED AGAINST LANDLORDS WHO HAVE IVESTED HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS IN SKOKIE FOR YEARS NOW. Click here for the presentation and click here for a copy of the report. At a future meeting, the Board will once again invite public comments on the subject.

Isn't it odd that the Mayor appointed THE ONLY KNOWN DEPARTING TRUSTEE to head this "panel". If you note, they DID NOT EVEN NAME TRUSTEE PERILLE BY NAME ON THE VILLAGE'S SITE. How odd. I am sure ...just a small oversight. First thing out of Perille's mouth in the meetings was that "he had no skin in the game".
EXCUSE ME, is THAT A QUALIFICATION? Does that make you a qualified leader on this? No, I think it means...'well I'm expendable, in fact, I am REALLY ALREADY GONE.

This village operates on the edge of corruption. How far can we push it without risking a lawsuit? What a slippery bunch of scoundrels we have "REPRESENTING US".

Several SILA members (LANDLORDS) were present at all those meetings and requested the opportunity to present some of our ideas for dealing with SKOKIE"S problem. We were silenced by trustee Perille and told WE WERE ONLY THERE TO DISCUSS "THE ORDINANCE" as if a 'Palatine solution' to a 'Palatine problem' would similarly apply in Skokie. NOT. I respect Skokie Voice. I mean that. But they are blowing it on this one...totally.

But just because you schmooze the police over at the department for ayear while you "compile statistics" and deem Skokie's problem a landlord problem. doesn't give an iota of validity to your "STATS" or YOUR SOLUTION. What are SV's professional qualifications? We have a Realtor as a member. We ran it by the 'do nothing' "public safety commission" (a 2 year voluntary position) first !

I would like to know why the people who were buying marijuana, which is illegal, reported the armed robbery to the police and whether the offender was the drug dealer who lived in the 9500 block of Lavergne. If so, why haven't the police arrested the dealer?

Please sign this: Worried about living here

I was wondering that exact thing... If it was the dealers residence and the dealer robbed them at gun point, why has the dealer not been arrested. Even if he ran they know who he is and where he lives. It seems as though a lot of these reports end with "no arrest made", "offender(s) got away". To me, and this is just my observation, the only reports I've read were an arrest was made seem to be when skokie police assisted another police dept.

Brian, just leave already. Go somewhere where there is no such thing as crime and write to us all...

You can go back to sleep now Sanjeev. Sorry to have awoken you. Be brave my son. Crime will never touch your little head.

any suggestions?