Trustee Candidate Lipin an 'Advocate of the People'

Spend some time with Lisa Lipin and you'll quickly realize that she's part super mom, part grass-roots activist, hungry for change.

Lipin, a 22-year Skokie resident who is running as an Independent candidate for trustee this April, has been vocal on a wide range of issues - from crime to improving communication between residents and village government.

Some might say Lipin took action on July 24, 2010, when the newly-founded Skokie Voice hosted an open town hall meeting at Niles West High School. That night, the parking lot was slammed, and just about every seat at the Niles West auditorium was taken.

Go back seven years, however, and you'll see how Lipin took action when her then 5-year-old son Andrew nearly died after playing with a yo-yo.

"He ran to me and he was choking. He was blue, he couldn't talk," Lipin said. "He had the ball in one hand and the chord with the other hand. I was shocked that this was a toy."

When Lipin called the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), she was told that they had hundreds of cases reporting the same injury with the same toy, the Yo-Yo Waterball. Lipin said she was shocked the yo-yo was still on the market. She ultimately reached out to media outlets to start a crusade to ban the toy, she said. Then-Senator Barack Obama and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky sent letters to the CPSC, asking for a nationwide ban.

A different crusade

If elected, Lipin wants to recognize that crime is indeed a problem in Skokie, despite the fact the village says it's declining.

"[At the July 2010 open forum,] the issue was parks. Our park district is by far one of the best park districts in the country," she said. "Three years ago, the police department immediately took action and the Skokie Park District got more park monitors and changed the hours at troubled parks.

"But it's not about the parks right now," she added. "It's about the community at large. It's about shots being fired at an apartment window in a residential neighborhood or the lady  in broad daylight. That's not happening in the parks, it's happening in the neighborhood."

Some Caucus Party candidates  but Lipin said that is not the solution.

"We need to first admit there's a problem," she said. "Then we have to work as a community to change that. We have expectations of [the people] that live in our community: We don't mug our neighbors and we don't sell drugs on the corners.

"The current slate of candidates live in the same community I live in. Do they not see what I see? Do they not hear what I hear? And that's the question," Lipin said. "And I think voters are going to make a decision on April 9. The current party has been in power for more than 50 years. What's happened in the community has happened on their watch. And I think it's time for a change."

On hiring more officers

Lipin said she's talked to a number of Skokie police officers, adding that she hears the same thing when asked about crime and staffing levels.

"I talk to police officers. Residents talk to police officers. And [those officers] say that they're understaffed," Lipin said. "That they need more resources to perform their duties."

"I am all for hiring more police officers. Right now, I don't know the exact number that we need, but I do understand the cost associated with hiring a single officer," she added. "I think we need to make every attempt at figuring out a way to [hire more officers]. My opponents are afraid to talk about crime in Skokie. And I don't know why."

On economic development

Lipin acknowledged that Skokie has a strong sales sector, noting Old Orchard Mall and Village Crossing, but added that she looks at businesses a little differently.

”I want more of a business-friendly environment," she said. "I've talked to business owners that didn't realize that there might be money available to help with their business."

She also touched on something that drives most small business owners in Skokie crazy: Signage.

"When you talk to a business owner, they want to put a sign up, but they can't because it doesn't fit the guidelines for the village," she said. "We don't want business owners jumping through hoops to get things done. You have to have a little flexibility. If a business needs to put something up in their window that takes a little bit of extra space, is that really that big of a deal?

"To have our businesses prosper, we have to build a more business-friendly community," Lipin added. "I think we should go to residents and ask them what they want, and ask what it takes to get it done within the community. I think we need to have those conversations with our residents. If that means we have to make some accommodations, then we have to really work hard to accommodate."

In the end, Lipin said she sees herself as an advocate of the people. She added that she wants to address issues like crime and communication head on.

"I'm looking at Skokie as this big picture," she said. "It's about community, communication and cooperation."

*Read Our Previous Candidate Profiles Here*

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