First Look: Downtown Skokie's $8.9 Million Blueprint

After approving an $8.9 million bid to renovate the downtown area, the Village of Skokie was kind enough to provide the community with these easy-to-read blueprints of the downtown construction project/renovation.

Editor's note: To get the most optimized view of the downtown renovations, hit the "full screen" button just above the image, or to the right of the "Scribd" logo. Hit the left and right arrow keys to scroll through the pictures.  For more than 50 years, Skokie has made a vareity of efforts to revitalize its downtown. While the village has had some success, the $8.9 million bid that was approved on March 18, might move the project forward to unprecedented levels.   While anyone can view the construction blueprints at village hall, you'd have to be an architect to have the slightest clue of what you're looking at (see second image above). Fortunately, the village has provided this reader-friendly version of the blueprint to the community. …

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Fire At Senior Center Results in 2 Hospitalizations

Firefighters responded to a fire in downtown Skokie early Sunday morning. No serious injuries were reported.

A fire at a downtown Skokie senior center resulted in two hospitalizations on Sunday, according to CBS Chicago. The blaze happened around 1:30 a.m. at 5140 Galitz St., according to Skokie Fire Capt. Ron Moritz. According to CBS, one woman suffered from smoke inhalation while the other person was "ill." Firefighters are collecting data to see what caused the seven story fire. For more information, check out CBS Chicago's story here.

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Letter to the Editor

Letter To The Editor: Skate Park in Skokie

Skokie Park District president Mike Reid writes on how the proposed skate park can benefit the community while also addressing concerns.

Over the last several weeks, there has been a subject that has generated numerous comments on Skokie Patch. This is in reference to the skate board park to be built on the northeast portion of the Lincoln Junior High School property.  First, I want to provide some background information.  An intergovernmental agreement between the Village, Skokie School District 69, and the Skokie Park District, will have the park district oversee and supervise construction of the project and, pay the school district a nominal rent fee.  Funding for the majority of the project will come from the village’s downtown TIF fund (How TIF funding works - via village website). However, the park district will need to contribute additional funding.  This is to …

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Is the New Oakton Stop Paying Off For Downtown Skokie?

About six weeks have gone by since the grand opening of the new CTA Oakton Stop near downtown Skokie. See how many people are boarding the station daily and hear what local business owners are saying.

The CTA, the Village of Skokie and local businesses are all rating the Oakton Yellow Line station an unqualified success in its first month-plus of operation. Since opening April 30, the two-entrance station has averaged 689 daily riders, said CTA spokesperson Catherine Hosinski. No figures were available for passengers debarking. However, anecdotal evidence suggests riders are patronizing downtown Skokie businesses, a key goal of village planners. Skokie spokesman Ann Tennes specifically cited the reopened Skokie Theater - now Gorilla Tango Theatre - and the new Aw Yeah Comics, 4933 Oakton St., as destinations for Yellow Line patrons. And Crafty Beaver, adjoining the station to the west, is taking advantage CTA traffic with Tuesday …

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David Zornig

9:46 am on Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Yes Michael, we are. The Village should make the effort to specifically document the number of exiting riders from the new station into downtown. At least for the 1st few months. That data can then be used to help promote the downtown to potential businesses. Without it, only the paid fare numbers exist. If the exiting numbers are much higher, we'll never know it and can't use it to our advantage…   more ›

Alleged Skokie Shooter Attended 'Machine Gun Fest'

A picture taken of alleged Skokie shooter Alex Soballe during the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot in Kentucky in 2009. Soballe was charged with four counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm in June.

Alexander Soballe, the 20-year-old who allegedly fired eight shots at a vehicle during rush hour traffic near Oakton Street and Skokie Boulevard, was charged with four counts of felony aggravated discharge of a firearm on Saturday. The driver and passenger inside the vehicle escaped the incident without injury. Police said the shooting was a result of a prior domestic dispute between both parties. Officers located Soballe shortly after the incident in his home in the 4900 block of Louise Avenue, just a few blocks from the shooting. In 2009, when Soballe was 17, he attended the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot in West Point, Ky. The biannual event draws thousands of gun right activist and enthusiasts who get together to shoot automatic weapons …

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Ruth H

12:40 am on Wednesday, June 20, 2012

@ Steve Mottel Yes, Steve. There are a number of reasons why Skokie and every other neighboring area have changed. Take the recession. With it, comes more crime. Regular people commit crimes they would have never imagined possible before. Some residents get angry, do stupid things. There's also Skokie's close proximity to Chicago and Evanston. How great were those areas? A lot of thugs come in …   more ›

I'm Not Crazy - It's Them!

Hunger and the New Downtown Oakton Stop

This is about one woman's near starvation experience after six o'clock one Sunday evening after many restaurants had already closed on a well-traversed thoroughfare of Oakton Street.

It was 6:00 p.m. when I got off the train at the newly christened Oakton stop that Sunday.  The air was dry, the temperature had reached the 80s and this world-weary traveler had planned on heading back home to make sure nothing had short-circuited and to check on the dogs after spending the day in the loop.   As my feet pointed east, there was a rumbling in my stomach and I was hungrier than an armadillo on steroids.  (Never mind that I have never studied animals on steroids or anything even related, but will you just allow me some poetic license?)  So before heading back home to an apartment that was hopefully still standing and dogs that had minded their manners, I decided to deposit something in my gut-wrenching gut and peruse the two…

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I'm Not Crazy - It's Them!

Downtown Skokie: a Living, Breathing, Virtual Yellow Pages

How to find tradesmen and women in Downtown Skokie.

“Hogy vagy?” I asked upon learning this at 4:56 in the afternoon. After the standard “fine and you?” which I got the gist of, my Hungarian vocabulary had reached its limit because about the only things I understand are, “gum and soap,” “I love you,” “happy birthday” a swear word, and how to call someone a “chickadee,” which I suppose would not qualify me for any translation jobs. So I tried on some clothes and left after the owner said she could order some things in my size and alter them, if I so desired.  With one alterations person and another store down, I went to Pat’s Place restaurant further down the strip the next day.  I’d passed before at 3:01, just after they closed, and like many other beings in the zip code, learned that their…

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Is Downtown Skokie Getting a Coffee Shop?

The new CTA Oakton Stop on Skokie Boulevard is said to bring in new business. That theory may already be coming into play as this local resident is looking to bring downtown Skokie it's first true coffee shop.

For nearly a decade downtown Skokie has wanted two things: A new CTA station at Oakton Street and Skokie Boulevard and a coffee shop. While the above is a slight exaggeration, it does paint a bigger picture of what’s being done to transform downtown Skokie into an attractive destination not only for shoppers and diners, but also for new coffee drinking commuters. With the train already in place, the village sought after two major coffee sellers– Starbucks and Caribou – but never reached an agreement on the location. Both businesses wanted to build their stores at the traffic circle where the ‘kiss-n-ride’ drop off / pick up currently sits. It would have been similar to the Starbucks at the Skokie Swift. Now, 40-year-old Craig Hahn is …

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Iconic Downtown Diner Set to Close Shop

Pat's Place in downtown Skokie has been family owned since 1960. The restaurant is set to close shop come May 26. Owner Pat Bellos said, "I won't be retiring anytime soon."

Downtown Skokie will be losing an iconic diner come May 26, and many of its customer seem to be sad that it's leaving. Pat's Place, 5025 Oakton St., will be closing shop come next month. The restaurant first opened its doors in April of 1960. It has been run by family members ever since. The owner, Pat Bellos, said she and her landlord couldn't come to agreement on a variety of issues. "I won't be retiring anytime soon, I'm too young," Bellos said. "But we're going to party all day come May 26. It's going to be fun." Bellos said that she plans on relocating to another storefront come this Fall, but will "take some time off and figure things out" before opening a new location. Bellos added that she doesn't know where she'll reopen, but that…

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