After moving here from Waveland Avenue (Wrigleyville), I was so happy with all of the parking -…read morewow! But there's so much more than free street parking - there's the schools, the park district, awesome eating and dining choices, shopping, transportation, employment, closeness to downtown/lakefront/Wisconsin/Ohare airport/Schaumburg, the police dept, etc. It's hard to beat all of that. Oh don't forget the library! Are there areas that need revitalization?, yes, and Mayor Van Dusen is leading us in the right direction. Like Evanston, we have our own issues. Housing - you can get a single family home for 1.5 million or a studio for 150k. You can also rent a home or an apt., there are many choices. If you like diversity in people, you'll be just fine here. I think Skokie sets the bar for the entire nation on how to appreciate different people, not just tolerate your neighbors. If you don't like diversity in people, this is 2018, maybe it's time to change? Once again, maybe Santa Monica, CA, does an equal job, but hey, everyone there is wealthy (minus the homeless). My favorite things in Skokie in no particular order: - the proximity to everything (13 miles to the bean) - the malls are all lively (Village Crossing) - the parks (Norman Schack) - the schools, you can go to Harvard if you wish (Niles West and Niles North are respectable) - the financial responsibility displayed by Skokie officials (decent taxes) - the shopping and food choices (Tesla, Lacoste, Jollibee, Salvation Army, for example) - the Skokie Police (check out the new head quarters) As the foreclosures work through the system, there will be a continual increase in home value and that will further improve Skokie overall. Where would I rather live you may ask? In the US - the Bay Area and Iloilo, Philippines. (One day - Matisyahu).

The Village has a new Mayor, bravo. But little has changed in the failed downtown. New businesses…read morehave opened. None of the new additions look profitable. A very big problem is the lack of visible and easy access to parking. Too many beauty shops! Restaurants with little to offer. Restaurant failures and turnovers are considerable. More than enough bakeries. The "skeleton" is a failed attempt at an unneeded downtown hotel. The village lost $10,000,000 dollars of taxpayer money investigating it this eyesore. A bright spot is Ascione, a downtown Italian restaurant. Definitely upscale, very nice interior design and a good menu. Most of the customers come from elsewhere both from Chicago and northern Illinois suburbs. As a frequent diner I really enjoy Ascione. Best yet it is walking distance. I'm looking forward to moving away from this Village. I see no further for this downtown.

Would be nice if the announcement for vital record was at the entrance of the building indicating…read moreyou need an appointment. Super frustrating that you get there hoping to be serviced. People walking out being served WITHOUT an appointment. And when it's your turn the clerk tells you no that you need one. I clarified with so many people being served if they had an appointment and they said no. Thanks for nothing.

I needed to get copies of my daughter's birth certificate and visiting the downtown Chicago…read morelocation of the county clerk's office, although much closer, would probably have been incredibly frustrating. Skokie isn't that far away and just the availability of parking would make it an easier place to visit. This location of the county clerk, inside the Skokie Courthouse, is maybe a mile from Old Orchard Shopping Center (I guess I've never driven in this direction on that road because I had no clue it was here). There's ample parking at the courthouse. Obviously lots of court proceedings take place here but there's also offices for the Cook County Sheriff and other offices, including the clerk. It was a pretty quick visit for me--I was in and out of the building within about ten minutes. The woman who helped me seemed like a pretty unfriendly human, so that was too bad (I never understand this--it's not my fault that you work where you do or that you hate your job or whatever, so I'm not sure why people act as though they hate the fact you're making them do it). As of 2023, copies of a birth certificate are $15 for the first copy and $4 for each additional one. There's a cafeteria here though I don't know if they actually serve food here, at least anymore--maybe that changed during the pandemic. But they do have a lot of tables in the cafeteria. There's also at least one ATM in the building just past the security station. When you visit you'll have to put all your things through the security check so I'd suggest packing lightly.

My family would like to thank the Skokie Police Department for the quick response to a request for…read morea wellbeing check for our cousin that lives alone and we have not heard from for the past 6 weeks. The police checked on my cousin within 20 minuites of my call. They could not gain access to his apartment, so they spoke with his neighbors who had not seen him for some time. Afterwards they drove to Evanston and spoke with his mother who informed them that he had been hospitalized and was in serious condition. Thank you to the dispatcher that origionally took my call and the officers for their quick response.

You got a fcking rude ass officer answering the phone.l called at 6:43 am 6/9/26. I'm trying to…read moreconfirm if they found my dad's dog and the asshole is telling me we don't have any dogs, did you ask your dad. No asshole I'm in Texas and my dad doesn't know how to use the Nextdoor app. I wouldn't be surprised if your ass was on desk duty.

I am making a billboard for the Skokie Masonic Center. I am dealing with Mike Horowitz and Sam…read moreSpector. They are very thorough when dealing with them. They came up with good ideas on how to make it. They submitted artwork that is a very good design. I'm looking forward to doing this for them. Don Wing, Wing Sign Co., Inc.

04/01/26 - My wife and I went her to see if we qualified for property tax exemptions. It's better…read moreif you have your property tax information w/you but they can look up the property tax information w/your name & address. They will be able to locate the PIN number. It's also better if you have an appointment but you will be able to meet w/one of their employees that handle this. It just takes longer

The service provided was very friendly and prompt. I have to commend Cook County and the State for…read moretheir efficiency.

When we decided to get married, we knew we wanted a City Hall ceremony, for multiple reasons. The…read morewhole time, we planned to get married downtown, but when they stopped taking appointments for awhile, I panicked and called Skokie to see if they still were. This was right before the Delta surge, so I don't know what, if anything, has changed, but at the time, we were allowed 4 people to go in with us. I later on found out downtown resumed taking appointments and made one there, but we kept circling back to Skokie, because again, multiple reasons. Downtown only allowed 2 people to go in, there's no easy parking and we wanted to take some photos at spots up north, so we'd be driving in all sorts of circles in such a short period of time. After much debate, we figured Skokie would be easier to navigate for my mom, easier to hit up our photo locations and allowed us to have 2 extra people, which ended up being really nice and much needed on the actual day. This was a rough day. My mom unexpectedly passed a couple weeks prior and I stopped caring about our wedding plans completely. My friends came through and helped get me out of my sadness long enough to have a wonderful day, and the judge? Well, he was great. We actually ended up having 5 people with us (unintentionally) and he didn't mind. He allowed (only) us to take our masks off and then claimed it was his anniversary day, too. He probably tells that to everyone, or maybe it really was, but he really put a smile on everyone's face. If I remember correctly, we were the 2nd to last to get married, but he didn't rush us. He made sure the photographer got all of her photos, and our friends, too! We had 3 separate cars of people driving here. The first 2 cars were friends we sent ahead to "check-in" for us and let them know we were on our way, since we had to make a quick pit stop after the first photo location. Security was quick to come out and remind us about masks, which we then panicked about when we realized my stepdad didn't have his and my friends who were inside had all the extras. In all that chaos, everything worked out. During covid, at least, they have you check-in, pay the fee (I think it was $10) and then have you wait a little bit before they get started. Each couple, and their party, goes in one at a time and I think they had something like 6 spots per day, which is why it was important to call and make that appointment. I recently remarked to my husband that it would have been nice to have some pictures outside of City Hall, but we had no regrets about choosing this location and there was a spot right out front where we were able to take some really nice photos.

This place bites. I needed to get some documents from the vital records office and when we got…read morethere, the security guard said that office was closed (I guess that's why there were people pouring out of the building a few minutes after 4 pm). He also told me that apparently the vital records office runs on an appointment only basis. Yet when I made my appointment for the following day, they let folks in who didn't have an appointment. Weird. I don't really love this new development, especially since you don't know about it unless you show up or I guess look at their website beforehand. This is a relatively new system, because when I went to pick up some record a couple years ago from this same office at this courthouse and was able to walk in and do it within fifteen minutes. And when you get there they make you sit directly next to one another--four of us were sitting elbow to below when there were at least a dozen and a half chairs there. If you want to walk in, go downtown for assistance.

This was my first experience with a SS Admin office. I went in to get a new card, as the one I had…read morewas 40 years old and I needed a new one. I got there at 8:55 am. There were about 8 people in front of me. They opened the doors promptly at 8:59. The security guard was extremely helpful in directing people to the computer kiosk where you need to sign in. BTW: You can make an appointment, I didn't know that nor did I have one. Once I quickly filled out the prompts on the screen, the security guard told me what form I needed to fill out and directed me right to them. The office staff was FAST! I waited about 6 minutes before I was called. The man who helped me couldn't have been nicer and had a great sense of humor. I was out of there 2 minutes later with a new SS card on it's way in 2 weeks. Excellent experience. I appreciate our government employees even more. Thanks SS Office! D

Not sure where all the negative reviews came from but my experience was excellent from when I…read moreentered and the very nice security guard walked me through the check in process and I waited about 5 minutes and my appointment time was on time. The dude behind the counter with the long hair (Mr. Rogges) I found out. Sorry if I spelled it wrong, was super informative, efficient, and helpful and resolved my SS issues right away! Thank you sir!!

Howard, as the Executive Director of the Skokie Chamber of Commerce, not only cares about his…read morechamber members, but also about the community he serves. Through Howard's effort, the Skokie Chamber has become one of the premier Chambers on the North Shore. Howard has made significant contributions to the LeTip business leads sharing group that he and I belong to in Skokie. I highly recommend Howard Meyer and the Skokie Chamber of Commerce as a powerful business partner and network referral source!

Excellent roadside attraction. Completed in 1934, this is a water tower in disguise. Added to the…read moreNational Register of Historic places in 2019 the tower is closed for tours while the tower itself, the grounds around it and the parking area are getting a face lift. Keep an eye on their social media and/or website for updates on when tours will begin again. The tower bells ring out a song at 9am, noon, 3pm and 6pm and gives a single chime every quarter hour. The bells are lovely. At the time of this review the parking area is unavailable during renovation. The Aldi's parking lot next to the tower would be a good option until their lot opens again. The gardens around the tower are filled with beautifully scented flowers. The reflecting pool in front is very nice and there are two tiers of seating facing the tower with gardens between the tiers.

Went to visit the mini Leaning Tower. A Historic place. Went early Saturday morning and no one was…read morethere. Glad to have gone during the summer. As the water was filled, grass was green, and green trees/bushes. Area was clean. Very small area. Lots of seating though facing the tower. We walked the area and took pictures 5-10min. Parking is at the wholesale warehouse or the Aldi parking lost next to the Tower.

Blast from the past. It's a must see for a family pic! If…read moreyou are ever in Winetka stop by.

Such a fun Chicago tourist spot to come and see the Home Alone House! The house itself is owned and…read moreoccupied but currently going through renovations. The inside seemed to be completed in 2025 but the landscaping is currently being worked on. I loved the sign out front still nodding to the movie but this was such a fun and easy stop to make when exploring the Northshore.