Electoral Changes

Note: Web page information can be translated into more than 100 languages using the Google Translate "select language" tool at the bottom of the page. 

Approved Referendums

In the November 2022 Illinois General Election, Skokie residents approved three citizen-initiated referendums that changed Skokie Village Board elections to non-partisan, staggered terms for elected officials, and established hybrid representation through the creation of four geographic districts represented by one trustee each and two at-large trustee representatives. Currently, all Skokie trustees are elected at-large. Specifically, the referendum questions read as follows: 

• Shall candidates for mayor, clerk and village trustee in Skokie be elected in nonpartisan primary and general elections beginning on April 1, 2025? 
• Shall the village also adopt a system of staggered four-year terms and biennial elections for trustees, beginning in 2025? 
• Shall the village of Skokie adopt a system of hybrid elections in which two of six village trustees are elected at-large, and four of the six are elected from districts, beginning in 2025?

Implementation Timeline

Implementing these changes is the responsibility of the Village. To ensure that sufficient time is available for residents and candidates to understand the changes before the next Village Board election in April 2025, the Village anticipates implementing electoral changes by year-end 2023.

Below is a timeline for electoral referendums implementation:

• November 8, 2022 - Skokie residents approved three referendums to change Skokie Village Board elections.
• December 2022 – January 2023 - Village staff researched and contacted other communities that have implemented similar election actions.
• February 10, 2023 - The Village issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for election legal services.
• March – May 2023 - Village staff met with prospective legal services and district mapping consultants to assist with the implementation of the referendums in compliance with state election law.
• June 5, 2023 - The Village Board approved a contract with Klein, Thorpe & Jenkins (KTJ) to provide legal services and engaged mapping consultant, Peter A. Creticos, Ph.D., who brings more than 40 years of experience in districting and redistricting.
• August 14, 2023 - At the Skokie Public Library, the Village hosted “Election District Mapping Basics,” a public seminar providing community members an opportunity to hear from the attorneys and mapping consultant regarding the election district mapping and legal process and to share their initial ideas and input.
• September 11, 2023 - The Village hosted a second public meeting at the Skokie Public Library to present draft district maps and a draft implementation plan for public feedback.
• October 10, 2023 - The Village will host a third public meeting at the Skokie Public Library to present a proposed implementation plan and district map.
• November 2023 - The proposed map and implementation plan will be presented to the Village Board for consideration.
• December 2023 - The map and implementation plan will be presented to the Village Board for adoption.

Meetings

Election District Mapping Basics - August 14, 2023
The Village hosted an initial public seminar on August 14 to provide information about the election district mapping process and the laws that govern district mapping, present basic demographic information about Skokie, and gather community members' initial ideas and input. 

• Meeting agenda
• Meeting presentation
• School district, legislative, precinct and Census data maps presented at the meeting
• Meeting recording

Electoral Referendums Implementation Meeting - September 11, 2023
Following an initial community meeting on August 14 and public input, the Village presented draft electoral district maps and a draft referendums implementation plan to the community for feedback at a public meeting on September 11 at the Skokie Public Library. 

• Meeting agenda
• Meeting presentation
• Meeting recording (closed captioning available)
• Districting principles
• “Orchard” Map (color) | "Orchard Map (grayscale)
• “Prairie” Map (color) | “Prairie” Map (grayscale)
• “Marsh” Map (color) | “Marsh” Map (grayscale)
• Proposal data tables

Video summary

To improve accessibility and support information sharing, the Village created a 10-minute video summarizing the information presented at the September 11 public meeting. YouTube offers video closed captioning in more than 50 languages.

Districting principles
In developing the draft maps, the Village’s mapping consultant was guided by the following principles considered together:

• One person, one vote: The districts must be within acceptable deviations from the ideal.
• Compact and contiguous: A non-compact district is justified when other compelling factors, such as the Voting Rights Act, dictate otherwise.
• Center the map on an area of shared identity – i.e., join the districts around the center of Skokie. This is reinforced by how Skokie’s services, such as refuse collection and police beats, are divided roughly along north-south, east-west quadrants.
• Follow major thoroughfares, known boundaries, and other physical or jurisdictional factors that will be understood intuitively by Skokie voters.
• Communities of interest: Use public testimony or reasonable proxies that describe communities of interest in Skokie.
• People on one edge of a district should share a sense of community with those on the opposite edge.
• Observe residential neighborhood contiguities where possible.
• Avoid isolating communities set apart by the Edens Expressway or large industrial areas.

Draft maps
After receiving input from community members, the Village’s mapping consultant developed three draft maps guided by the principles above to present for further public input. The maps are named “Orchard,” “Prairie” and “Marsh” as a way to identify and distinguish them.

• “Orchard” Map – Maintains the smallest population differential among the draft maps.
• “Prairie” Map – Maintains a center point where all districts meet
• “Marsh” Map – Most visually compact draft map.

View map proposal data tables.

Draft implementation plan
Klein, Thorpe & Jenkins (KTJ), the legal firm assisting the Village with implementing the referendums in compliance with election laws, has drafted the following implementation plan.

Question 1: “Shall candidates for Mayor, Clerk, and Village Trustee of the Village of Skokie be elected at nonpartisan primary and general elections, beginning with the Consolidated Primary and the Consolidated General elections to be held on February 25, 2025 and April 1, 2025, respectively?”

Implementation: Amend Village Code to provide for nonpartisan system of elections.

• Candidates for Village elected office are prohibited from having political party affiliation listed on nominating papers and no party affiliation will appear on ballot.
• A nonpartisan system does not prohibit candidates from coordinating their campaigns, fundraising and platforms with political parties or other candidates, raising funds together, or accepting support from political parties while running for office.

Question 2: “Shall the Village of Skokie adopt a system of staggered four-year terms and biennial elections for Village Trustees, beginning with the Consolidated Primary and the Consolidated General elections to be held on February 25, 2025 and April 1, 2025, respectively?”

Implementation:

Question 3: “Shall the Village of Skokie adopt a system of hybrid elections for Village Trustees, in which two of six Village Trustees are elected at-large and four of six Village Trustees are elected from districts, beginning with the Consolidated Primary and the Consolidated General elections to be held on February 25, 2025 and April 1, 2025, respectively?”

Implementation: Creation of four Trustee districts. (See draft district maps above.)

Next meeting - Tuesday, October 10
The Village will hold a third public meeting on Tuesday, October 10, 7 p.m., at the Skokie Public Library (Petty Auditorium), 5215 Oakton St., to provide community members with a proposed draft implementation plan and district map. The implementation plan and map will be available on the Village’s website on Tuesday, October 3. Community members are encouraged to provide their input on the draft maps and implementation plan above by Wednesday, September 27 to ensure that their feedback can be considered prior to releasing the proposed draft map and implementation plan on October 3.

Share Your Input and Ideas

Community members are encouraged to review the information above and provide their input on the Village’s draft electoral district maps and implementation plan:

• Using the Skokie Electoral District Maps Input Form 
• Via email to electoralreferendums@skokie.org
• In writing to Village Manager’s Office, 5127 Oakton St., Skokie, IL 60077

FAQs

See frequently asked questions related to district mapping and referendums implementation.