After the village of Skokie was able to keep its property tax levy flat for 35 years, Village Manager John Lockerby announced at the Nov. 17 Board of Trustees meeting that the village will need to raise its property tax levy for the first time since 1990.
In his presentation to the Board, Lockerby said the costs to provide village services have increased or outpaced inflation. The proposed 4.8% property tax increase on the village’s portion of a property tax bill will mean a $21.34 increase for the average resident, and a $57.56 and $137.35 increase for commercial and industrial property owners, according to village documents.
The board did not make a binding vote to raise property taxes at its meeting, but voted to allow the village’s administration to draft an ordinance to raise the property tax levy.
The village of Skokie has long enjoyed large shopping malls Westfield Old Orchard and Village Crossing as big revenue generators. According to prior reporting, 72% of the village’s revenue is closely tied to the village’s gas tax, food and beverage tax and sales tax. The two are large reasons why the village has been able to keep its property tax levy flat for as long as it has been able to.
According to the village’s finance director Julian Prendi, 23% of Skokie’s revenue comes from sales taxes, a quarter of which come from Westfield, he said. Cell phone data showed that 90% of that revenue came from people who live outside Skokie, he added.
“Sales taxes, our largest single source of revenue, went through significant stagnation leading up to the COVID pandemic and only in the last three fiscal years have recovered sufficiently to produce inflation-like growth year-over-year,” Lockerby wrote in a memo to the board of trustees.
Another blow to Skokie’s revenue is the village’s loss of its federal SAFER grant, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant paid through FEMA to assist funding local fire departments. The grant, anticipated to expire at the end of 2026, funds three firefighter positions for the Skokie Fire Department.
In the past, the village’s budget has dealt with economic downturn, meaning less dollars spent on shopping malls, with reductions in staffing. In 2010, the village set a hiring freeze that is still in place, affecting 39 positions.
However, now the loss of those positions is impacting services the village provides, Lockerby wrote in his memo. To keep up with the needs of the village’s residents, the village will need to raise its property taxes, he said.
While Westfield Old Orchard Shopping Mall, pictured, provides significant sales tax revenue to the village of Skokie, the manager said increased costs for village services will necessitate the first property tax increase since 1990. (Karie Angell Luc/for Pioneer Press)
When asked, Prendi said the property tax increase could fund three positions, but that the administration has not made a decision on which three positions to fund, and if those three will be enough to address the village’s needs.
Per data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a dollar in 1990 has the buying power of $2.55, for an inflation rate of 154.9%.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/22/skokie-may-raise-property-taxes-for-first-time-since-1990/
