Skokie Vision 23

Skokie Vision #23: When do you last remember the Village Board asking you what you what you thought before making a decision? Are the processes consistent and clear? Right now, the Village is surveying residents about how best to use its half-million-dollar 2025 allocation in HUD funds, although this is because community input is a Federal requirement (please do complete this survey by 4/30, by the way!).

Residents and business leaders throughout Skokie express their frustration to me about feeling their experiences and ideas are dismissed, ignored, or simply unsolicited by the Village Board. By not providing a two-way communications pipeline, the Village misses opportunities not only for better ideas, but for identifying people who could further serve the Village, whether through joining a board or commission, or simply by being themselves: subject matter experts of their own block, demographic, business sector, or policy area.

Resident voices make a difference, too. As the organizer of Skokie Neighbors For Housing Justice, I was pleased when last year, the Housing Sub-Committee of the Plan Commission bowed to our grassroots voices and, through the staff, held a couple of well-attended community meetings along with an online and paper survey on housing needs and policy suggestions. These influenced the final draft of the new Housing Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan, as you can see in the staff's memo, especially with regard to prioritizing the preservation of naturally occurring affordable housing and making sure housing goals are tied to "greater sense of community" rather than to more gated enclaves.

As your Trustee, I will make sure we have a long and well-defined runway for resident and business input into policy-making. Let's respect the expertise and talent we already have in Skokie among everyday people. I look forward to rolling up my sleeves with you.

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