Affordability and development top concerns at Skokie trustee forum

Village trustee candidates for the four Skokie districts shared their views on economic development, housing, environmental sustainability, public safety and rat abatement at a candidates forum at Skokie Public Library on Tuesday evening.

The candidates were split between two forums: one for Districts 1 and 3, and the second for Districts 2 and 4. Each forum lasted 45 minutes and featured the same questions, which were submitted by the public to League of Women Voters of Evanston (LWVE) before the event.

Districts 2 and 4 forum

In his opening statement, District 2 candidate Nathan Norman said he has lived in Skokie for more than a decade and has worked in local and state governments throughout his career. He said he is committed to public service and community engagement and wants to restore transparency and accountability to village government.

District 2 candidate Alison Pure-Slovin, who has served as an at-large trustee for the past four years, said she moved to Skokie 15 years ago with her late husband to open a small business. She has worked for an international human rights organization for more than a decade, and said she would like to use her experience working with diverse communities to continue to serve Skokie. Pure-Slovin said she would also continue working with elected officials on state legislation that benefits the village.

District 4 candidate James Iverson said he moved to the village 15 years ago to start a business and find affordable housing for his family. Skokie is a great place to run a business, he said, and his four children had a wonderful experience attending local schools.

Originally from the southwest side of Chicago, District 4 candidate Edward Olivieri has lived in Skokie for 11 years with his wife and two children. Earlier in his career, he served as the director of the Cook County Office of Contract Compliance and oversaw minority- and women-owned business programs. He said village government has been well-run for many years, and he would like to build on that and invest in services that are necessary for residents.

When it comes to the village’s role in economic development, Iverson said that the board’s job is to exercise good judgment on how to leverage Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district funds and other resources to encourage development.

“I don't criticize the choices that we've made,” he said. “However, I do feel that investing more of our time and effort and energy and resources in some of the smaller organizations has a better return on investment than we often experience from some of the larger, more ambitious projects.”

Olivieri said he sees the village’s role as “facilitating and getting out of the way.” When the village increases costs for developers, that increases businesses’ operating costs and ability to stay open. Olivieri said the village should look for ways to reduce those barriers and provide incentives to facilitate further investment.

Norman, who currently serves on the Skokie Economic Development Commission, said he would like the village to shift its focus from larger projects to helping small businesses thrive in order to help revitalize downtown and other business corridors. Pure-Slovin said the village is already seeing an increase in new small businesses, and that it needs to build on that success. She said the village is doing an “extremely good job” with Main Street redevelopment.

“We do have to do it in other areas as well,” she said. “Dempster needs to be looked at, Oakton needs to be looked at, but we together as an economic team can do that by continuing to reach out and giving good incentives for people to come and open their businesses here in Skokie.”

Iverson said Skokie has a serious housing affordability problem. While rents in smaller buildings such as three-flats, four-flats and six-flats are "technically affordable," he said in many cases they are not affordable enough. The village should find ways to help small landlords maintain their properties, which will help them improve the quality of those homes. Olivieri agreed and said the village should partner with community development financial institutions to support landlords.

When asked whether Skokie’s housing policies need to be changed, all four candidates said no. Norman said the board must uphold current policies including the 7 percent affordable housing unit requirement for new developments and not divert from that standard. Pure-Slovin said Skokie’s affordable housing stock is already higher than the state requirement and that it’s important for the village to understand which strategies are working and to keep moving forward in that direction. The village can be proud of its affordability, Iverson said, but also cautioned that “the need and the demand is actually quite a lot more than what we're providing.”

The candidates also discussed environmental sustainability. Norman said Skokie needs an innovative plan to reduce carbon emissions, such as increasing the number of electric vehicle charging stations across the village, as well as replacing more of the village’s fleet with electric vehicles. Pure-Slovin said she is proud of the village’s recycling program and would like to see more compost drop-off locations. She said the village should consider banning plastic bags and styrofoam, and Iverson said he agrees with this idea. Olivieri said he wants to see a data-driven approach to environmental sustainability initiatives.

“Measuring is really important because we may in fact pass a policy that we can all pat ourselves on the back and say, ‘We did a great job.’ But on the back end, if we've increased people's costs then we haven't really captured the return on that investment,” he said. “I'm very much in support of looking at sustainability and seeing where it really makes sense, but it must be backed by data.”

Olivieri said the village should bring back twice-weekly trash pickup to help address the rat problem. Pure-Slovin said the village has responded by hiring more rat abatement experts. Bringing back a second trash pickup day can be re-evaluated, she said, but the village also needs to gather public input and take the environmental impact of having more garbage trucks driving around into consideration.

Norman said he has heard from neighbors that families feel unsafe walking with their children to and from school. He would like to look into traffic-calming solutions such as lowering speed limits and more signage to improve pedestrian safety for everyone in his district.

Districts 1 and 3 forum

In his opening remarks, District 1 candidate Patrick Blackwell said he has lived in Skokie and Evanston on and off for the past 30 years. He said seeing the housing disparities in his neighborhood has made him want to do more to address inequality in Skokie. Blackwell said he would like to implement youth empowerment programs to encourage young adults to engage with the community.

District 1 candidate Kimani Levy also grew up on the North Shore and is a member of Skokie’s Public Safety Commission. Kimani Levy said serving on the commission led her to deepen her involvement in the community by attending village board meetings. A mom of two small children, Kimani Levy said Skokie is a vibrant, diverse community and that she wants to help improve and build on the strong foundation that already exists.

Lissa Levy, who is running unopposed in District 3, has lived in Skokie for the past decade. As one of the founders of Meetup on Main, she said she has a long track record of working with diverse groups of people to solve problems. Lissa Levy said she has loved raising her children here and wants all residents to feel not just welcome but celebrated and supported in Skokie.

Blackwell said the village needs to address affordable housing issues so that families can afford to stay in Skokie. He said he has toured rental properties with friends interested in moving to the village, and saw many homes that need repairs inside and out. These landlords need to be held accountable through inspections and stronger enforcement of housing policies, Blackwell said.

Kimani Levy agreed that there needs to be a stronger regulatory process in place for landlords to ensure that rentals are livable. Along with affordability, accessible housing for senior and disabled residents is also vital. Kimani Levy said discussions with developers should include affordable housing units.

Lissa Levy said there is a significant housing crisis in her district, and that there are not enough rentals. She said the village’s affordable housing ordinance and other housing policies need to be changed. The Inclusionary Housing Ordinance stipulates that affordable housing units must comprise 7 percent of new housing developments, Lissa Levy said, which is not enough compared to the 15 percent requirement in other north shore suburbs.

Blackwell said he is concerned about crime and public safety. He said Skokie’s proximity to local expressways makes it easy for people to target the village for crime and then leave. About a year and a half ago, his uncle saw a car speeding down his cul-de-sac and told the driver to slow down because there were kids playing outside. The driver pulled out a gun and threatened him, prompting Blackwell to call the police. Blackwell said there was a shooting a few blocks from his neighborhood a few months ago.

“I think this is a big issue in our district,” he said. “We need to have things that we can put in place, mechanisms to prevent these types of situations from happening.”

The candidates all agreed that economic development is a challenge. Kimani Levy said the village has made some progress on things that foster development such as revising regulations for developers and making roads safer.

“I feel like Skokie can be reactive when businesses want to come in. They'll consider it and think it through,” Kimani Levy said. “I don't feel like the village does a lot to draw businesses to Skokie to help us maintain economic growth and build on the economic growth.”

Lissa Levy said the village needs to be more “nimble and responsive” to residents and local business, and that the community deserves to have economic investment everywhere. Blackwell said the village has had projects that have been “left dead and in limbo,” and encouraged more opportunities for community input so that Skokie is bringing in businesses that local residents want and need.

All three candidates said communication and transparency need to be improved so that residents feel they have a voice in government. Kimani Levy said this is critical when the village considers economic development projects and that leaders should proactively reach out to residents, especially when there is opposition. Lissa Levy agreed that the village needs to be more proactive about communications.

“Without that piece, we feel disengaged, we feel unheard, we feel angry, we feel frustrated, and that we're not in a community that reflects our values,” Lissa Levy said.

Blackwell said having new geographic districts is a good thing because trustees will know the needs in their districts.

“If we all work together, we can build something that's going to be powerful,” he said. “Something that will resound and have everyone's voices heard, no matter where you live in Skokie because you have somebody representing you from your neighborhood.”

The forum for Skokie village clerk candidates will be tonight from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at Skokie Public Library and will be followed by a candidate Meet and Greet. Videos from the candidate forums for district trustees, at-large trustees and village clerk will be available on demand following the events on the library’s Voter Information page and LWVE website.