Skokie (formerly Niles Center) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a suburb of Chicago, located on the northwest border of Chicago. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 63,348.

Geography
The Yellow Line of the Chicago Transit Authority rapid transit system (formerly known as the "Skokie Swift"), has its terminus at Dempster Street in Skokie. Plans are underway to build a new station at Oakton Street, serving downtown Skokie and nearby neighborhoods. The station is slated to open in 2009.
The Village is also serviced by several CTA and PACE bus routes and a Greyhound Bus Terminal.
Interstate 94, also know as the Edens Expressway, runs through the western part of the village with interchanges at Touhy Avenue, Dempster Street, and Old Orchard Road.

Transportation
As of the census of 2000, there were 63,348 people, 23,223 households, and 17,045 families residing in the village. The population density was 2,436.1/km² (6,308.7/mi²). There were 23,702 housing units at an average density of 911.5/km² (2,360.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 65.6% White, 4.51% African American, 0.17% Native American, 21.28% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.86% from other races, and 3.23% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.71% of the population.
There were 23,223 households out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.5% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.6% were non-families. 23.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.20.
In the village the population was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 90.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.2 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $57,375, and the median income for a family was $68,253. Males had a median income of $44,869 versus $33,051 for females. The per capita income for the village was $27,136. About 4.2% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.9% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.

Demographics

History
Skokie was originally incorporated in 1888 with the name Niles Centre. Historians estimate that around 1910, the spelling was changed to Niles Center. Confusion was caused by the neighboring village of Niles (both villages were within Niles Township), and a campaign emerged to change the village's name by the late 1930s. The community became known as the Village of Skokie (see below) on November 15, 1940.
Village land was widely subdivided during the real estate boom of the 1920s. Many two and three flat apartment buildings, and Chicago style bungalows were built at the time, however, the market crash of 1929 halted widespread development.
It wasn't until the 1940s and 1950s, when the baby boomer generation moved their families to the suburbs, that Skokie's housing development took off again. The 1950s also brought commercial development like the upscale Old Orchard Shopping Center, now Westfield Old Orchard.

Beginnings
According to Virgil Vogel's Indian Place Names in Illinois (Illinois State Historical Society, 1963), the name Skokie may have been derived "directly from 'skoutay' or 'scoti' and variant Algonquian words for fire. The reference is to the fact that the marshy grasslands, such as occurred in the Skokie region were burned over by the Indians in order to flush out the game."
Vogel continues; "Several persons declare that 'Skokie is the Indian word for marsh.'" Allowing for corruption, this seems correct. Until about 30 years ago the Skokie marsh area was shown on maps as Chewab Skokie. This is probably a derivation from Kitchi-wap choku, the Potawatomi term meaning "great marsh". This explanation, though lacking documentation, is more credible because it is consistent with the former physiography of the area. On the other hand, the word may root from the same Algonquian source as the word Chicago -- zh'gak and sh'kag both being different voicings of bases for "skunk" and "wild leek" in many languages in this group.
William Bright in the book Native Placenames of the United States (U. of Oklahoma Pr, 2004) lists Vogel's Potawatomi derivation first but adds reference to the Ojibwa term miishkooki which also means marsh. Bright cites the Eastern Ojibwa-Chippewa-Ottawa Dictionary by Richard A Rhodes (Mouton, 1985) as the source of this information.

Toponymy
Skokie was traditionally home to a sizable Jewish population, and although in recent years the town has significantly diversified, the Jewish population in Skokie, as well as in other suburbs, has also grown significantly. In 1977 and 1978, members of the National Socialist Party of America (an offshoot of the American Nazi Party) attempted to march through Skokie. The NSPA planned to rally in Marquette Park, Chicago; the city reacted by placing a ban on all demonstrations in the park.
Seeking another venue, the NSPA chose Skokie. On account of the large number of Holocaust survivors in Skokie, it was believed that the march would be disruptive, and the village refused to allow it. The American Civil Liberties Union interceded on the behalf of the NSPA in National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie, and the march was permitted to proceed under court order but they were not permitted to show or wear the swastika (their Nazi military uniforms were permitted though).
However, due to the recant of the Marquette Park ban, the NSPA ultimately rallied in Chicago. In 1981, the incident was documented in the network TV movie, Skokie.

NSPA Controversy
In 1999, Creativity disciple Benjamin Nathaniel Smith went on a shooting spree randomly targeting members of racial and ethnic minorities in drive-by shootings in Illinois and Indiana, during the weekend of July 4. Among those killed was former Northwestern University basketball coach Ricky Byrdsong, an African American, near Byrdsong's house in Skokie.
In December 2000, Skokie's courthouse on Old Orchard Road became the stage for yet another anti-Semitic organization, the Ku Klux Klan. Anti-Racist Action and the Jewish Defense League made counter-protests.

Tragedy
Gangster Lester Gillis (aka Baby Face Nelson) was unceremoniously dumped near a Niles Center cemetery after his death in 1934.

Baby Face Nelson
A number of films have been shot in Skokie, including:

Risky Business
Sixteen Candles
The Weather Man
She's Having A Baby
Skokie, a TV movie. Film history
In 1967, Skokie became a sister city to Porbandar India, the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi. The city subsequently erected a statue of this famous Indian Freedom Fighter (Peacenik) also know as India's "Father of the Nation", between Dempster and Church on the McCormick bike trail.

Sister City
In addition to a strong retail and manufacturing base, the village is poised to add jobs in the Health Sciences. In 2003 Forest City Enterprises announced that they would redevelop the shuttered Pfizer research facilities in downtown Skokie.
The Illinois Science + Technology Park is a 23-acre corporate research campus that when complete will offer 2 million square feet (180,000 m²) of advanced facilities that will include among other things, chemistry and genomics laboratories, clean rooms, NMR suites, research and toxicology labs, and conference facilities. Evanston Northwestern Healthcare announced in 2006 that it would consolidate its Data Center operations to the park, adding 500 jobs.
The Village's AAA bond rating attests to strong economic health and prudent fiscal management. In 2003, Skokie became the first municipality nationwide to achieve nationally accredited Police, Fire, and Public Works Departments, and a Class 1 Fire Department as rated by the Insurance Services Office (ISO). That same year Money Magazine named Skokie among the 80 fastest-growing suburbs in the entire nation.
Rand McNally, a publisher of maps, globes, and atlases, and Peapod, an online grocery delivery service call Skokie home.

Economy
The Skokie Park District protects natural resources, preserves historical sites and provides unique recreational opportunities within its more than 240 acres of parkland and in its ten facilities. The district is a recent winner of the national "Gold Medal for Excellence" in parks and recreation management. Skokie is home to one of the most diverse populations in the Chicago suburbs. To celebrate this diversity, every May since 1991, the park district hosts the Skokie Festival of Cultures.
Skokie also has a sculpture garden that is situated between McCormick Avenue and north channel of the Chicago river (Sanitary canal). It was started in 1988 and now has over 70 sculptures. [1]
Just north of the sculpture garden is a statue to Mahatma Gandhi with five of his famous quotations engraved around the base. This was dedicated on October 2, 2004. [2]
The Village is also home to the state of the art North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, encompassing Centre East, Northlight Theatre and the Skokie Valley Symphony Orchestra. The facility celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2006.

Parks and Recreation

Local media

Skokie Review - local website of the weekly Sun-Times Newspaper Group publication.
SkokieNet - Skokie's community information network, developed by Skokie Public Library
SkokieTalk - Skokie's community blog, brought to you by Skokie Public Library Skokie websites
See SkokieNet's School page [3] for the most complete listing of Skokie's public and private schools with links to their websites.

Schools
See this map for the borders between the districts.

Niles West of District 219
Niles North of District 219
Evanston Township High School of District 202 (only serves students who live on the border of Skokie and Evanston east of Crawford, south of Golf and north of Greenleaf St. in zipcode 60203 and a small part of zipcode 60076)
Niles Township District 219 was awarded the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts Top program for fine arts education in the United States on April 27, 2007. High schools
See this map for the borders between districts.

Jane Stenson School (K through 5th) of District 68
Devonshire School (K through 5th) of District 68
Highland School (K through 5th) of District 68
Madison School (pre-K through 2nd) of District 69
Edison School (3rd through 5th) of District 69
Fairview North formerly of District 72
Fairview South School (K through 8th) of District 72
Cleveland School (K through 6th) of District 73.5 (school closed and building razed)
Elizabeth Meyer School (pre-K and K) of District 73.5
John Middleton School (1st through 5th) of District 73.5
East Prairie School (Pre-K through 8th) of District 73
Walker Elementary School (K through 5th, located in Skokie) of Skokie/Evanston District 65
Dr. Bessie Rhodes Magnet School (K through 8th, located in Skokie) of Skokie/Evanston District 65, formerly Timber Ridge Magnet School (may be attended by Skokie students in District 65)
Martin Luther King, Jr. Laboratory School (K through 8th magnet school, located in Evanston) of Skokie/Evanston District 65 (may be attended by Skokie students in District 65) Elementary schools

Arie Crown Hebrew Day School (pre-K through 8th) Orthodox Judaism Arie Crown Hebrew Day School
Cheder Lubavitch Hebrew Day School (pre-K through 8th) Orthodox Judaism, separate boys and girls programs
Hillel Torah North Suburban Day School (pre-K through 8th) Orthodox Judaism
Skokie Solomon Schechter Day School (K through 5th) Conservative Judaism
Fasman Yeshiva High School (9th through 12th) Orthodox Judaism, boys only Jewish day schools
See also the parish websites.

[4] Saint Peter's School, Downtown Skokie
[5] Saint Joan of Arc School, northeast Skokie/Evanston Catholic elementary schools
See the same map as elementary schools.

Oliver McCracken Middle School (formerly Oakview Junior High) of District 73.5
East Prairie Middle School (Pre-K through 8th) of District 73
Fairview South School of District 72
Lincoln Junior High of District 69
Old Orchard Junior High of District 68
Chute Middle School (located in Evanston) of Skokie/Evanston District 65 Junior high schools

Oakton Community College (Ray Hartstein Campus) This is the site of the old Niles East High School. The original structure, built in the 1930s, was demolished in the 1990s.
Hebrew Theological College, a private university. It was chartered in 1922 as one of the first Modern Orthodox Jewish institutions of higher education in America. Library

Skokie was mentioned in the movie The Usual Suspects by Kevin Spacey's character, Roger "Verbal" Kint during police questioning.
The girl Conrad met in the restaurant in Ordinary People was from Skokie.
Best know for his role as Mike Brady on TV's The Brady Bunch, actor Robert Reed is buried in Skokie.
It is a tradition (called "polishing the Toe-Ro-Ro") to rub the big toe of the Mahatma Gandhi statue located between Dempster and Church on the McCormick bike trail. Some people claim that every rub the toe receives brings the world one step closer to world peace
"Skevanston" is an area of Skokie that receives village and park district services, but has an Evanston address. In the 1980s, residents north of Church Street, south of Golf Road, east of Crawford Avenue, and west of McCormick Blvd., acquired the Evanston 60203 zip code. The reason for this may be that the majority of taxes paid by these Skevanston residents go to the Evanston/Skokie School District 65, and to Evanston Township High School.
Many students of Niles West High School refer to Skokie as "Skompton", in reference to Compton, CA. Population trends

Henry P. Beiler