SKOKIE
The Village of Skokie is located less than 7 miles northeast of O’Hare, represents an area of ten square miles and is home to 64,000 residents. Like neighboring municipalities’ Niles and Lincolnwood, Skokie has endured jet noise and air pollution for five years.
Currently, Skokie is affected by two flight paths (black broken lines illustrated below): Pratt/Belle Plaine parallel (9L/27R), and one of the two remaining northeast to southwest diagonal runways, 4R/22L. Countless schools, parks and the main commercial district at Niles Center Road and Oakton Street are directly affected by these flight paths.
Skokie residents currently experience jet noise in the range of 65 - 85 decibels on a 24/7 basis. As a result, Skokie residents experience consistent and sustained general annoyance, stress, and sleep disturbance. Residents are also exposed to concentrations of ultrafine particulates, black carbon, and nitrogen oxides due to their close proximity to O’Hare. Schools, parks and homes within Skokie are being affected by jet air pollution. The long-term impact on Skokie residents’ health will be detrimental to school children and the elderly.
Skokie residents logged 13,287 noise complaints for calendar year 2017 (compared to only one complaint five years earlier). For the month May 2017, residents logged their greatest number of complaints at 1,919; the highest figure ever recorded in Skokie’s history. In comparison, there were zero noise complaints in May 2012.
According to census records, the Village of Skokie has lost 1,322 residents since the full activation of the Pratt/Belle Plaine parallel runway (9L/27R) in October 2013.
