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Skokie mayor condemns recent antisemitic incidents, outlines community campaign and safety steps
Summary
Mayor Tennis told the village board that three antisemitic incidents involving youth occurred in Skokie parks in the prior two weeks, with two escalating to physical altercations. He announced a community-wide campaign on upstanding behavior, targeted park-district training, increased police visibility and coordination with schools and faith leaders.
Mayor Tennis opened the May 4 Village Board meeting by reporting three antisemitic incidents involving youth in Skokie parks in the prior two weeks, two of which he said escalated into physical altercations. He linked the recent incidents to an October 2025 antisemitic hate crime in a village park and called the pattern unacceptable.
"This pattern is becoming clear, and it is a pattern that we categorically reject for our community," the mayor said, and added, "Every person in Skokie deserves to feel safe, respected, and supported without exception." He asked community partners and residents how they would "step up" and pledged the village would act.
The mayor announced a multi-pronged response: a community-wide campaign focused on upstanding and kindness to set behavior expectations and give residents tools to intervene safely; targeted training for Park District summer staff on antisemitism and incident management; coordination with schools, faith leaders and Jewish organizations on prevention, education, reporting and response; and an increased visible police presence and regular park roll calls for deterrence.
He said the Park District is "exploring the use of cameras in parks" but noted counsel had advised state law prohibits capturing audio. The village also intends to track hate crimes and bias incidents to target interventions and hold individuals — including youth and parents — accountable where appropriate.
Trustees at the dais broadly endorsed the approach. Trustee Pierce Slobin and Trustee Schechter told the board they had heard concern from the Jewish community and stressed the ongoing work of the Human Relations Commission, including facilitator selection and training on the history of Jews in Skokie and antisemitism.
The mayor framed the effort as a community responsibility, saying government, schools and faith leaders cannot do it alone and urging coordinated action to "reinforce a culture where respect is the norm and hate is confronted."
