Skokie, IL Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Section 22-413 of the Skokie Village Code requires the owner of any vacant nonresidential building, and anyone maintaining, operating, or collecting rent for it, to act within 30 days of the building becoming vacant. The owner must enclose and secure the building in a Village-approved manner; boarding requires a permit first, except in an emergency such as fire or wind damage, when the application must be filed within 48 hours of the board-up, and a building may not stay boarded longer than 90 days unless the Director of Community Development approves an extension as part of a plan.

Buildings that are 100 percent vacant must carry a posted sign with the owner's and authorized agent's name, address, and phone number, sized between two feet by two feet and four feet by four feet, and must have an alarm system installed within 11 months of the vacancy notice, plus a Knox 'Rapid Entry' key box within 30 days. Ground-floor windows facing a street must be covered to obscure at least 80 percent of the interior view, and any window sign is limited to a real estate sign covering no more than 25 percent of the pane.

Owners must also carry commercial general liability insurance while the building is 100 percent vacant, at $2,000,000 for a vacant manufacturing, industrial, storage, or commercial building, and file proof of that coverage with the Director. Under Section 22-414, the Village may inspect the interior and exterior of any vacant building, charge an initial and then annual inspection fee under Section 46-117(c), and disconnect utilities in an emergency at the owner's cost, with a minimum ten-day advance written notice for routine, non-emergency inspections under Section 22-415.