Skokie, IL Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Sidewalk Repair (2026)

Section 90-36, Construction and repair of sidewalks, requires a public sidewalk along every right-of-way containing a street that abuts a lot, with design, materials and accessibility features set by the Village's sidewalk plan for the area. Subsection (g), Responsibility for maintenance, places the maintenance duty squarely on the property owner: owners must maintain sidewalks, parkways, service walks, carriage walks, and driveway aprons in adjoining public ways in a reasonably safe condition for their intended use, and the Village can recover from the adjoining owner any sums the Village is held liable for because the owner failed to maintain those areas.

If an owner does not maintain a sidewalk as required, subsection (h) sets a specific process: the Director of Public Works or a designee sends the responsible owner a certified letter identifying which sections the Village will replace or repair and the cost, and the owner has 10 days from receipt to file a written objection to the necessity of the work or the amount charged, with any Public Works decision appealable to the Village Manager within 10 days and the Manager's decision final. There is no fee to file an objection.

The repair cost is split evenly between the Village and the owner, based on the Village's existing sidewalk construction contract rate, or a special cost estimate in unique design areas such as Dempster Street, Main Street and Downtown, plus an additional 10 percent from the owner to cover program administration. If the owner does not pay within 30 days of the bill being mailed, the Village's Corporation Counsel can sue to recover the cost and record a lien against the property, released once the costs and filing expenses are paid.