Page two 2012 National Citizen Survey Summary Memo January 9, 2013

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2 Page two 2012 National Citizen Survey Summary Memo January 9, 2013 Housing Skokie ranked much above the national benchmarks for both availability of affordable quality housing (59% excellent/good) and variety of housing options (72% excellent/good). At 42%, more Skokie survey respondents experience housing costs stress (housing costs 30% or more of income) than other jurisdictions. Land Use and Zoning Some 70% of those surveyed gave excellent/good ratings to the overall quality of new development in Skokie, which is much above national benchmarks. The overall appearance of Skokie received a 77% excellent/good rating, much above the benchmark. Land use, planning and zoning received a 68% excellent/good rating, code enforcement (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) netted 61% excellent/good ratings, and Animal Control received 73% excellent/good ratings. All are much above national benchmarks. Economic Sustainability Those surveyed gave Skokie an 86% excellent/good rating for shopping opportunities, 74% excellent/good for overall quality of Skokie businesses/service establishments, 73% excellent/good for Skokie as a place to work and 46% excellent/good for employment opportunities. All ratings are above national benchmarks. Public Safety Residents rated their sense of safety from violent crimes, property crimes, fire and environmental dangers. Many gave positive ratings to safety in the Village of Skokie, with 87% saying they feel very to somewhat safe in their neighborhood during the day. Some 89% of respondents said they feel very/somewhat safe in Downtown Skokie during the day, and 74% said they feel very/somewhat safe from environmental hazards, both of which are similar to national benchmarks. As might be expected, residents gave lower ratings to their sense of safety at night, with 65% indicating they feel very/somewhat safe in their neighborhood after dark, and 66% feeling very/somewhat safe after dark in Downtown Skokie. The former rating is much below the national benchmark, and the latter is above the benchmark. Some 65% of respondents reported feeling very/somewhat safe from violent crime and 49% feeling very/somewhat safe from property crimes, both of which fell much below national benchmarks. The survey highlighted that a dichotomy exists between negative perceptions about crime and safety and the reality of current statistics that document a steady decline in crime in Skokie both year to year and in the aggregate over the past 5 years. Preliminary statistics for 2012 show a decrease in crime, thus marking the fifth consecutive year of decline. The safety ratings that fell much below national benchmarks indicate that increased and different types of communications and community education are needed to align public opinion with public safety realities. The dichotomy is also evident because notwithstanding this safety perception, residents rate Skokie as an excellent/good place to live (88%)

3 Page three 2012 National Citizen Survey Summary Memo January 9, 2013 It is interesting to note that when rating problems in the community, crime ranked fourth, with some 15% of respondents listing crime as a major problem. This contrasts with property taxes which ranked first as a major problem, receiving a major problem rating by 42% of those surveyed. Additionally, police services received an 87% excellent/good rating, overall competence of Police Department employees were rated as 82% excellent/good and police officers attitudes and behaviors toward citizens received 74% excellent/good ratings. Other public safety services received the following excellent/good ratings: fire services, 97%; ambulance/emergency medical services, 96%; crime prevention, 66%; fire prevention and education, 84%; traffic enforcement, 77% and emergency preparedness, 73%. While fire prevention and education was above the national benchmark, and crime prevention was similar, all other public safety service ratings were much above national benchmarks. The negative perceptions about safety at night and safety from violent and property crimes are contrary to both resident satisfaction with the Police Department and also contrary to consistently declining community crime statistics over the past nearly five years. Environmental Sustainability and Utilities Residents were asked to rate the local environment and programs to ensure its quality. Skokie s 82% excellent/good rating for cleanliness was much above the benchmark. The 75% excellent/good rating for overall quality of Skokie s natural environment and 71% excellent/good air quality rating were both similar to the benchmark. Recycling rates surpassed the benchmark, with 87% of respondents indicating they recycled at least once in the past year. Of all utility ratings, garbage collection received the highest rating at 89% excellent/good. Recycling received an 86% excellent/good rating, and drinking water rated 82% excellent/good. These were all much above the benchmarks. Parks, Recreation, Health and Wellness With an 80% excellent/good rating for recreation opportunities in the community, Skokie parks rank much above the benchmark. Overall, parks and recreation services and programs were highly rated. Residents gave a 75% excellent/good rating to the availability of affordable quality health care and 73% excellent/good rating for availability of preventative health care services, both of which are much above the benchmarks. Culture, Arts and Education Residents were asked about their satisfaction with culture, arts and educational opportunities in the community. Some 78% of those surveyed gave excellent/good ratings for opportunities to attend cultural activities in the community, and 88% gave similar ratings to educational opportunities. Both are much above the benchmarks. Some 89% said that they used the Skokie Public Library or its services at least once in the past year, which is much more than the benchmark

4 Page four 2012 National Citizen Survey Summary Memo January 9, 2013 Community Inclusiveness and Civic Activity Skokie received an 83% excellent/good rating as a place to raise children and also scored high marks regarding openness and acceptance toward people of diverse backgrounds and sense of community. All were above or much above the benchmarks, as were the ratings for services to youth, seniors and low-income people. Relative to opportunities to volunteer in Skokie, those surveyed gave the community a 76% excellent/good rating which is similar to the benchmark. Opportunities to participate in community matters were rated 71% excellent/good and were above the benchmark. Although residents gave Skokie good marks for opportunities to participate in community matters, ratings for resident participation in civic engagement opportunities such as attending or watching public meetings or volunteering for a community group are lower than national benchmarks. Residents surveyed said they talked or visited with their neighbors several times per week, which is similar to national benchmarks. Information and Awareness NewSkokie, the Village s printed newsletter, remains the Village s premiere communications tool, with 93% of respondents indicating they read the newsletter at least once in the past 12 months. Some 70% of those surveyed visited the Village web site at least once in the last year. Both of these ratings are much more than national benchmarks. Public Trust The Village received 65% excellent/good ratings for both the value of services for taxes paid to Skokie and the overall direction that Skokie is taking. Some 64% of those surveyed gave excellent/good ratings for the job that local government does at welcoming citizen involvement. All three are much above national benchmarks. Some 71% gave excellent/good ratings to Skokie s overall image of reputation, which is similar to the benchmark. Skokie received an 87% excellent/good rating for services provided by the Village, which is much above the national benchmark and contrasts to significantly lower ratings for services provided by federal, state and county governments. Village Employees A total 73% of those surveyed said they had contact with Village employees during the past year, which is much more than the benchmark. All of the excellent/good ratings for Village employees knowledge, responsiveness, courtesy and overall impression were either above or much above national benchmarks. Overall Quality of Village Services Survey respondents were asked to rate the quality of 30 specific services from nearly every Village department. Among the highest rated services were planning and zoning, code enforcement, sidewalk maintenance, animal control, cable television, garbage and recycling collection, fire/ems services and traffic enforcement. Four specific areas of service, including economic development, police services, parks and snow removal, are all rated as key drivers that have the greatest correlation to residents overall positive rating of Village programs and services

5 Page five 2012 National Citizen Survey Summary Memo January 9, 2013 Custom Questions While much of the National Citizen Survey is standardized, there are several custom questions included in the 2012 survey instrument. Following is a summary of these questions and resident responses: Question: Please rate how important, if at all, each of the following community issues or initiatives is for the Village of Skokie. (Possible ratings essential, very important, somewhat important, not at all important) The top three essential/very important ratings were: o Elderly care, 67% o At-risk youth programs, 65% o residents public safety and crime alerts, 64% The top three somewhat/not at all important ratings were: o Increasing vehicle sticker fee to hire more police officers, 71% o Redevelop Dempster Street, 58% o Construct new bike paths and bike lanes, 57% Question: The Village s property taxes have not increased since To what extent would you support or oppose a property tax increase to fund the following programs or initiatives? (Possible ratings strongly support, somewhat support, somewhat oppose, strongly oppose) The top three strongly/somewhat support ratings were: o Continue sidewalk snow plowing, 72% o Continue twice per week refuse pick-up, 68% o Increase street resurfacing, 65% The top three somewhat/strongly oppose ratings were: o Revitalize other shopping/commercial areas (East Oakton Street, Main Street, etc.), 61% o Increase the number of property standards inspectors, 58% o Revitalize Dempster Street, 55% Question: To what degree, if at all, are the following problems in Skokie? The three largest major problem designations were given to: o Property taxes 42% o Unsupervised youth 24% o Drugs 20% The three largest not a problem designations were given to: o Too much growth 34% o Unmaintained properties 21% o Traffic congestion and unsupervised youth 17% (tie)

6 Page six 2012 National Citizen Survey Summary Memo January 9, 2013 Question: Is there a community issue of concern to you that is not addressed in this survey? Please explain. Percent of respondents in the following categories: o Law enforcement - 21% o Rental properties - 18% o Transportation issues - 15% o Governance 13% o Infrastructure 10% o Community, diversity and low-income concerns 9% o Code enforcement 7% o Other 11% o Don t know/nothing 18% Other Custom Comparison Reports The Village commissioned three custom comparison reports as part of the 2012 National Citizen Survey. The Benchmark Report was discussed on page one of this document. Other reports include Demographic and Geographic Subgroup Comparisons. The Demographic report cross-tabulates responses according to number of years in Skokie, housing unit type, annual household income, age and gender. Respondents who have lived in the community for the longest time and have higher incomes tend to give higher marks to Village services and quality of life in the community. The Geographic report cross-tabulates responses according to Skokie s three zip codes: 60076, and Additional study is needed on this report to ascertain potential service/program changes or public information outreach in response to the report. Conclusion/Action Items In summary, the 2012 National Citizen Survey results indicate that: Overall, the Village continues to be a very desirable place to live, with 88% of those surveyed ranking Skokie as an excellent/good place to live. Residents appreciate and value excellent services offered by the Fire, Health, Police and Public Works Departments and the Human Services Division. Residents appreciate and value ease of transportation and availability of mass transit in the community. Residents appreciate the Village s economic development efforts and think highly of the quality of businesses in the community. Residents have a positive view of educational and cultural enrichment opportunities in the community, and also value the community s parks and public library. Residents value and appreciate the Village s services to seniors, youth and low-income people. Residents rely on the Village newsletter and web site for program and service information

7 Page seven 2012 National Citizen Survey Summary Memo January 9, 2013 Residents appreciate the value of services for the taxes paid in Skokie, support the overall direction that Skokie is taking and believe that Skokie government welcomes citizen involvement. While more study will be conducted on the survey results by all Village departments, the survey indicates that the following action items should be considered: Continued focus on providing quality services, including those from Fire, Health, Human Services, Police and Public Works that are clearly valued by the community. Developing new strategies for addressing the dichotomy between resident perceptions about crime and public safety and the data showing that, overall, crime continues to decrease in the community for five consecutive years. Continue to encourage residents to report crimes to the police. The new Crime Tip Hotline was established just weeks before the survey was conducted, and stands to have a positive effect on the number of crimes reported. The new Official Skokie Public Safety Bulletin that is set to be launched on January 14, 2013, will provide frequent information on crime and public safety in the community. Continue strategic economic development efforts, as residents gave high ratings to the quality of the Village s economic development initiatives. Continue to promote the Village s board and commission meetings as open to the public, and further encourage residents to volunteer in the community. Continued focus on the quality and content of NewSkokie and the Village web site, as the community clearly relies on both for program and service information. Continued emphasis on customer service in all areas of the organization, which is clearly valued and appreciated by the community. Please contact me if you would like additional information. C: John Lockerby, Assistant Village Manager Nick Wyatt, Assistant to the Village Manager

8 VILLAGE O F S KOKIE, IL DRAFT Valmont Road, Suite North Capitol Street NE, Suite 500 Boulder, CO Washington, DC ICMA

9 Contents Survey Background... 1 About... 1 Understanding the Results... 3 Executive Summary... 5 Community Ratings... 7 Overall Community Quality... 7 Community Design... 9 Transportation... 9 Housing Land Use and Zoning Economic Sustainability Public Safety Environmental Sustainability Recreation and Wellness Parks and Recreation Culture, Arts and Education Health and Wellness Community Inclusiveness Civic Engagement Civic Activity Information and Awareness Social Engagement Public Trust Village of Skokie Employees by National Research Center, Inc. From Data to Action Resident Priorities Village of Skokie Action Chart Custom Questions Appendix A: Complete Survey Frequencies Frequencies Excluding Don t Know Responses Frequencies Including Don t Know Responses Appendix B: Survey Methodology Appendix C: Survey Materials... 93

10 Survey Background A B O U T T H E N A T I O N A L C I T I Z E N S U R V E Y (The NCS) is a collaborative effort between National Research Center, Inc. (NRC) and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). The NCS was developed by NRC to provide a statistically valid survey of resident opinions about community and services provided by local government. The survey results may be used by staff, elected officials and other stakeholders for community planning and resource allocation, program improvement and policy making. FIGURE 1: THE NATIONAL CITIZEN SURVEY METHODS AND GOALS Survey Objectives Identify community strengths and weaknesses Identify service strengths and weaknesses Assessment Methods Multi-contact mailed survey Representative sample of 1,200 households 352 surveys returned; 30% response rate 5% margin of error Data statistically weighted to reflect population Assessment Goals Immediate Provide useful information for: Planning Resource allocation Performance measurement Program and policy evaluation Long-term Improved services More civic engagement Better community quality of life Stronger public trust The NCS focuses on a series of community characteristics and local government services, as well as issues of public trust. Resident behaviors related to civic engagement in the community also were measured in the survey. 1

11 FIGURE 2: THE NATIONAL CITIZEN SURVEY FOCUS AREAS COMMUNITY QUALITY Quality of life Quality of neighborhood Place to live COMMUNITY DESIGN Transportation Ease of travel, transit services, street maintenance Housing Housing options, cost, affordability Land Use and Zoning New development, growth, code enforcement Economic Sustainability Employment, shopping and PUBLIC SAFETY Safety in neighborhood and downtown Crime victimization Police, fire, EMS services Emergency preparedness ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY Cleanliness Air quality Preservation of natural areas Garbage and recycling services RECREATION AND WELLNESS Parks and Recreation Recreation opportunities, use of parks and facilities, programs and classes Culture, Arts and Education Cultural and educational opportunities, libraries, schools Health and Wellness COMMUNITY INCLUSIVENESS Sense of community Racial and cultural acceptance Senior youth and low- CIVIC ENGAGEMENT Civic Activity Volunteerism Civic attentiveness Voting behavior Social Engagement Neighborliness, social and religious events Information and Awareness PUBLIC TRUST Cooperation in community Value of services Direction of community Citizen involvement Employees The survey and its administration are standardized to assure high quality research methods and directly comparable results across jurisdictions. Participating households are selected at random and the household member who responds is selected without bias. Multiple mailings give each household more than one chance to participate with self-addressed and postage-paid envelopes. Results are statistically weighted to reflect the proper demographic composition of the entire community. A total of 352 completed surveys were obtained, providing an overall response rate of 30%. Typically, response rates obtained on citizen surveys range from 25% to 40%. customized for the Village of Skokie was developed in close cooperation with local jurisdiction staff. Skokie staff selected items from a menu of questions about services and community issues and provided the appropriate letterhead and signatures for mailings. Village of Skokie staff also augmented basic service through a variety of options including crosstabulations of results and several custom questions. 2

12 U N D E R S T A N D I N G T H E R E S U L T S As shown in Figure 2, this report is based around respondents opinions about eight larger categories: community quality, community design, public safety, environmental sustainability, recreation and wellness, community inclusiveness, civic engagement and public trust. Each report section begins with residents ratings of community characteristics and is followed by residents ratings of service quality. For all evaluative questions, the percent of residents rating the service or community feature as excellent or good is presented. To see the full set of responses for each question on the survey, please see Appendix A: Complete Survey Frequencies. Margin of Error The margin of error around results for the Village of Skokie Survey (352 completed surveys) is plus or minus five percentage points. This is a measure of the precision of your results; a larger number of completed surveys gives a smaller (more precise) margin of error, while a smaller number of surveys yields a larger margin of error. With your margin of error, you may conclude that when 60% of survey respondents report that a particular service is excellent or good, somewhere between 55-65% of all residents are likely to feel that way. Comparing Survey R es ults Certain kinds of services tend to be thought better of by residents in many communities across the country. For example, public safety services tend to be received better than transportation services by residents of most American communities. Where possible, the better comparison is not from one service to another in the Village of Skokie, but from Village of Skokie services to services like them provided by other jurisdictions. Interpreting Comparisons to Previous Years This report contains comparisons with prior years results. In this report, we are comparing this year s data with existing data in the graphs. Differences between years can be considered statistically significant if they are greater than seven percentage points. Trend data for your jurisdiction represent important comparison data and should be examined for improvements or declines. Deviations from stable trends over time, especially represent opportunities for understanding how local policies, programs or public information may have affected residents opinions. Benchmark Comparisons NRC s database of comparative resident opinion is comprised of resident perspectives gathered in citizen surveys from approximately 500 jurisdictions whose residents evaluated local government services and gave their opinion about the quality of community life. The comparison evaluations are from the most recent survey completed in each jurisdiction; most communities conduct surveys every year or in alternating years. NRC adds the latest results quickly upon survey completion, keeping the benchmark data fresh and relevant. The Village of Skokie chose to have comparisons made to the entire database. A benchmark comparison (the average rating from all the comparison jurisdictions where a similar question 3

13 was asked) has been provided when a similar question on the Village of Skokie survey was included in NRC s database and there were at least five jurisdictions in which the question was asked. For most questions compared to the entire dataset, there were more than 100 jurisdictions included in the benchmark comparison. Where comparisons for quality ratings were available, the Village of Skokie results were generally noted as being above the benchmark, below the benchmark or similar to the benchmark. For some questions those related to resident behavior, circumstance or to a local problem the comparison to the benchmark is designated as more, similar or less (for example, the percent of crime victims, residents visiting a park or residents identifying code enforcement as a problem.) In instances where ratings are considerably higher or lower than the benchmark, these ratings have been further demarcated by the attribute of much, (for example, much less or much above ). These labels come from a statistical comparison of the Village of Skokie's rating to the benchmark. Don t Know R espons es and R ounding On many of the questions in the survey respondents may answer don t know. The proportion of respondents giving this reply is shown in the full set of responses included in Appendix A. However, these responses have been removed from the analyses presented in the body of the report. In other words, the tables and graphs display the responses from respondents who had an opinion about a specific item. For some questions, respondents were permitted to select more than one answer. When the total exceeds 100% in a table for a multiple response question, it is because some respondents did select more than one response. When a table for a question that only permitted a single response does not total to exactly 100%, it is due to the customary practice of percentages being rounded to the nearest whole number. For more information on understanding The NCS report, please see Appendix B: Survey Methodology. 4

14 Executive Summary This report of the Village of Skokie survey provides the opinions of a representative sample of residents about community quality of life, service delivery, civic participation and unique issues of local interest. A periodic sounding of resident opinion offers staff, elected officials and other stakeholders an opportunity to identify challenges and to plan for and evaluate improvements and to sustain services and amenities for long-term success. Most residents experienced a good quality of life in the Village of Skokie and believed the Village was a good place to live. The overall quality of life in the Village of Skokie was rated as excellent or good by 81% of respondents. A majority reported they plan on staying in the Village of Skokie for the next five years. A variety of characteristics of the community were evaluated by those participating in the study. Among the characteristics receiving the most favorable ratings were educational opportunities, shopping opportunities and ease of rail or subway travel in Skokie. Among the characteristics receiving the least positive ratings were employment opportunities, availability of affordable quality housing and traffic flow on major streets. Ratings of community characteristics were compared to the benchmark database. Of the 30 characteristics for which comparisons were available, 26 were above the national benchmark comparison, four were similar to the national benchmark comparison and none were below. Residents in the Village of Skokie were somewhat civically engaged. While only 19% had attended a meeting of local elected public officials or other local public meeting in the previous 12 months, 77% had voted in the last general election. Less than half had volunteered their time to some group or activity in the Village of Skokie, which was lower than the benchmark. In general, survey respondents demonstrated trust in local government. A majority rated the overall direction being taken by the Village of Skokie as good or excellent. This was much higher than the benchmark. Those residents who had interacted with an employee of the Village of Skokie in the previous 12 months gave high marks to those employees. Most rated their overall impression of employees as excellent or good. On average, residents gave favorable ratings to a majority of local government services. Village services rated were able to be compared to the benchmark database. Of the 30 services for which comparisons were available, 26 were above the benchmark comparison, four were similar to the benchmark comparison and none were below. 5

15 A Key Driver Analysis was conducted for the Village of Skokie which examined the relationships between ratings of each service and ratings of the Village of Skokie s services overall. Those key driver services that correlated most strongly with residents perceptions about overall Village service quality have been identified. By targeting improvements in key services, the Village of Skokie can focus on the services that have the greatest likelihood of influencing residents opinions about overall service quality. Services found to be influential in ratings of overall service quality from the Key Driver Analysis were: Economic development Police services Snow removal Village parks For all of these services, the Village of Skokie was much above the benchmark and should continue to ensure high quality performance. 6

16 Community Ratings O V E R A L L C O M M U N I T Y Q U A L I T Y Overall quality of community life may be the single best indicator of success in providing the natural ambience, services and amenities that make for an attractive community. The National Citizen Survey contained many questions related to quality of community life in the Village of Skokie not only direct questions about quality of life overall and in neighborhoods, but questions to measure residents commitment to the Village of Skokie. Residents were asked whether they planned to move soon or if they would recommend the Village of Skokie to others. Intentions to stay and willingness to make recommendations provide evidence that the Village of Skokie offers services and amenities that work. A majority of the Village of Skokie s residents gave favorable ratings to their neighborhoods and the community as a place to live. Further, most reported they would recommend the community to others and plan to stay for the next five years. Ratings were generally stable over time. FIGURE 3: RATINGS OF OVERALL QUALITY OF LIFE BY YEAR 100% 75% 86% 87% 81% 81% 50% 25% 0% Percent rating overall quality of life as "excellent" or "good" FIGURE 4: RATINGS OF OVERALL COMMUNITY QUALITY BY YEAR The overall quality of life in Skokie 81% 81% 87% 86% Your neighborhood as a place to live 78% 80% 81% 83% Skokie as a place to live 88% 93% 92% 90% Percent "excellent" or "good" 7

17 FIGURE 5: LIKELIHOOD OF REMAINING IN COMMUNITY AND RECOMMENDING COMMUNITY BY YEAR Recommend living in Skokie to someone who asks 87% 90% Remain in Skokie for the next five years 80% 85% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Percent "somewhat" or "very" likely FIGURE 6: OVERALL COMMUNITY QUALITY BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Overall quality of life in Skokie Similar Your neighborhood as place to live Similar Skokie as a place to live Similar Recommend living in Skokie to someone who asks Similar Remain in Skokie for the next five years Similar 8

18 C O M M U N I T Y D E S I G N Transportation The ability to move easily throughout a community can greatly affect the quality of life of residents by diminishing time wasted in traffic congestion and by providing opportunities to travel quickly and safely by modes other than the automobile. High quality options for resident mobility not only require local government to remove barriers to flow but they require government programs and policies that create quality opportunities for all modes of travel. Residents responding to the survey were given a list of seven aspects of mobility to rate on a scale of excellent, good, fair and poor. Ease of rail or subway travel was given the most positive rating, followed by ease of car travel. These ratings tended to be much higher than the benchmark. The rating for ease of rail or subway travel increased from 2009 to FIGURE 7: RATINGS OF TRANSPORTATION IN COMMUNITY BY YEAR Ease of car travel in Skokie 82% NA NA NA Ease of bus travel in Skokie 73% 73% NA NA Ease of rail or subway travel in Skokie 83% 68% NA 51% Ease of bicycle travel in Skokie 62% 68% 57% NA Ease of walking in Skokie 76% 77% 73% 73% Availability of paths and walking trails 69% NA NA NA Traffic flow on major streets 60% 58% NA NA Percent "excellent" or "good" FIGURE 8: COMMUNITY TRANSPORTATION BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Ease of car travel in Skokie Much above Ease of bus travel in Skokie Much above Ease of rail or subway travel in Skokie Much above Ease of bicycle travel in Skokie Much above Ease of walking in Skokie Much above Availability of paths and walking trails Above Traffic flow on major streets Much above 9

19 Seven transportation services were rated in Skokie. As compared to most communities across America, ratings tended to be very favorable. All were above, and most were much above the benchmark comparison. Ratings tended to remain stable over time. FIGURE 9: RATINGS OF TRANSPORTATION AND PARKING SERVICES BY YEAR Street repair 55% 55% 56% 58% Street cleaning 76% 77% 78% 80% Street lighting 68% 70% 69% 74% Snow removal 67% 70% 68% 73% Sidewalk maintenance 66% 67% 67% 67% Bus or transit services 82% 76% 70% 76% Amount of public parking 65% 69% 67% 68% Percent "excellent" or "good" FIGURE 10: TRANSPORTATION AND PARKING SERVICES BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Street repair Above Street cleaning Much above Street lighting Above Snow removal Much above Sidewalk maintenance Much above Bus or transit services Much above Amount of public parking Much above 10

20 By measuring choice of travel mode over time, communities can monitor their success in providing attractive alternatives to the traditional mode of travel, the single-occupied automobile. When asked how they typically traveled to work, single-occupancy (SOV) travel was the main mode of use. However, 10% of work commute trips were made by transit, 2% by bicycle and 3% by foot. FIGURE 11: FREQUENCY OF BUS USE IN LAST 12 MONTHS BY YEAR 2012 Ridden a local bus within Skokie 34% 42% % 25% 50% 75% 100% Percent using at least once in last 12 months FIGURE 12: FREQUENCY OF BUS USE BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Ridden a local bus within Skokie Much more FIGURE 13: MODE OF TRAVEL USED FOR WORK COMMUTE BY YEAR Motorized vehicle (e.g., car, truck, van, motorcycle, etc.) by myself 68% 72% NA NA Motorized vehicle (e.g., car, truck, van, motorcycle, etc.) with other children or adults 9% 10% NA NA Bus, rail, subway or other public transportation 10% 12% NA NA Walk 3% 3% NA NA Bicycle 2% 2% NA NA Work at home 7% 2% NA NA Other 0% 0% NA NA FIGURE 14: DRIVE ALONE BENCHMARKS Average percent of work commute trips made by driving alone Comparison to benchmark Less 11

21 Hous ing Housing variety and affordability are not luxuries for any community. When there are too few options for housing style and affordability, the characteristics of a community tilt toward a single group, often of well-off residents. While this may seem attractive to a community, the absence of affordable townhomes, condominiums, mobile homes, single family detached homes and apartments means that in addition to losing the vibrancy of diverse thoughts and lifestyles, the community loses the service workers that sustain all communities police officers, school teachers, house painters and electricians. These workers must live elsewhere and commute in at great personal cost and to the detriment of traffic flow and air quality. Furthermore lower income residents pay so much of their income to rent or mortgage that little remains to bolster their own quality of life or local business. The survey of the Village of Skokie residents asked respondents to reflect on the availability of affordable housing as well as the variety of housing options. The availability of affordable housing was rated as excellent or good by 59% of respondents, while the variety of housing options was rated as excellent or good by 72% of respondents. The rating of perceived affordable housing availability was much better in the Village of Skokie than the ratings, on average, in comparison jurisdictions. FIGURE 15: RATINGS OF HOUSING IN COMMUNITY BY YEAR Availability of affordable quality housing 59% NA NA NA Variety of housing options 72% NA NA NA Percent "excellent" or "good" FIGURE 16: HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Availability of affordable quality housing Much above Variety of housing options Much above 12

22 To augment the perceptions of affordable housing in Skokie, the cost of housing as reported in the survey was compared to residents reported monthly income to create a rough estimate of the proportion of residents of the Village of Skokie experiencing housing cost stress. About 42% of survey participants were found to pay housing costs of more than 30% of their monthly household income. FIGURE 17: PROPORTION OF RESPONDENTS EXPERIENCING HOUSING COST STRESS BY YEAR Housing costs 30% or more of income 42% 46% NA NA Percent of respondents FIGURE 18: HOUSING COSTS BENCHMARKS Experiencing housing costs stress (housing costs 30% or MORE of income) Comparison to benchmark More 13

23 Land Us e and Zoning Community development contributes to a feeling among residents and even visitors of the attention given to the speed of growth, the location of residences and businesses, the kind of housing that is appropriate for the community and the ease of access to commerce, green space and residences. Even the community s overall appearance often is attributed to the planning and enforcement functions of the local jurisdiction. Residents will appreciate an attractive, wellplanned community. The NCS questionnaire asked residents to evaluate the quality of new development, the appearance of the Village of Skokie and the speed of population growth. Problems with the appearance of property were rated, and the quality of land use planning, zoning and code enforcement services were evaluated. The overall quality of new development in the Village of Skokie was rated as excellent by 19% of respondents and as good by an additional 51%. The overall appearance of Skokie was rated as excellent or good by 77% of respondents and was higher than the benchmark. The services of land use, planning and zoning, code enforcement and animal control were rated much above the benchmark. FIGURE 19: RATINGS OF THE COMMUNITY'S "BUILT ENVIRONMENT" BY YEAR Overall quality of new development in Skokie 70% NA NA NA Overall appearance of Skokie 77% 74% 75% 75% Percent "excellent" or "good" FIGURE 20: BUILT ENVIRONMENT BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Quality of new development in Skokie Much above Overall appearance of Skokie Above 14

24 FIGURE 21: RATINGS OF POPULATION GROWTH BY YEAR 100% 75% 50% 41% 38% 35% 32% 25% 0% Percent rating population growth as "too fast" FIGURE 22: POPULATION GROWTH BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Population growth seen as too fast Much less FIGURE 23: RATINGS OF PLANNING AND COMMUNITY CODE ENFORCEMENT SERVICES BY YEAR Land use, planning and zoning 68% 64% NA NA Code enforcement (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) 61% 62% 69% 63% Animal control 73% 75% 71% 72% Percent "excellent" or "good" FIGURE 24: PLANNING AND COMMUNITY CODE ENFORCEMENT SERVICES BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Land use, planning and zoning Much above Code enforcement (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) Much above Animal control Much above 15

25 E C O N O M I C S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y The United States has been in recession since late 2007 with an accelerated downturn occurring in the fourth quarter of Officially we emerged from recession in the third quarter of 2009, but high unemployment lingers, keeping a lid on a strong recovery. Many readers worry that the ill health of the economy will color how residents perceive their environment and the services that local government delivers. NRC researchers have found that the economic downturn has chastened Americans view of their own economic futures but has not colored their perspectives about community services or quality of life. Survey respondents were asked to rate a number of community features related to economic opportunity and growth. The most positively rated feature was shopping opportunities. Employment opportunities received the lowest ratings but was much above the benchmark and ratings increased since FIGURE 25: RATINGS OF ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY AND OPPORTUNITIES BY YEAR Employment opportunities 46% 43% 44% 38% Shopping opportunities 86% NA NA NA Skokie as a place to work 73% 66% 72% NA Overall quality of business and service establishments in Skokie 74% NA NA NA Percent "excellent" or "good" FIGURE 26: ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY AND OPPORTUNITIES BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Employment opportunities Much above Shopping opportunities Much above Skokie as a place to work Much above Overall quality of business and service establishments in Skokie Much above 16

26 Residents were asked to evaluate the speed of jobs growth and retail growth on a scale from much too slow to much too fast. When asked about the rate of jobs growth in Skokie, 72% responded that it was too slow, while 49% reported retail growth as too slow. Many more residents in Skokie compared to other jurisdictions believed that retail growth was too slow and fewer residents believed that jobs growth was too slow. FIGURE 27: RATINGS OF RETAIL AND JOBS GROWTH BY YEAR Retail growth seen as too slow 49% 58% 37% 33% Jobs growth seen as too slow 72% 75% 62% 70% Percent of respondents FIGURE 28: RETAIL AND JOB GROWTH BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Retail growth seen as too slow Much more Jobs growth seen as too slow Less FIGURE 29: RATINGS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SERVICES BY YEAR 60% Economic development 55% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Percent "excellent" or "good" Economic development FIGURE 30: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SERVICES BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Much above 17

27 Residents were asked to reflect on their economic prospects in the near term. Twenty-four percent of the Village of Skokie residents expected that the coming six months would have a somewhat or very positive impact on their family. The percent of residents with an optimistic outlook on their household income was more than in comparison jurisdictions. 100% FIGURE 31: RATINGS OF PERSONAL ECONOMIC FUTURE BY YEAR 75% 50% 25% 22% 20% 15% 24% 0% Percent "very" or "somewhat" positive FIGURE 32: PERSONAL ECONOMIC FUTURE BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Positive impact of economy on household income Above 18

28 P U B L I C S A F E T Y Safety from violent or property crimes creates the cornerstone of an attractive community. No one wants to live in fear of crime, fire or natural hazards, and communities in which residents feel protected or unthreatened are communities that are more likely to show growth in population, commerce and property value. Residents were asked to rate their feelings of safety from violent crimes, property crimes, fire and environmental dangers and to evaluate the local agencies whose main charge is to provide protection from these dangers. Many gave positive ratings of safety in the Village of Skokie. About 65% of those completing the questionnaire said they felt very or somewhat safe from violent crimes and 74% felt very or somewhat safe from environmental hazards. Daytime sense of safety was better than nighttime safety. Ratings for safety from property crimes decreased from 2009 to FIGURE 33: RATINGS OF COMMUNITY AND PERSONAL PUBLIC SAFETY BY YEAR Safety in your neighborhood during the day 87% 91% 94% 93% Safety in your neighborhood after dark 65% 71% 75% 78% Safety in Skokie's downtown area during the day 89% 93% 94% 93% Safety in Skokie's downtown area after dark 66% 68% 75% 73% Safety from violent crime (e.g., rape, assault, robbery) 65% 71% 78% 77% Safety from property crimes (e.g, burglary, theft) 49% 57% 63% 62% Safety from environmental hazards 74% 77% NA NA Percent "very" or "somewhat" safe Residents also rated seven Village public safety services; of these, six were rated above the benchmark comparison, one was rated similar to the benchmark comparison and none were rated below the benchmark comparison. FIGURE 34: RATINGS OF PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES BY YEAR Police services 87% 89% 86% 87% Fire services 97% 98% 96% 98% Ambulance or emergency medical services 96% 96% 96% 95% Crime prevention 66% 74% 78% 82% Fire prevention and education 84% 88% NA 89% Traffic enforcement 77% 72% 76% 74% Emergency preparedness (services that prepare the community for natural disasters or other emergency services) 73% 79% NA NA Percent "excellent" or "good" 19

29 FIGURE 35: COMMUNITY AND PERSONAL PUBLIC SAFETY BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark In your neighborhood during the day Below In your neighborhood after dark Much below In Skokie's downtown area during the day Similar In Skokie's downtown area after dark Above Violent crime (e.g., rape, assault, robbery) Much below Property crimes (e.g., burglary, theft) Much below Environmental hazards, including toxic waste Similar Percent "excellent" or "good" Police services Fire services Ambulance or emergency medical services Crime prevention Fire prevention and education Traffic enforcement FIGURE 36: PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES BENCHMARKS Emergency preparedness (services that prepare the community for natural disasters or other emergency situations) Comparison to benchmark Much above Much above Much above Similar Above Much above Much above 20

30 As assessed by the survey, 16% of respondents reported that someone in the household had been the victim of one or more crimes in the past year. Of those who had been the victim of a crime, 71% had reported it to police. Compared to other jurisdictions more Skokie residents had been victims of crime in the 12 months preceding the survey and far fewer of Skokie residents had reported their most recent crime victimization to the police. FIGURE 37: CRIME VICTIMIZATION AND REPORTING BY YEAR During the past 12 months, were you or anyone in your household the victim of any crime in Skokie? 16% 13% 12% 11% If yes, was this crime (these crimes) reported to the police? 71% 79% 70% 74% Percent "yes" Victim of crime Reported crimes FIGURE 38: CRIME VICTIMIZATION AND REPORTING BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark More Much less 21

31 E N V I R O N M E N T A L S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y Residents value the aesthetic qualities of their hometowns and appreciate features such as overall cleanliness and landscaping. In addition, the appearance and smell or taste of the air and water do not go unnoticed. These days, increasing attention is paid to proper treatment of the environment. At the same time that they are attending to community appearance and cleanliness, cities, counties, states and the nation are going Green. These strengthening environmental concerns extend to trash haul, recycling, sewer services, the delivery of power and water and preservation of open spaces. Treatment of the environment affects air and water quality and, generally, how habitable and inviting a place appears. Residents of the Village of Skokie were asked to evaluate their local environment and the services provided to ensure its quality. The overall quality of the natural environment was rated as excellent or good by 75% of survey respondents. The cleanliness of Skokie received the highest ratings and it was much above the benchmark comparison. FIGURE 39: RATINGS OF THE COMMUNITY'S NATURAL ENVIRONMENT 2012 Cleanliness of Skokie 82% Quality of overall natural environment in Skokie 75% Air quality 71% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Percent "exellent" or "good" FIGURE 40: COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENT BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Cleanliness of Skokie Much above Quality of overall natural environment in Skokie Similar Air quality Similar 22

32 Resident recycling was greater than recycling reported in comparison communities. FIGURE 41: FREQUENCY OF RECYCLING IN LAST 12 MONTHS BY YEAR 100% 75% 79% 86% 85% 87% 50% 25% 0% Percent using at least once in past 12 months FIGURE 42: FREQUENCY OF RECYCLING BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Recycled used paper, cans or bottles from your home More 23

33 Of the seven utility services rated by those completing the questionnaire, four were higher than the benchmark comparison, three were similar and none were below the benchmark comparison. These service ratings trends were stable when compared to past surveys. FIGURE 43: RATINGS OF UTILITY SERVICES BY YEAR Electric utility service 81% 84% NA NA Sewer services 71% 71% NA NA Drinking water 82% 84% 82% 78% Storm drainage 58% 51% 63% 52% Yard waste pick-up 76% NA NA NA Recycling 86% 87% 84% 84% Garbage collection 89% 90% 85% 88% Percent "excellent" or "good" Electric utility service Sewer services Drinking water Storm drainage Yard waste pick-up Recycling Garbage collection FIGURE 44: UTILITY SERVICES BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Similar Similar Much above Similar Above Much above Much above 24

34 R E C R E A T I O N A N D W E L L N E S S Parks and R ecreation Quality parks and recreation opportunities help to define a community as more than the grind of its business, traffic and hard work. Leisure activities vastly can improve the quality of life of residents, serving both to entertain and mobilize good health. The survey contained questions seeking residents perspectives about opportunities and services related to the community s parks and recreation services. Recreation opportunities in the Village of Skokie were rated positively as were services related to parks and recreation. Village parks were rated much above the benchmark.. FIGURE 45: RATINGS OF COMMUNITY RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES BY YEAR 100% 75% 83% 79% 80% 80% 50% 25% 0% Percent "excellent" or "good" FIGURE 46: COMMUNITY RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Recreation opportunities Much above 25

35 FIGURE 47: PARTICIPATION IN PARKS AND RECREATION OPPORTUNITIES BY YEAR Participated in a recreation program or activity 60% NA NA NA Visited a neighborhood park or Village park 88% 90% 87% NA Percent using at least once in last 12 months FIGURE 48: PARTICIPATION IN PARKS AND RECREATION OPPORTUNITIES BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Participated in a recreation program or activity Much more Visited a neighborhood park or Village park Similar FIGURE 49: RATINGS OF PARKS AND RECREATION SERVICES BY YEAR Village parks 89% NA NA NA Percent "excellent" or "good" Village parks FIGURE 50: PARKS AND RECREATION SERVICES BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Much above 26

36 Culture, Arts and Education A full service community does not address only the life and safety of its residents. Like individuals who simply go to the office and return home, a community that pays attention only to the life sustaining basics becomes insular, dreary and uninspiring. In the case of communities without thriving culture, arts and education opportunities, the magnet that attracts those who might consider relocating there is vastly weakened. Cultural, artistic, social and educational services elevate the opportunities for personal growth among residents. In the survey, residents were asked about the quality of opportunities to participate in cultural and educational activities. Opportunities to attend cultural activities were rated as excellent or good by 78% of respondents. Educational opportunities were rated as excellent or good by 88% of respondents. Educational opportunities and cultural activity opportunities were rated much above the benchmark comparison. About 89% of Skokie residents used a Village library at least once in the 12 months preceding the survey. This participation rate for library use was much higher than in comparison jurisdictions. FIGURE 51: RATINGS OF CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES BY YEAR Opportunities to attend cultural activities 78% 81% 80% 80% Educational opportunities 88% NA NA NA Percent "excellent" or "good" FIGURE 52: CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Opportunities to attend cultural activities Much above Educational opportunities Much above FIGURE 53: PARTICIPATION IN CULTURAL OPPORTUNITIES BY YEAR Used Skokie Public Library or its services 89% 83% 84% NA Percent using at least once in last 12 months FIGURE 54: PARTICIPATION IN CULTURAL OPPORTUNITIES BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Used Skokie Public Library or its services Much more 27

37 Health and W ellness Healthy residents have the wherewithal to contribute to the economy as volunteers or employees and they do not present a burden in cost and time to others. Although residents bear the primary responsibility for their good health, local government provides services that can foster that well being and that provide care when residents are ill. Residents of the Village of Skokie were asked to rate the community s health services as well as the availability of health care, high quality affordable food and preventive health care services. Among Skokie residents, 75% rated affordable quality health care as excellent or good. Those ratings were higher than the ratings of comparison communities. FIGURE 55: RATINGS OF COMMUNITY HEALTH AND WELLNESS ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITIES BY YEAR Availability of affordable quality health care 75% NA NA NA Availability of preventive health services 73% NA NA NA Percent "excellent" or "good" FIGURE 56: COMMUNITY HEALTH AND WELLNESS ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITIES BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Availability of affordable quality health care Much above Availability of preventive health services Much above FIGURE 57: RATINGS OF HEALTH AND WELLNESS SERVICES BY YEAR 100% 89% 84% 81% 81% 75% 50% 25% 0% Percent "excellent" or "good" FIGURE 58: HEALTH AND WELLNESS SERVICES BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Skokie Health Department services Much above 28

38 29 Village of Skokie 2012

39 C O M M U N I T Y I N C L U S I V E N E S S Diverse communities that include among their residents a mix of races, ages, wealth, ideas and beliefs have the raw material for the most vibrant and creative society. However, the presence of these features alone does not ensure a high quality or desirable space. Surveyed residents were asked about the success of the mix: the sense of community, the openness of residents to people of diverse backgrounds and the attractiveness of the Village of Skokie as a place to raise children or to retire. They were also questioned about the quality of services delivered to various population subgroups, including older adults, youth and residents with few resources. A community that succeeds in creating an inclusive environment for a variety of residents is a community that offers more to many. A high percentage of residents rated the Village of Skokie as an excellent or good place to raise kids and a majority rated it as an excellent or good place to retire. Most residents felt that the local sense of community was excellent or good. About 81% of survey respondents felt the Village of Skokie was open and accepting towards people of diverse backgrounds. The availability of affordable quality child care was rated the lowest by residents but was much higher than the benchmark. Ratings generally remained stable over time. FIGURE 59: RATINGS OF COMMUNITY QUALITY AND INCLUSIVENESS BY YEAR Sense of community 71% 67% 73% 72% Openness and acceptance of the community toward people of diverse backgrounds 81% 81% 81% 76% Availability of affordable quality child care 64% NA NA NA Skokie as a place to raise children 83% 84% 87% 87% Skokie as a place to retire 65% 68% 70% 68% Percent "excellent" or "good" FIGURE 60: COMMUNITY QUALITY AND INCLUSIVENESS BENCHMARKS Sense of community Openness and acceptance of the community toward people of diverse backgrounds Availability of affordable quality child care Skokie as a place to raise kids Skokie as a place to retire Comparison to benchmark Above Much above Much above Above Similar 30

40 Services to more vulnerable populations (e.g., seniors, youth or low-income residents) ranged from 65% to 83% with ratings of excellent or good. All of these ratings were much above the benchmark comparison. FIGURE 61: RATINGS OF QUALITY OF SERVICES PROVIDED FOR POPULATION SUBGROUPS BY YEAR Services to seniors 83% 87% 85% 87% Services to youth 74% 75% 73% 74% Services to low-income people 65% 62% 57% 62% Percent "excellent" or "good" FIGURE 62: SERVICES PROVIDED FOR POPULATION SUBGROUPS BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Services to seniors Much above Services to youth Much above Services to low income people Much above 31

41 C I V I C E N G A G E M E N T Community leaders cannot run a jurisdiction alone and a jurisdiction cannot run effectively if residents remain strangers with little to connect them. Elected officials and staff require the assistance of local residents whether that assistance comes in tacit approval or eager help; and commonality of purpose among the electorate facilitates policies and programs that appeal to most and causes discord among few. Furthermore, when neighbors help neighbors, the cost to the community to provide services to residents in need declines. When residents are civically engaged, they have taken the opportunity to participate in making the community more livable for all. The extent to which local government provides opportunities to become informed and engaged and the extent to which residents take those opportunities is an indicator of the connection between government and populace. By understanding your residents level of connection to, knowledge of and participation in local government, the Village can find better opportunities to communicate and educate citizens about its mission, services, accomplishments and plans. This survey information is essential for public communication and for helping local government staff to conceive strategies for reaching reluctant voters whose confidence in government may need boosting prior to important referenda. Civic Activity Respondents were asked about the perceived community volunteering opportunities and their participation as citizens of the Village of Skokie. Survey participants rated the volunteer opportunities in the Village of Skokie favorably. Opportunities to attend or participate in community matters were also rated favorably. The rating for opportunities to participate in community matters was above the benchmark while the rating for opportunities to volunteer was similar. FIGURE 63: RATINGS OF CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES BY YEAR Opportunities to volunteer 76% NA NA NA Opportunities to participate in community matters 71% NA NA NA Percent "excellent" or "good" FIGURE 64: CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Opportunities to participate in community matters Above Opportunities to volunteer Similar 32

42 Most of the participants in this survey had not attended a public meeting, watched a public meeting or volunteered time to a group in the 12 months prior to the survey. The participation rates of these civic behaviors were compared to the rates in other jurisdictions. All showed much lower rates of community engagement. FIGURE 65: PARTICIPATION IN CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES BY YEAR Attended a meeting of local elected officials or other local public meeting 19% 24% 12% 16% Watched a meeting of local elected officials or other public meeting on cable television, the Internet or other media 26% 27% 30% 25% Volunteered your time to some group or activity in Skokie 22% 26% 27% NA Percent participating at least once in the last 12 months FIGURE 66: PARTICIPATION IN CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES BENCHMARKS Attended a meeting of local elected officials or other local public meeting Watched a meeting of local elected officials or other public meeting on cable television, the Internet or other media Volunteered your time to some group or activity in Skokie Comparison to benchmark Much less Much less Much less Village of Skokie residents showed the largest amount of civic engagement in the area of electoral participation. Eighty-six percent reported they were registered to vote and 77% indicated they had voted in the last general election. This rate of self-reported voting was about the same as that of comparison communities. FIGURE 67: REPORTED VOTING BEHAVIOR BY YEAR Registered to vote 86% 78% 85% 85% Voted in the last general election 77% 75% NA NA Percent "yes" Registered to vote Voted in last general election FIGURE 68: VOTING BEHAVIOR BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Similar Similar 1 Over the past few years, local governments have adopted communication strategies that embrace the Internet and new media. In 2010, the question, Watched a meeting of local elected officials or other local public meeting on cable television was revised to include the Internet or other media to better reflect this trend. 2 Note: In addition to the removal of don t know responses, those who said ineligible to vote also have been omitted from this calculation. The full frequencies appear in Appendix A. 33

43 34 Village of Skokie 2012

44 Information and Awareness Those completing the survey were asked about their use and perceptions of various information sources and local government media services. When asked whether they had visited the Village of Skokie Web site in the previous 12 months, 70% reported they had done so at least once. FIGURE 69: USE OF INFORMATION SOURCES BY YEAR Read NewSkokie newsletter 93% 90% 90% 89% Visited the Village of Skokie Web site (at 70% 68% NA NA Percent using at least once in last 12 months FIGURE 70: USE OF INFORMATION SOURCES BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Read NewSkokie newsletter Much more Visited the Village of Skokie Web site Much more FIGURE 71: RATINGS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT MEDIA SERVICES AND INFORMATION DISSEMINATION BY YEAR Cable television 66% 66% NA NA Percent "excellent" or "good" FIGURE 72: LOCAL GOVERNMENT MEDIA SERVICES AND INFORMATION DISSEMINATION BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Cable television Above 35

45 Social Engagement Opportunities to participate in social events and activities were rated as excellent or good by 75% of respondents. FIGURE 73: RATINGS OF SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES 2012 Excellent Good Opportunities to participate in social events and activities 24% 51% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Percent of respondents FIGURE 74: SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Opportunities to participate in social events and activities Much above Residents in Skokie reported a fair amount of neighborliness. Close to half indicated talking or visiting with their neighbors at least several times a week. This amount of contact with neighbors was about the same as the amount of contact reported in other communities. FIGURE 75: CONTACT WITH IMMEDIATE NEIGHBORS BY YEAR About how often, if at all, do you talk to or visit with your immediate neighbors (people who live in the 10 or 20 households that are closest to you)? 48% 45% NA NA Percent "at least several times per week" FIGURE 76: CONTACT WITH IMMEDIATE NEIGHBORS BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Has contact with neighbors at least several times per week Similar 36

46 P U B L I C T R U S T When local government leaders are trusted, an environment of cooperation is more likely to surround all decisions they make. Cooperation leads to easier communication between leaders and residents and increases the likelihood that high value policies and programs will be implemented to improve the quality of life of the entire community. Trust can be measured in residents opinions about the overall direction the Village of Skokie is taking, their perspectives about the service value their taxes purchase and the openness of government to citizen participation. In addition, resident opinion about services provided by the Village of Skokie could be compared to their opinion about services provided by the state and federal governments. If residents find nothing to admire in the services delivered by any level of government, their opinions about the Village of Skokie may be colored by their dislike of what all levels of government provide. A majority of respondents felt that the value of services for taxes paid was excellent or good. When asked to rate the job the Village of Skokie does at welcoming citizen involvement, 64% rated it as excellent or good. Of these four ratings, three were much above the benchmark, one was similar to the benchmark and none were below the benchmark. FIGURE 77: PUBLIC TRUST RATINGS BY YEAR The value of services for the taxes paid to Skokie* 65% 71% 69% 72% The overall direction that Skokie is taking* 65% 68% 67% 67% The job Skokie government does at welcoming citizen involvement* 64% 73% 74% 73% Overall image or reputation of Skokie 71% 79% 78% NA Percent "excellent" or "good" * For jurisdictions that have conducted The NCS prior to 2008, a change in the wording of response options may cause a decline in the percent of residents who offer a positive perspective on public trust. It is well to factor in the possible change due to question wording this way: if you show an increase, you may have found even more improvement with the same question wording; if you show no change, you may have shown a slight increase with the same question wording; if you show a decrease, community sentiment is probably about stable. FIGURE 78: PUBLIC TRUST BENCHMARKS Value of services for the taxes paid to Skokie The overall direction that Skokie is taking Job Skokie government does at welcoming citizen involvement Overall image or reputation of Skokie Comparison to benchmark Much above Much above Much above Similar 37

47 On average, residents of the Village of Skokie gave the highest evaluations to their own local government and the lowest average ratings to the State Government and Cook County Government. The overall quality of services delivered by the Village of Skokie was rated as excellent or good by 87% of survey participants. The Village of Skokie s rating was much above the benchmark when compared to other communities. Ratings of overall Village services have remained stable over the last nine years. FIGURE 79: RATING OVERALL QUALITY OF SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE VILLAGE OF SKOKIE BY YEAR 100% 89% 88% 88% 87% 75% 50% 25% 0% Percent "excellent" or "good" FIGURE 80: RATINGS OF SERVICES PROVIDED BY LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS BY YEAR Services provided by Village of Skokie 87% 88% 88% 89% Services provided by the Federal Government 54% 43% 47% 53% Services provided by the State Government 41% 32% 50% 50% Services provided by Cook County Government 41% 29% NA NA Percent "excellent" or "good" FIGURE 81: SERVICES PROVIDED BY LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Services provided by the Village of Skokie Much above Services provided by the Federal Government Much above Services provided by the State Government Similar Services provided by Cook County Government Much below 38

48 Village of Skokie Employees The employees of the Village of Skokie who interact with the public create the first impression that most residents have of the Village of Skokie. Front line staff who provide information, assist with bill paying, collect trash, create service schedules, fight fires and crime and even give traffic tickets are the collective face of the Village of Skokie. As such, it is important to know about residents experience talking with that face. When employees appear to be knowledgeable, responsive and courteous, residents are more likely to feel that any needs or problems may be solved through positive and productive interactions with the Village of Skokie staff. Those completing the survey were asked if they had been in contact with a Village employee either in-person, over the phone or via in the last 12 months; the 73% who reported that they had been in contact (a percent that is much more than the benchmark comparison) were then asked to indicate overall how satisfied they were with the employee in their most recent contact. Village employees were rated highly; 82% of respondents rated their overall impression as excellent or good. Employees ratings were higher than benchmark and were similar to past survey years. FIGURE 82: PROPORTION OF RESPONDENTS WHO HAD CONTACT WITH VILLAGE EMPLOYEES IN PREVIOUS 12 MONTHS BY YEAR 100% 75% 70% 67% 67% 73% 50% 25% 0% Percent "yes" FIGURE 83: CONTACT WITH VILLAGE EMPLOYEES BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Had contact with Village employee(s) in last 12 months Much more 39

49 FIGURE 84: RATINGS OF VILLAGE EMPLOYEES (AMONG THOSE WHO HAD CONTACT) BY YEAR Knowledge 84% 91% 89% 85% Responsiveness 85% 85% 85% 80% Courtesy 80% 87% 82% 79% Overall impression 82% 86% 82% 80% Percent "excellent" or "good" FIGURE 85: RATINGS OF VILLAGE EMPLOYEES (AMONG THOSE WHO HAD CONTACT) BENCHMARKS Comparison to benchmark Knowledge Above Responsiveness Much above Courteousness Above Overall impression Much above 40

50 From Data to Action R E S I D E N T P R I O R I T I E S Knowing where to focus limited resources to improve residents opinions of local government requires information that targets the services that are most important to residents. However, when residents are asked what services are most important, they rarely stray beyond core services those directed to save lives and improve safety. In market research, identifying the most important characteristics of a transaction or product is called Key Driver Analysis (KDA). The key drivers that are identified from that analysis do not come from asking customers to self-report which service or product characteristic most influenced their decision to buy or return, but rather from statistical analyses of the predictors of their behavior. When customers are asked to name the most important characteristics of a good or service, responses often are expected or misleading just as they can be in the context of a citizen survey. For example, air travelers often claim that safety is the primary consideration in their choice of an airline, yet key driver analysis reveals that frequent flier perks or in-flight entertainment predicts their buying decisions. In local government core services like fire protection invariably land at the top of the list created when residents are asked about the most important local government services. And core services are important. But by using KDA, our approach digs deeper to identify the less obvious, but more influential services that are most related to residents ratings of overall quality of local government services. Because services focused directly on life and safety remain essential to quality government, it is suggested that core services should remain the focus of continuous monitoring and improvement where necessary but monitoring core services or asking residents to identify important services is not enough. A KDA was conducted for the Village of Skokie by examining the relationships between ratings of each service and ratings of the Village of Skokie s overall services. Those Key Driver services that correlated most highly with residents perceptions about overall Village service quality have been identified. By targeting improvements in key services, the Village of Skokie can focus on the services that have the greatest likelihood of influencing residents opinions about overall service quality. Because a strong correlation is not the same as a cause, there is no guarantee that improving ratings on key drivers necessarily will improve ratings. What is certain from these analyses is that key drivers are good predictors of overall resident opinion and that the key drivers presented may be useful focus areas to consider for enhancement of overall service ratings. Services found to be most strongly correlated with ratings of overall service quality from the Skokie Key Driver Analysis were: Economic development Police services Snow removal Village parks 41

51 V I L L A G E O F S K O K I E A C T I O N C H A R T The 2012 Village of Skokie Action Chart on the following page combines three dimensions of performance: Comparison to resident evaluations from other communities. When a comparison is available, the background color of each service box indicates whether the service is above the national benchmark (green), similar to the benchmark (yellow) or below the benchmark (red). Identification of key services. A black key icon ( ) next to a service box indicates it as a key driver for the Village. Trendline icons (up and down arrows), indicating whether the current ratings are higher or lower than the previous survey. Twenty-seven services were included in the KDA for the Village of Skokie. Of these, 19 were above the benchmark, none were below the benchmark and three were similar to the benchmark (no comparison was available for five custom services). Considering all performance data included in the Action Chart, a jurisdiction typically will want to consider improvements to any key driver services that are trending down or that are not at least similar to the benchmark. In the case of Skokie, no key drivers were below the benchmark or trending lower in the current survey. More detail about interpreting results can be found in the next section. Services with a high percent of respondents answering don t know were excluded from the analysis and were considered services that would be less influential. See Appendix A: Complete Survey Frequencies, Frequencies Including Don t Know Responses for the percent don t know for each service. 42

52 FIGURE 86: VILLAGE OF SKOKIE ACTION CHART Overall Quality of Village of Skokie Services Community Design Recreation and Wellness Planning and zoning Code enforcement Economic development Sidewalk maintenance Street lighting Animal control Street repair Snow removal Bus/transit services Street cleaning Village parks Civic Engagement Cable television Public Safety Environmental Sustainability Drinking water Garbage collection Electric utility Recycling Sewer services Storm drainage Police services Traffic enforcement Overall police competence Police attitudes/behaviors Public information Other Fire services EM S Alley maintenance Sidewalk snow plowing Above Benchmark Key Driver Legend Similar to Benchmark Rating increase Below Benchmark Rating decrease 43

53 Using Your Action Chart The key drivers derived for the Village of Skokie provide a list of those services that are uniquely related to overall service quality. Those key drivers are marked with the symbol of a key in the action chart. Because key driver results are based on a relatively small number of responses, the relationships or correlations that define the key drivers are subject to more variability than is seen when key drivers are derived from a large national dataset of resident responses. To benefit the Village of Skokie, NRC lists the key drivers derived from tens of thousands of resident responses from across the country. This national list is updated periodically so that you can compare your key drivers to the key drivers from the entire NRC dataset. Where your locally derived key drivers overlap national key drivers, it makes sense to focus even more strongly on your keys. Similarly, when your local key drivers overlap your core services, there is stronger argument to make for attending to your key drivers that overlap with core services. As staff review key drivers, not all drivers may resonate as likely links to residents perspectives about overall service quality. For example, in Skokie, planning and zoning and police services may be obvious links to overall service delivery (and each is a key driver from our national database), since it could be easy for staff to see how residents view of overall service delivery could be colored by how well they perceive police and land use planning to be delivered. But animal control could be a surprise. Before rejecting a key driver that does not pass the first test of conventional wisdom, consider whether residents opinions about overall service quality could reasonably be influenced by this unexpected driver. For example, in the case of animal control, was there a visible case of violation prior to the survey data collection? Do Skokie residents have different expectations for animal control than what current policy provides? Are the rare instances of violation serious enough to cause a word of mouth campaign about service delivery? If, after deeper review, the suspect driver still does not square with your understanding of the services that could influence residents perspectives about overall service quality (and if that driver is not a core service or a key driver from NRC s national research), put action in that area on hold and wait to see if it appears as a key driver the next time the survey is conducted. In the following table, we have listed your key drivers, core services and the national key drivers and we have indicated (in bold typeface and with the symbol ), the Village of Skokie key drivers that overlap core services or the nationally derived keys. In general, key drivers below the benchmark may be targeted for improvement. Additionally, we have indicated (with the symbol ) those services that neither are local nor national key drivers nor are they core services. It is these services that could be considered first for resource reductions. 44

54 Service FIGURE 87: KEY DRIVERS COMPARED Village of Skokie Key Drivers National Key Drivers Core Services Police services Ambulance and emergency medical services Traffic enforcement Street repair Street cleaning Street lighting Snow removal Sidewalk maintenance Bus or transit services Garbage collection Recycling Drinking water Sewer services Electric utility Village parks Land use planning and zoning Code enforcement Animal control Economic development Health services Cable television Key driver overlaps with national and or core services Service may be targeted for reductions it is not a key driver or core service 45

55 Custom Questions Don t know responses have been removed from the following questions. Please rate how important, if at all, each of the following community issues or initiatives is for the Village of Skokie: Custom Question 1 Essential Very important Somewhat important Not at all important residents public safety and crime alerts 31% 33% 28% 9% 100% At-risk youth programs 24% 41% 28% 6% 100% Downtown Skokie redevelopment 23% 31% 32% 14% 100% Increase code enforcement for property standards violations 22% 32% 32% 13% 100% Elderly care services 21% 46% 30% 3% 100% Implement licensing of landlords and multi-family buildings 21% 32% 27% 21% 100% Use of user fees and special taxes instead of property taxes 20% 28% 33% 18% 100% Construct new bike paths and bike lanes 19% 24% 34% 23% 100% Redevelop Dempster Street 18% 24% 39% 19% 100% Street resurfacing 14% 35% 43% 8% 100% Increase vehicle sticker fee to hire more police officers 8% 21% 31% 40% 100% Total The Village's property taxes have not increased since To what extent would you support or oppose a property tax increase to fund the following programs or initiatives? Custom Question 2 Strongly support Somewhat support Somewhat oppose Strongly oppose Continue sidewalk snow plowing 35% 37% 11% 17% 100% Continue twice per week refuse pick-up 34% 34% 13% 19% 100% Increase the number of police officers 23% 33% 21% 23% 100% Increase street resurfacing 22% 43% 21% 14% 100% Install additional traffic safety devices 18% 30% 26% 26% 100% "Green" or other environmentally friendly equipment and programs 17% 39% 23% 21% 100% Revitalize Downtown Skokie 14% 36% 21% 29% 100% Revitalize Dempster Street 13% 32% 22% 33% 100% Increase the number of property 13% 29% 26% 32% 100% 46 Total

56 The Village's property taxes have not increased since To what extent would you support or oppose a property tax increase to fund the following programs or initiatives? standards inspectors Custom Question 2 Strongly support Somewhat support Somewhat oppose Strongly oppose Revitalize other shopping/commercial areas (East Oakton Street, Main Street, etc.) 9% 30% 27% 34% 100% Total 47

57 Appendix A: Complete Survey Frequencies F R E Q U E N C I E S E X C L U D I N G D O N T K N O W R E S P O N S E S Question 1: Quality of Life Please rate each of the following aspects of quality of life in Skokie: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Skokie as a place to live 35% 54% 9% 2% 100% Your neighborhood as a place to live 32% 45% 16% 6% 100% Skokie as a place to raise children 36% 47% 13% 4% 100% Skokie as a place to work 29% 44% 21% 6% 100% Skokie as a place to retire 20% 45% 26% 9% 100% The overall quality of life in Skokie 26% 54% 17% 2% 100% Question 2: Community Characteristics Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Skokie as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Sense of community 19% 52% 26% 3% 100% Openness and acceptance of the community toward people of diverse backgrounds 33% 48% 17% 3% 100% Overall appearance of Skokie 24% 53% 19% 4% 100% Cleanliness of Skokie 33% 49% 15% 3% 100% Overall quality of new development in Skokie 19% 51% 25% 5% 100% Variety of housing options 22% 50% 22% 5% 100% Overall quality of business and service establishments in Skokie 19% 55% 22% 4% 100% Shopping opportunities 38% 48% 11% 2% 100% Opportunities to attend cultural activities 34% 44% 18% 4% 100% Recreational opportunities 30% 49% 16% 4% 100% Employment opportunities 12% 35% 39% 15% 100% Educational opportunities 29% 59% 11% 2% 100% Opportunities to participate in social events and activities 24% 51% 21% 4% 100% Opportunities to volunteer 23% 53% 21% 3% 100% Opportunities to participate in community matters 25% 46% 22% 7% 100% Ease of car travel in Skokie 31% 51% 14% 4% 100% Ease of bus travel in Skokie 24% 49% 22% 6% 100% Ease of rail or subway travel in Skokie 28% 56% 15% 1% 100% Ease of bicycle travel in Skokie 21% 41% 26% 11% 100% Ease of walking in Skokie 27% 49% 17% 7% 100% Availability of paths and walking trails 21% 48% 20% 12% 100% 48

58 Question 2: Community Characteristics Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Skokie as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Traffic flow on major streets 11% 49% 31% 9% 100% Amount of public parking 19% 46% 29% 6% 100% Availability of affordable quality housing 14% 45% 30% 11% 100% Availability of affordable quality child care 14% 50% 29% 7% 100% Availability of affordable quality health care 16% 58% 16% 9% 100% Availability of preventive health services 19% 54% 20% 7% 100% Air quality 18% 54% 24% 4% 100% Quality of overall natural environment in Skokie 17% 58% 23% 2% 100% Overall image or reputation of Skokie 22% 50% 24% 5% 100% Please rate the speed of growth in the following categories in Skokie over the past 2 years: Much too slow Question 3: Growth Somewhat too slow Right amount Somewhat too fast Much too fast Population growth 1% 5% 62% 22% 10% 100% Retail growth (stores, restaurants, etc.) 10% 39% 47% 3% 1% 100% Jobs growth 20% 52% 26% 2% 0% 100% Total To what degree, if at all, are the following problems in Skokie: Not a problem Question 4: Problems Minor problem Moderate problem Major problem Crime 9% 33% 42% 15% 100% Drugs 11% 30% 39% 20% 100% Too much growth 34% 28% 24% 14% 100% Property taxes 13% 17% 28% 42% 100% Traffic congestion 17% 37% 40% 5% 100% Unsupervised youth 17% 28% 31% 24% 100% Unmaintained properties (weeds, peeling paint, etc.) 21% 45% 26% 9% 100% Total Question 5: Community Safety Please rate how safe or unsafe you feel from the following in Skokie: Very safe Somewhat safe Neither safe nor unsafe Somewhat unsafe Very unsafe Total 49

59 Please rate how safe or unsafe you feel from the following in Skokie: Question 5: Community Safety Very safe Somewhat safe Neither safe nor unsafe Somewhat unsafe Very unsafe Violent crime (e.g., rape, assault, robbery) 29% 37% 14% 15% 6% 100% Property crimes (e.g., burglary, theft) 15% 34% 15% 27% 10% 100% Environmental hazards, including toxic waste 40% 34% 18% 6% 2% 100% Total Please rate how safe or unsafe you feel: Very safe Question 6: Personal Safety Somewhat safe Neither safe nor unsafe Somewhat unsafe Very unsafe In your neighborhood during the day 58% 29% 6% 6% 1% 100% In your neighborhood after dark 23% 42% 9% 15% 11% 100% In Skokie's downtown area during the day 64% 25% 6% 5% 0% 100% In Skokie's downtown area after dark 31% 36% 14% 14% 5% 100% Total Question 7: Crime Victim During the past 12 months, were you or anyone in your household the victim of any crime in Skokie? Percent of respondents No 84% Yes 16% Total 100% Question 8: Crime Reporting If yes, was this crime (these crimes) reported to the police? Percent of respondents No 29% Yes 71% Total 100% Question 9: Resident Behaviors In the last 12 months, about how many times, if ever, have you or other household members participated in the following activities in Skokie? Never Once or twice 3 to 12 times 13 to 26 times More than 26 times Total 50

60 In the last 12 months, about how many times, if ever, have you or other household members participated in the following activities in Skokie? Question 9: Resident Behaviors Never Once or twice 3 to 12 times 13 to 26 times More than 26 times Used Skokie Public Library or its services 11% 18% 28% 18% 25% 100% Participated in a recreation program or activity 40% 31% 18% 8% 4% 100% Visited a neighborhood park or Village park 12% 21% 36% 15% 16% 100% Ridden a local bus within Skokie 66% 14% 10% 3% 7% 100% Attended a meeting of local elected officials or other local public meeting 81% 14% 4% 0% 0% 100% Watched a meeting of local elected officials or other Village-sponsored public meeting on cable television, the Internet or other media 74% 18% 6% 1% 1% 100% Read NewSkokie Newsletter 7% 18% 50% 11% 14% 100% Visited the Village of Skokie Web site (at 30% 27% 31% 8% 5% 100% Recycled used paper, cans or bottles from your home 13% 5% 13% 6% 62% 100% Volunteered your time to some group or activity in Skokie 78% 11% 6% 1% 3% 100% Listened to 1660 AM Skokie radio station 85% 11% 3% 1% 0% 100% Ridden a Senior Transportation for Area Residents (STAR) bus 96% 2% 2% 0% 0% 100% Ridden the Skokie Swift 41% 22% 21% 5% 11% 100% Attended a neighborhood block party 80% 16% 3% 0% 0% 100% Called or ed the Village for yard waste collection 56% 20% 19% 3% 2% 100% Dined or shopped in Downtown Skokie 13% 19% 39% 18% 12% 100% Visited the Skokie Farmers' Market 37% 28% 24% 6% 5% 100% Total Question 10: Neighborliness About how often, if at all, do you talk to or visit with your immediate neighbors (people who live in the 10 or 20 households that are closest to you)? Percent of respondents Just about everyday 18% Several times a week 29% Several times a month 19% Less than several times a month 33% Total 100% 51

61 Question 11: Service Quality Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Skokie: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Police services 47% 40% 11% 2% 100% Fire services 60% 37% 3% 0% 100% Ambulance or emergency medical services 56% 39% 4% 0% 100% Crime prevention 20% 46% 25% 9% 100% Fire prevention and education 36% 48% 12% 4% 100% Traffic enforcement 22% 55% 15% 8% 100% Street repair 14% 41% 31% 14% 100% Street cleaning 24% 52% 18% 6% 100% Street lighting 20% 48% 21% 10% 100% Snow removal 29% 38% 25% 7% 100% Sidewalk maintenance 17% 49% 26% 8% 100% Bus or transit services 23% 59% 16% 2% 100% Garbage collection 51% 38% 10% 1% 100% Recycling 50% 36% 10% 4% 100% Yard waste pick-up 39% 37% 18% 6% 100% Storm drainage 18% 40% 26% 16% 100% Drinking water 37% 45% 13% 5% 100% Sewer services 23% 48% 21% 8% 100% Electric utility service 25% 56% 13% 6% 100% Village parks 41% 48% 11% 0% 100% Land use, planning and zoning 21% 47% 28% 4% 100% Code enforcement (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) 15% 47% 27% 12% 100% Animal control 26% 47% 21% 7% 100% Economic development 16% 44% 29% 11% 100% Skokie Health Department services 38% 43% 16% 2% 100% Services to seniors 40% 43% 17% 1% 100% Services to youth 25% 48% 24% 3% 100% Services to low-income people 25% 40% 22% 13% 100% Services to families 18% 54% 22% 6% 100% Cable television 17% 49% 22% 11% 100% Emergency preparedness (services that prepare the community for natural disasters or other emergency situations) 22% 51% 21% 6% 100% Administrative hearings (parking and code violations) 18% 47% 25% 9% 100% Sidewalk snow plowing 23% 34% 26% 16% 100% 52

62 Question 11: Service Quality Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Skokie: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Alley maintenance 18% 34% 33% 16% 100% Obtaining a building permit 15% 50% 26% 9% 100% Public information AM Skokie radio station 23% 53% 24% 1% 100% Public information - NewSkokie municipal newsletter 32% 52% 15% 1% 100% Public information - municipal Web site 24% 59% 16% 1% 100% Public information - Village of Skokie monthly newsletter 31% 52% 16% 1% 100% Overall competence of Police Department employees 30% 52% 15% 3% 100% Police officers' attitudes and behaviors toward citizens 35% 39% 20% 6% 100% Fire prevention - code enforcement 32% 49% 16% 2% 100% Fire prevention - public education 33% 45% 17% 6% 100% Senior Transportation for Area Residents (STAR) bus service 35% 43% 20% 3% 100% Question 12: Government Services Overall Overall, how would you rate the quality of the services provided by each of the following? Excellent Good Fair Poor Total The Village of Skokie 35% 52% 11% 2% 100% The Federal Government 10% 44% 34% 12% 100% The State Government 9% 32% 36% 23% 100% Cook County Government 8% 33% 31% 28% 100% Question 13: Contact with Village Employees Have you had any in-person, phone or contact with an employee of the Village of Skokie within the last 12 months (including police, receptionists, planners or any others)? Percent of respondents No 27% Yes 73% Total 100% Question 14: Village Employees What was your impression of the employee(s) of the Village of Skokie in your most recent contact? Excellent Good Fair Poor Total Knowledge 46% 37% 14% 2% 100% Responsiveness 50% 34% 12% 4% 100% Courtesy 51% 29% 17% 4% 100% Overall impression 46% 36% 14% 4% 100% 53

63 Question 15: Government Performance Please rate the following categories of Skokie government performance: Excellent Good Fair Poor Total The value of services for the taxes paid to Skokie 20% 45% 25% 10% 100% The overall direction that Skokie is taking 17% 48% 24% 11% 100% The job Skokie government does at welcoming citizen involvement 21% 43% 27% 9% 100% Please indicate how likely or unlikely you are to do each of the following: Question 16: Recommendation and Longevity Very likely Somewhat likely Somewhat unlikely Very unlikely Recommend living in Skokie to someone who asks 47% 40% 8% 6% 100% Remain in Skokie for the next five years 55% 25% 11% 9% 100% Total Question 17: Impact of the Economy What impact, if any, do you think the economy will have on your family income in the next 6 months? Do you think the impact will be: Percent of respondents Very positive 5% Somewhat positive 17% Neutral 49% Somewhat negative 24% Very negative 5% Total 100% 54

64 Please rate how important, if at all, each of the following community issues or initiatives is for the Village of Skokie: Question 18a: Custom Question 1 Essential Very important Somewhat important Not at all important Increase vehicle sticker fee to hire more police officers 8% 21% 31% 40% 100% Street resurfacing 14% 35% 43% 8% 100% Redevelop Dempster Street 18% 24% 39% 19% 100% Downtown Skokie redevelopment 23% 31% 32% 14% 100% Construct new bike paths and bike lanes 19% 24% 34% 23% 100% Elderly care services 21% 46% 30% 3% 100% At-risk youth programs 24% 41% 28% 6% 100% Implement licensing of landlords and multi-family buildings 21% 32% 27% 21% 100% Increase code enforcement for property standards violations 22% 32% 32% 13% 100% residents public safety and crime alerts 31% 33% 28% 9% 100% Use of user fees and special taxes instead of property taxes 20% 28% 33% 18% 100% Total The Village's property taxes have not increased since To what extent would you support or oppose a property tax increase to fund the following programs or initiatives? Question 18b: Custom Question 2 Strongly support Somewhat support Somewhat oppose Strongly oppose Revitalize Downtown Skokie 14% 36% 21% 29% 100% Revitalize Dempster Street 13% 32% 22% 33% 100% Revitalize other shopping/commercial areas (East Oakton Street, Main Street, etc.) 9% 30% 27% 34% 100% Continue sidewalk snow plowing 35% 37% 11% 17% 100% Increase street resurfacing 22% 43% 21% 14% 100% Increase the number of property standards inspectors 13% 29% 26% 32% 100% "Green" or other environmentally friendly equipment and programs 17% 39% 23% 21% 100% Install additional traffic safety devices 18% 30% 26% 26% 100% Increase the number of police officers 23% 33% 21% 23% 100% 55 Total

65 The Village's property taxes have not increased since To what extent would you support or oppose a property tax increase to fund the following programs or initiatives? Question 18b: Custom Question 2 Strongly support Somewhat support Somewhat oppose Strongly oppose Continue twice per week refuse pick-up 34% 34% 13% 19% 100% Total 56

66 Question D1: Employment Status Are you currently employed for pay? Percent of respondents No 37% Yes, full-time 49% Yes, part-time 14% Total 100% Question D2: Mode of Transportation Used for Commute During a typical week, how many days do you commute to work (for the longest distance of your commute) in each of the ways listed below? Percent of days mode used Motorized vehicle (e.g., car, truck, van, motorcycle, etc.) by myself 68% Motorized vehicle (e.g., car, truck, van, motorcycle, etc.) with other children or adults 9% Bus, rail, subway or other public transportation 10% Walk 3% Bicycle 2% Work at home 7% Other 0% Question D3: Length of Residency How many years have you lived in Skokie? Percent of respondents Less than 2 years 6% 2 to 5 years 21% 6 to 10 years 17% 11 to 20 years 17% More than 20 years 38% Total 100% Question D4: Housing Unit Type Which best describes the building you live in? Percent of respondents One family house detached from any other houses 58% House attached to one or more houses (e.g., a duplex or townhome) 4% Building with two or more apartments or condominiums 37% Mobile home 0% Other 1% Total 100% Question D5: Housing Tenure (Rent/Own) 57

67 Is this house, apartment or mobile home Percent of respondents Rented for cash or occupied without cash payment 28% Owned by you or someone in this house with a mortgage or free and clear 72% Total 100% Question D6: Monthly Housing Cost About how much is the monthly housing cost for the place you live (including rent, mortgage payment, property tax, property insurance and homeowners" association (HOA) fees)? Percent of respondents Less than $300 per month 3% $300 to $599 per month 7% $600 to $999 per month 28% $1,000 to $1,499 per month 23% $1,500 to $2,499 per month 27% $2,500 or more per month 12% Total 100% Question D7: Presence of Children in Household Do any children 17 or under live in your household? Percent of respondents No 67% Yes 33% Total 100% Question D8: Presence of Older Adults in Household Are you or any other members of your household aged 65 or older? Percent of respondents No 70% Yes 30% Total 100% Question D9: Household Income How much do you anticipate your household's total income before taxes will be for the current year? (Please include in your total income money from all sources for all persons living in your household.) Percent of respondents Less than $24,999 13% $25,000 to $49,999 30% $50,000 to $99,999 31% $100,000 to $149,999 17% $150,000 or more 8% Total 100% 58

68 Question D10: Ethnicity Are you Spanish, Hispanic or Latino? Percent of respondents No, not Spanish, Hispanic or Latino 96% Yes, I consider myself to be Spanish, Hispanic or Latino 4% Total 100% Question D11: Race What is your race? (Mark one or more races to indicate what race(s) you consider yourself to be.) Percent of respondents American Indian or Alaskan Native 1% Asian, Asian Indian or Pacific Islander 23% Black or African American 4% White 68% Other 7% Total may exceed 100% as respondents could select more than one option Question D12: Age In which category is your age? Percent of respondents 18 to 24 years 7% 25 to 34 years 16% 35 to 44 years 13% 45 to 54 years 21% 55 to 64 years 17% 65 to 74 years 11% 75 years or older 15% Total 100% Question D13: Gender What is your sex? Percent of respondents Female 53% Male 47% Total 100% Question D14: Registered to Vote Are you registered to vote in your jurisdiction? Percent of respondents No 14% Yes 83% Ineligible to vote 3% 59

69 Question D14: Registered to Vote Are you registered to vote in your jurisdiction? Percent of respondents Total 100% Question D15: Voted in Last General Election Many people don't have time to vote in elections. Did you vote in the last general election? Percent of respondents No 22% Yes 74% Ineligible to vote 4% Total 100% Question D16: Has Cell Phone Do you have a cell phone? Percent of respondents No 7% Yes 93% Total 100% Question D17: Has Land Line Do you have a land line at home? Percent of respondents No 31% Yes 69% Total 100% Question D18: Primary Phone If you have both a cell phone and a land line, which do you consider your primary telephone number? Percent of respondents Cell 29% Land line 53% Both 18% Total 100% Question D19: Internet Access Do you have Internet access? (Please check all that apply) Percent of respondents At home 96% At work 50% On a smart phone 44% Total may exceed 100% as respondents could select more than one option 60

70 F R E Q U E N C I E S I N C L U D I N G D O N T K N O W R E S P O N S E S These tables contain the percentage of respondents for each response category as well as the n or total number of respondents for each category, next to the percentage. Question 1: Quality of Life Please rate each of the following aspects of quality of life in Skokie: Excellent Good Fair Poor Don't know Total Skokie as a place to live 35% % 188 9% 33 2% 7 0% 1 100% 352 Your neighborhood as a place to live 32% % % 56 6% 21 2% 6 100% 350 Skokie as a place to raise children 32% % % 42 3% 12 9% % 348 Skokie as a place to work 19% 67 29% 99 14% 49 4% 13 34% % 348 Skokie as a place to retire 16% 56 36% % 70 7% 26 20% % 345 The overall quality of life in Skokie 26% 92 54% % 60 2% 7 0% 1 100% 347 Question 2: Community Characteristics Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Skokie as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Sense of community 18% 62 51% % 85 3% 12 3% % 346 Openness and acceptance of the community toward people of diverse backgrounds 32% % % 54 2% 8 4% % 341 Overall appearance of Skokie 24% 81 53% % 67 4% 12 0% 1 100% 345 Cleanliness of Skokie 33% % % 53 3% 11 0% 0 100% 350 Overall quality of new development in Skokie 17% 60 47% % 79 4% 15 8% % 347 Variety of housing options 20% 70 46% % 71 5% 16 8% % 343 Overall quality of business and service establishments in Skokie 18% 63 54% % 75 4% 13 2% 7 100% 345 Shopping opportunities 37% % % 39 2% 8 2% 6 100% 349 Opportunities to attend cultural activities 32% % % 59 3% 12 6% % 348 Recreational opportunities 28% 98 46% % 53 4% 13 7% % 346 Don't know Total 61

71 Question 2: Community Characteristics Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Skokie as a whole: Excellent Good Fair Poor Employment opportunities 7% 25 21% 74 24% 82 9% 33 38% % 346 Educational opportunities 26% 91 55% % 34 1% 5 8% % 343 Opportunities to participate in social events and activities 21% 74 46% % 65 4% 13 10% % 347 Opportunities to volunteer 16% 55 37% % 51 2% 7 30% % 342 Opportunities to participate in community matters 19% 66 35% % 59 5% 17 23% % 344 Ease of car travel in Skokie 30% % % 47 4% 12 2% 6 100% 346 Ease of bus travel in Skokie 17% 60 36% % 55 4% 14 27% % 349 Ease of rail or subway travel in Skokie 25% 85 49% % 47 1% 4 11% % 347 Ease of bicycle travel in Skokie 16% 55 32% % 68 9% 30 23% % 341 Ease of walking in Skokie 26% 90 49% % 59 7% 23 1% 5 100% 343 Availability of paths and walking trails 19% 64 43% % 60 11% 37 10% % 342 Traffic flow on major streets 11% 38 48% % 105 9% 31 1% 4 100% 341 Amount of public parking 18% 62 44% % 94 5% 18 6% % 344 Availability of affordable quality housing 11% 38 35% % 79 9% 30 21% % 338 Availability of affordable quality child care 6% 22 23% 79 13% 46 3% 11 54% % 344 Availability of affordable quality health care 12% 40 42% % 40 7% 22 29% % 343 Availability of preventive health services 14% 50 40% % 50 5% 18 25% % 343 Air quality 16% 56 49% % 76 4% 14 8% % 342 Quality of overall natural environment in Skokie 17% 57 57% % 77 2% 6 2% 7 100% 343 Overall image or reputation of Skokie 21% 74 49% % 81 5% 16 2% 5 100% 345 Don't know Total Question 3: Growth Please rate the speed of growth in the following categories in Skokie over the past 2 years: Much too slow Somewhat too slow Right amount Somewhat too fast Much too fast Don't know Total 62

72 Please rate the speed of growth in the following categories in Skokie over the past 2 years: Much too slow Question 3: Growth Somewhat too slow Right amount Somewhat too fast Much too fast Population growth 1% 3 3% 11 38% % 46 6% 21 39% % 343 Retail growth (stores, restaurants, etc.) 8% 29 32% % 137 2% 8 1% 3 16% % 346 Jobs growth 10% 33 25% 86 13% 42 1% 3 0% 0 51% % 338 Don't know Total 63

73 To what degree, if at all, are the following problems in Skokie: Not a problem Question 4: Problems Minor problem Moderate problem Major problem Crime 8% 28 29% % % 48 12% % 348 Drugs 8% 27 21% 71 27% 93 14% 49 30% % 345 Too much growth 26% 85 21% 71 18% 60 11% 35 24% % 331 Property taxes 11% 38 15% 52 25% 86 37% % % 340 Traffic congestion 16% 56 36% % 133 5% 18 4% % 343 Unsupervised youth 14% 48 23% 78 26% 88 20% 69 17% % 342 Unmaintained properties (weeds, peeling paint, etc.) 18% 64 40% % 79 8% 27 10% % 345 Don't know Total Please rate how safe or unsafe you feel from the following in Skokie: Very safe Question 5: Community Safety Somewhat safe Neither safe nor unsafe Somewhat unsafe Very unsafe Violent crime (e.g., rape, assault, robbery) 28% 96 36% % 46 14% 50 6% 20 3% 9 100% 346 Property crimes (e.g., burglary, theft) 14% 50 33% % 49 26% 90 10% 33 3% % 349 Environmental hazards, including toxic waste 33% % 99 15% 52 5% 18 2% 6 17% % 346 Don't know Total Please rate how safe or unsafe you feel: Very safe Somewhat safe Question 6: Personal Safety Neither safe nor unsafe Somewhat unsafe Very unsafe In your neighborhood during the day 58% % 102 6% 20 6% 21 1% 5 0% 1 100% 350 In your neighborhood after dark 23% 79 42% 147 9% 31 15% 54 11% 38 1% 2 100% 351 In Skokie's downtown area 59% % 80 6% 20 4% 15 0% 2 7% % 351 Don't know Total 64

74 Please rate how safe or unsafe you feel: during the day Very safe Somewhat safe Question 6: Personal Safety Neither safe nor unsafe Somewhat unsafe Very unsafe In Skokie's downtown area after dark 26% 91 31% % 42 12% 43 4% 16 15% % 349 Don't know Total Question 7: Crime Victim During the past 12 months, were you or anyone in your household the victim of any crime in Skokie? Percent of respondents Count No 84% 281 Yes 16% 55 Don't know 0% 1 Total 100% 336 Question 8: Crime Reporting If yes, was this crime (these crimes) reported to the police? Percent of respondents Count No 28% 15 Yes 70% 38 Don't know 2% 1 Total 100% 55 In the last 12 months, about how many times, if ever, have you or other household members participated in the following activities in Skokie? Question 9: Resident Behaviors Never Once or twice 3 to 12 times 13 to 26 times More than 26 times Used Skokie Public Library or its services 11% 40 18% 64 28% 98 18% 63 25% % 350 Participated in a recreation program or activity 40% % % 60 8% 28 4% % 341 Visited a neighborhood park or Village park 12% 42 21% 74 36% % 52 16% % 349 Total 65

75 In the last 12 months, about how many times, if ever, have you or other household members participated in the following activities in Skokie? Question 9: Resident Behaviors Never Once or twice 3 to 12 times 13 to 26 times More than 26 times Ridden a local bus within Skokie 66% % 49 10% 35 3% 12 7% % 344 Attended a meeting of local elected officials or other local public meeting 81% % 50 4% 15 0% 1 0% 1 100% 348 Watched a meeting of local elected officials or other Village-sponsored public meeting on cable television, the Internet or other media 74% % 61 6% 19 1% 5 1% 4 100% 344 Read NewSkokie Newsletter 7% 23 18% 60 50% % 38 14% % 340 Visited the Village of Skokie Web site (at 30% % 93 31% 105 8% 27 5% % 343 Recycled used paper, cans or bottles from your home 13% 45 5% 17 13% 46 6% 22 62% % 344 Volunteered your time to some group or activity in Skokie 78% % 39 6% 22 1% 4 3% % 345 Listened to 1660 AM Skokie radio station 85% % 37 3% 11 1% 3 0% 1 100% 345 Ridden a Senior Transportation for Area Residents (STAR) bus 96% 334 2% 6 2% 7 0% 2 0% 1 100% 349 Ridden the Skokie Swift 41% % 77 21% 72 5% 17 11% % 349 Attended a neighborhood block party 80% % 56 3% 11 0% 1 0% 1 100% 347 Called or ed the Village for yard waste collection 56% % 69 19% 65 3% 11 2% 7 100% 349 Dined or shopped in Downtown Skokie 13% 45 19% 66 39% % 61 12% % 346 Visited the Skokie Farmers' Market 37% % 99 24% 82 6% 20 5% % 348 Total Question 10: Neighborliness About how often, if at all, do you talk to or visit with your immediate neighbors (people who live in the 10 or 20 households that are closest to you)? Percent of respondents Just about everyday 18% 63 Several times a week 29% 101 Several times a month 19% 65 Count 66

76 Question 10: Neighborliness About how often, if at all, do you talk to or visit with your immediate neighbors (people who live in the 10 or 20 households that are closest to you)? Percent of respondents Less than several times a month 33% 115 Total 100% 343 Count Question 11: Service Quality Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Skokie: Excellent Good Fair Poor Police services 44% % % 36 2% 7 5% % 344 Fire services 49% % 106 3% 9 0% 0 18% % 347 Ambulance or emergency medical services 41% % 97 3% 11 0% 0 28% % 344 Crime prevention 17% 59 39% % 71 7% 25 16% % 342 Fire prevention and education 24% 83 33% 112 8% 29 2% 8 32% % 343 Traffic enforcement 20% 67 51% % 46 7% 24 8% % 336 Street repair 14% 48 39% % % 48 3% % 345 Street cleaning 24% 82 51% % 62 6% 21 0% 1 100% 342 Street lighting 20% 69 48% % 73 10% 36 0% 0 100% 343 Snow removal 28% 96 37% % 83 7% 24 4% % 345 Sidewalk maintenance 17% 57 47% % 84 8% 27 4% % 342 Bus or transit services 17% 57 43% % 40 1% 5 27% % 334 Garbage collection 49% % % 35 1% 3 4% % 343 Recycling 47% % 113 9% 32 4% 12 7% % 341 Yard waste pick-up 30% % 97 14% 47 5% 17 23% % 342 Storm drainage 15% 50 33% % 74 13% 45 17% % 339 Drinking water 35% % % 43 5% 16 4% % 343 Sewer services 18% 62 38% % 58 6% 22 20% % 337 Electric utility service 24% 79 53% % 40 6% 19 5% % 336 Don't know Total 67

77 Question 11: Service Quality Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Skokie: Excellent Good Fair Poor Village parks 40% % % 38 0% 0 2% 6 100% 339 Land use, planning and zoning 16% 55 36% % 73 3% 10 23% % 335 Code enforcement (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) 11% 37 34% % 66 9% 29 28% % 341 Animal control 20% 69 36% % 54 5% 18 23% % 341 Economic development 12% 39 33% % 74 8% 27 25% % 336 Skokie Health Department services 25% 85 28% 95 10% 35 2% 5 35% % 342 Services to seniors 22% 74 23% 80 9% 31 0% 1 45% % 341 Services to youth 14% 47 27% 89 13% 44 2% 5 45% % 337 Services to low-income people 10% 34 16% 53 8% 29 5% 18 61% % 340 Services to families 10% 34 30% % 42 3% 11 44% % 335 Cable television 12% 41 36% % 55 8% 28 26% % 332 Emergency preparedness (services that prepare the community for natural disasters or other emergency situations) 15% 51 36% % 49 4% 14 31% % 340 Administrative hearings (parking and code violations) 10% 33 26% 86 14% 46 5% 17 45% % 329 Sidewalk snow plowing 21% 71 31% % 81 15% 50 9% % 341 Alley maintenance 14% 49 28% 95 27% 91 13% 43 17% % 337 Obtaining a building permit 6% 21 21% 70 11% 36 4% 12 58% % 332 Public information AM Skokie radio station 7% 24 17% 56 7% 25 0% 1 68% % 335 Public information - NewSkokie municipal newsletter 26% 88 42% % 40 0% 2 20% % 336 Public information - municipal Web site 16% 55 40% % 36 1% 2 32% % 331 Public information - Village of Skokie monthly newsletter 18% 59 29% 98 9% 30 1% 2 43% % 334 Overall competence of Police Department employees 26% 89 45% % 43 3% 9 13% % 338 Police officers' attitudes and behaviors toward citizens 30% % % 59 5% 17 14% % 335 Fire prevention - code enforcement 18% 62 28% 95 9% 31 1% 5 43% % 339 Fire prevention - public education 20% 68 27% 92 10% 34 3% 12 39% % 339 Don't know Total 68

78 Question 11: Service Quality Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Skokie: Excellent Good Fair Poor Senior Transportation for Area Residents (STAR) bus service 10% 33 12% 40 6% 19 1% 3 72% % 338 Don't know Total Question 12: Government Services Overall Overall, how would you rate the quality of the services provided by each of the following? Excellent Good Fair Poor The Village of Skokie 35% % % 37 2% 7 1% 4 100% 344 The Federal Government 9% 30 37% % 97 10% 36 15% % 341 The State Government 8% 26 28% 96 32% % 67 13% % 340 Cook County Government 7% 24 29% 98 27% 92 25% 84 12% % 339 Don't know Total 69

79 Question 13: Contact with Village Employees Have you had any in-person, phone or contact with an employee of the Village of Skokie within the last 12 months (including police, receptionists, planners or any others)? Percent of respondents No 27% 84 Yes 73% 225 Total 100% 309 Count Question 14: Village Employees What was your impression of the employee(s) of the Village of Skokie in your most recent contact? Excellent Good Fair Poor Knowledge 44% % 80 14% 31 2% 5 4% 9 100% 225 Responsiveness 49% % 74 12% 26 3% 8 3% 7 100% 224 Courtesy 49% % 64 16% 36 3% 8 3% 7 100% 224 Overall impression 45% % 79 14% 30 4% 8 3% 7 100% 224 Don't know Total Question 15: Government Performance Please rate the following categories of Skokie government performance: Excellent Good Fair Poor The value of services for the taxes paid to Skokie 18% 62 40% % 79 9% 30 11% % 350 The overall direction that Skokie is taking 15% 53 42% % 71 10% 33 13% % 347 The job Skokie government does at welcoming citizen involvement 14% 49 29% % 64 6% 20 33% % 346 Don't know Total Please indicate how likely or unlikely you are to do each of the following: Question 16: Recommendation and Longevity Very likely Somewhat likely Somewhat unlikely Very unlikely Recommend living in Skokie to someone who asks 46% % 137 8% 27 6% 20 1% 4 100% 349 Remain in Skokie for the next five years 53% % 82 11% 37 9% 30 4% % Don't know Total

80 71 Village of Skokie 2012

81 Question 17: Impact of the Economy What impact, if any, do you think the economy will have on your family income in the next 6 months? Do you think the impact will be: Percent of respondents Very positive 5% 19 Somewhat positive 17% 59 Neutral 49% 168 Somewhat negative 24% 83 Very negative 5% 16 Total 100% 344 Count Please rate how important, if at all, each of the following community issues or initiatives is for the Village of Skokie Question 18a: Custom Question 1 Essential Very important Somewhat important Not at all important Increase vehicle sticker fee to hire more police officers 7% 24 19% 65 28% 97 36% % % 346 Street resurfacing 13% 44 34% % 138 7% 25 5% % 339 Redevelop Dempster Street 17% 57 22% 75 35% % 61 8% % 342 Downtown Skokie redevelopment 22% 76 30% % % 46 5% % 344 Construct new bike paths and bike lanes 18% 61 21% 74 31% % 71 9% % 345 Elderly care services 17% 60 38% % 84 3% 10 17% % 345 At-risk youth programs 21% 72 36% % 83 6% 19 13% % 343 Implement licensing of landlords and multi-family buildings 16% 56 24% 84 21% 71 16% 55 23% % 344 Implement licensing of landlords and multi-family buildings 16% 56 24% 84 21% 71 16% 55 23% % 344 residents public safety and crime alerts 29% 98 31% % 88 8% 28 7% % 341 Use of user fees and special taxes instead of property taxes 15% 52 21% 72 25% 85 14% 47 25% % 342 Don't know Total 72

82 73 Village of Skokie 2012

83 The Village's property taxes have not increased since To what extent would you support or oppose a property tax increase to fund the following programs or initiatives? Question 18b: Custom Question 2 Strongly support Somewhat support Somewhat oppose Strongly oppose Revitalize Downtown Skokie 13% 43 33% % 66 27% 92 8% % 342 Revitalize Dempster Street 12% 40 29% 97 20% 68 30% 102 9% % 340 Revitalize other shopping/commercial areas (East Oakton Street, Main Street, etc.) 8% 28 26% 89 24% 81 30% % % 339 Continue sidewalk snow plowing 33% % % 36 16% 55 6% % 341 Increase street resurfacing 20% 68 40% % 65 13% 45 7% % 335 Increase the number of property standards inspectors 11% 37 24% 82 22% 73 27% 89 16% % 334 "Green" or other environmentally friendly equipment and programs 15% 49 34% % 67 19% 63 12% % 331 Install additional traffic safety devices 17% 56 27% 90 23% 78 23% 79 10% % 336 Install additional traffic safety devices 17% 56 27% 90 23% 78 23% 79 10% % 336 Continue twice per week refuse pick-up 30% % % 40 17% 58 11% % 341 Don't know Total Question D1: Employment Status Are you currently employed for pay? Percent of respondents Count No 37% 125 Yes, full-time 49% 164 Yes, part-time 14% 48 Total 100%

84 Question D2: Mode of Transportation Used for Commute During a typical week, how many days do you commute to work (for the longest distance of your commute) in each of the ways listed below? Percent of days mode used Motorized vehicle (e.g., car, truck, van, motorcycle, etc.) by myself 68% Motorized vehicle (e.g., car, truck, van, motorcycle, etc.) with other children or adults 9% Bus, rail, subway or other public transportation 10% Walk 3% Bicycle 2% Work at home 7% Other 0% Question D3: Length of Residency How many years have you lived in Skokie? Percent of respondents Count Less than 2 years 6% 22 2 to 5 years 21% 74 6 to 10 years 17% to 20 years 17% 58 More than 20 years 38% 132 Total 100% 345 Question D4: Housing Unit Type Which best describes the building you live in? Percent of respondents Count One family house detached from any other houses 58% 202 House attached to one or more houses (e.g., a duplex or townhome) 4% 14 Building with two or more apartments or condominiums 37% 128 Mobile home 0% 0 Other 1% 2 75

85 Question D4: Housing Unit Type Which best describes the building you live in? Percent of respondents Count Total 100% 347 Question D5: Housing Tenure (Rent/Own) Is this house, apartment or mobile home Percent of respondents Count Rented for cash or occupied without cash payment 28% 93 Owned by you or someone in this house with a mortgage or free and clear 72% 241 Total 100% 334 Question D6: Monthly Housing Cost About how much is the monthly housing cost for the place you live (including rent, mortgage payment, property tax, property insurance and homeowners" association (HOA) fees)? Percent of respondents Less than $300 per month 3% 9 $300 to $599 per month 7% 24 $600 to $999 per month 28% 93 $1,000 to $1,499 per month 23% 77 $1,500 to $2,499 per month 27% 91 $2,500 or more per month 12% 39 Total 100% 332 Count Question D7: Presence of Children in Household Do any children 17 or under live in your household? Percent of respondents Count No 67% 232 Yes 33% 113 Total 100% 345 Question D8: Presence of Older Adults in Household 76

86 Are you or any other members of your household aged 65 or older? Percent of respondents Count No 70% 242 Yes 30% 104 Total 100%

87 Question D9: Household Income How much do you anticipate your household's total income before taxes will be for the current year? (Please include in your total income money from all sources for all persons living in your household.) Percent of respondents Less than $24,999 13% 42 $25,000 to $49,999 30% 98 $50,000 to $99,999 31% 102 $100,000 to $149,999 17% 56 $150,000 or more 8% 28 Total 100% 326 Count Question D10: Ethnicity Are you Spanish, Hispanic or Latino? Percent of respondents Count No, not Spanish, Hispanic or Latino 96% 316 Yes, I consider myself to be Spanish, Hispanic or Latino 4% 14 Total 100% 330 Question D11: Race What is your race? (Mark one or more races to indicate what race(s) you consider yourself to be.) Percent of respondents Count American Indian or Alaskan Native 1% 3 Asian, Asian Indian or Pacific Islander 23% 76 Black or African American 4% 15 White 68% 227 Other 7% 23 Total may exceed 100% as respondents could select more than one option 78

88 Question D12: Age In which category is your age? Percent of respondents Count 18 to 24 years 7% to 34 years 16% to 44 years 13% to 54 years 21% to 64 years 17% to 74 years 11% years or older 15% 52 Total 100% 344 Question D13: Gender What is your sex? Percent of respondents Count Female 53% 182 Male 47% 159 Total 100% 341 Question D14: Registered to Vote Are you registered to vote in your jurisdiction? Percent of respondents Count No 13% 45 Yes 80% 273 Ineligible to vote 3% 11 Don't know 4% 14 Total 100%

89 Question D15: Voted in Last General Election Many people don't have time to vote in elections. Did you vote in the last general election? Percent of respondents Count No 22% 75 Yes 72% 247 Ineligible to vote 4% 13 Don't know 2% 8 Total 100% 343 Question D16: Has Cell Phone Do you have a cell phone? Percent of respondents Count No 7% 23 Yes 93% 321 Total 100% 344 Question D17: Has Land Line Do you have a land line at home? Percent of respondents Count No 31% 106 Yes 69% 235 Total 100% 342 Question D18: Primary Phone If you have both a cell phone and a land line, which do you consider your primary telephone number? Percent of respondents Count Cell 29% 62 Land line 53% 115 Both 18% 40 Total 100%

90 Question D19: Internet Access Do you have Internet access? (Please check all that apply) Percent of respondents Count At home 96% 300 At work 50% 155 On a smart phone 44% 138 Total may exceed 100% as respondents could select more than one option 81

91 Appendix B: Survey Methodology (The NCS) was developed to provide local jurisdictions an accurate, affordable and easy way to assess and interpret resident opinion about important community issues. While standardization of question wording and survey methods provide the rigor to assure valid results, each jurisdiction has enough flexibility to construct a customized version of The NCS that asks residents about key local services and important local issues. Results offer insight into residents perspectives about local government performance and as such provide important benchmarks for jurisdictions working on performance measurement. The NCS is designed to help with budget, land use and strategic planning as well as to communicate with local residents. The NCS permits questions to test support for local policies and answers to its questions also speak to community trust and involvement in communitybuilding activities as well as to resident demographic characteristics. S U R V E Y V A L I D I T Y The question of survey validity has two parts: 1) how can a jurisdiction be confident that the results from those who completed the questionnaire are representative of the results that would have been obtained had the survey been administered to the entire population? and 2) how closely do the perspectives recorded on the survey reflect what residents really believe or do? To answer the first question, the best survey research practices were used for the resources spent to ensure that the results from the survey respondents reflect the opinions of residents in the entire jurisdiction. These practices include: Using a mail-out/mail-back methodology, which typically gets a higher response rate than phone for the same dollars spent. A higher response rate lessens the worry that those who did not respond are different than those who did respond. Selecting households at random within the jurisdiction to receive the survey. A random selection ensures that the households selected to receive the survey are similar to the entire population. A non-random sample may only include households from one geographic area, or from households of only one type. Over-sampling multi-family housing units to improve response from hard-to-reach, lower income, or younger apartment dwellers. Selecting the respondent within the household using an unbiased sampling procedure; in this case, the birthday method. The cover letter included an instruction requesting that the respondent in the household be the adult (18 years old or older) who most recently had a birthday, irrespective of year of birth. Contacting potential respondents three times to encourage response from people who may have different opinions or habits than those who would respond with only a single prompt. Soliciting response on jurisdiction letterhead signed by the highest ranking elected official or staff member, thus appealing to the recipients sense of civic responsibility. Providing a self-addressed, postage-paid return envelope. Offering the survey in Spanish when appropriate and requested by Village officials. 82

92 Using the most recent available information about the characteristics of jurisdiction residents to weight the data to reflect the demographics of the population. The answer to the second question about how closely the perspectives recorded on the survey reflect what residents really believe or do is more complex. Resident responses to surveys are influenced by a variety of factors. For questions about service quality, residents expectations for service quality play a role as well as the objective quality of the service provided, the way the resident perceives the entire community (that is, the context in which the service is provided), the scale on which the resident is asked to record his or her opinion and, of course, the opinion, itself, that a resident holds about the service. Similarly a resident s report of certain behaviors is colored by what he or she believes is the socially desirable response (e.g., reporting tolerant behaviors toward oppressed groups, likelihood of voting a tax increase for services to poor people, use of alternative modes of travel to work besides the single occupancy vehicle), his or her memory of the actual behavior (if it is not a question speculating about future actions, like a vote), his or her confidence that he or she can be honest without suffering any negative consequences (thus the need for anonymity) as well as the actual behavior itself. How closely survey results come to recording the way a person really feels or behaves often is measured by the coincidence of reported behavior with observed current behavior (e.g., driving habits), reported intentions to behave with observed future behavior (e.g., voting choices) or reported opinions about current community quality with objective characteristics of the community (e.g., feelings of safety correlated with rates of crime). There is a body of scientific literature that has investigated the relationship between reported behaviors and actual behaviors. Well-conducted surveys, by and large, do capture true respondent behaviors or intentions to act with great accuracy. Predictions of voting outcomes tend to be quite accurate using survey research, as do reported behaviors that are not about highly sensitive issues (e.g., family abuse or other illegal or morally sanctioned activities). For self-reports about highly sensitive issues, statistical adjustments can be made to correct for the respondents tendency to report what they think the correct response should be. Research on the correlation of resident opinion about service quality and objective ratings of service quality tend to be ambiguous, some showing stronger relationships than others. NRC s own research has demonstrated that residents who report the lowest ratings of street repair live in communities with objectively worse street conditions than those who report high ratings of street repair (based on road quality, delay in street repair, number of road repair employees). Similarly, the lowest rated fire services appear to be objectively worse than the highest rated fire services (expenditures per capita, response time, professional status of firefighters, breadth of services and training provided). Whether or not some research confirms the relationship between what residents think about a community and what can be seen objectively in a community, NRC has argued that resident opinion is a perspective that cannot be ignored by government administrators. NRC principals have written, If you collect trash three times a day but residents think that your trash haul is lousy, you still have a problem. 83

93 S U R V E Y S A M P L I N G Sampling refers to the method by which survey recipients were chosen. All households within the Village of Skokie were eligible to participate in the survey; 1,200 were selected to receive the survey. These 1,200 households were randomly selected from a comprehensive list of all housing units within the Village of Skokie boundaries. The basis of the list of all housing units was a United States Postal Service listing of housing units within zip codes. Since some of the zip codes that serve the Village of Skokie households may also serve addresses that lie outside of the jurisdiction, the exact geographic location of each housing unit was compared to jurisdiction boundaries, using the most current municipal boundary file (updated on a quarterly basis), and addresses located outside of the Village of Skokie boundaries were removed from consideration. To choose the 1,200 survey recipients, a systematic sampling method was applied to the list of households known to be within the Village of Skokie. Systematic sampling is a procedure whereby a complete list of all possible items is culled, selecting every Nth one until the appropriate amount of items is selected. Multi-family housing units were over sampled as residents of this type of housing typically respond at lower rates to surveys than do those in single-family housing units. 84

94 FIGURE 88: LOCATION OF SURVEY RECIPIENTS An individual within each household was selected using the birthday method. The birthday method selects a person within the household by asking the person whose birthday has most recently passed to complete the questionnaire. The underlying assumption in this method is that day of birth has no relationship to the way people respond to surveys. This instruction was contained in the cover letter accompanying the questionnaire. In response to the growing number of the cell-phone population (so-called cord cutters ), which includes a large proportion of young adults, questions about cell phones and land lines 85

95 are included on The NCS questionnaire. As of the middle of 2010 (the most recent estimates available as of the end of 2010), 26.6% of U.S. households had a cell phone but no landline. 3 Among younger adults (age 18-34), 53.7% of households were cell-only. Based on survey results, Skokie has a cord cutter population greater than the nationwide 2010 estimates. FIGURE 89: PREVALENCE OF CELL-PHONE ONLY RESPONDENTS IN SKOKIE Overall 30% 55+ 7% % % 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Percent of respondents reporting having a "cell phone" only S U R V E Y A D M I N I S T R A T I O N Selected households received three mailings, one week apart, beginning October 1, The first mailing was a prenotification postcard announcing the upcoming survey. The next mailing contained a letter from the Mayor inviting the household to participate, a questionnaire and a postage-paid return envelope. The final mailing contained a reminder letter, another survey and a postage-paid return envelope. The second cover letter asked those who had not completed the survey to do so and those who have already done so to refrain from turning in another survey. Completed surveys were collected over the following six weeks. S U R V E Y R E S P O N S E R A T E A N D C O N F I D E N C E I N T E R V A L S It is customary to describe the precision of estimates made from surveys by a level of confidence and accompanying confidence interval (or margin of error). A traditional level of confidence, and the one used here, is 95%. The 95% confidence interval can be any size and quantifies the sampling error or imprecision of the survey results because some residents' opinions are relied on to estimate all residents' opinions. The confidence interval for the Village of Skokie survey is no greater than plus or minus five percentage points around any given percent reported for the entire sample (352 completed surveys). A 95% confidence interval indicates that for every 100 random samples of this many residents, 95 of the confidence intervals created will include the true population response. This theory is applied in practice to mean that the true perspective of the target population lies within the confidence interval created for a single survey. For example, if 75% of residents rate a service as excellent or good, then the 4% margin of error (for the 95% confidence interval) indicates that the range of likely responses for the entire jurisdiction is between 71% and 79%. This source of error is called sampling error. In addition to sampling error, other sources of error may affect

96 any survey, including the non-response of residents with opinions different from survey responders. Though standardized on The NCS, on other surveys, differences in question wording, order, translation and data entry, as examples, can lead to somewhat varying results. For subgroups of responses, the margin of error increases because the sample size for the subgroup is smaller. For subgroups of approximately 100 respondents, the margin of error is plus or minus 10 percentage points S U R V E Y P R O C E S S I N G (D A T A E N T R Y) Completed surveys received by NRC were assigned a unique identification number. Additionally, each survey was reviewed and cleaned as necessary. For example, a question may have asked a respondent to pick two items out of a list of five, but the respondent checked three; NRC staff would choose randomly two of the three selected items to be coded in the dataset. Once all surveys were assigned a unique identification number, they were entered into an electronic dataset. This dataset was subject to a data entry protocol of key and verify, in which survey data were entered twice into an electronic dataset and then compared. Discrepancies were evaluated against the original survey form and corrected. Range checks as well as other forms of quality control were also performed. 87

97 S U R V E Y D A T A W E I G H T I N G The demographic characteristics of the survey sample were compared to those found in the 2010 Census estimates and other population norms for adults in the Village of Skokie. Sample results were weighted using the population norms to reflect the appropriate percent of those residents. Other discrepancies between the whole population and the sample were also aided by the weighting due to the intercorrelation of many socioeconomic characteristics. The variables used for weighting were housing tenure, housing unit type and gender and age. This decision was based on: The disparity between the survey respondent characteristics and the population norms for these variables The saliency of these variables in detecting differences of opinion among subgroups The historical use of the variables and the desirability of consistently representing different groups over the years The primary objective of weighting survey data is to make the survey sample reflective of the larger population of the community. This is done by: 1) reviewing the sample demographics and comparing them to the population norms from the most recent Census or other sources and 2) comparing the responses to different questions for demographic subgroups. The demographic characteristics that are least similar to the Census and yield the most different results are the best candidates for data weighting. A third criterion sometimes used is the importance that the community places on a specific variable. For example, if a jurisdiction feels that accurate race representation is key to staff and public acceptance of the study results, additional consideration will be given in the weighting process to adjusting the race variable. A special software program using mathematical algorithms is used to calculate the appropriate weights. Data weighting can adjust up to 5 demographic variables. Several different weighting schemes may be tested to ensure the best fit for the data. The process actually begins at the point of sampling. Knowing that residents in single family dwellings are more likely to respond to a mail survey, NRC oversamples residents of multi-family dwellings to ensure their proper representation in the sample data. Rather than giving all residents an equal chance of receiving the survey, this is systematic, stratified sampling, which gives each resident of the jurisdiction a known chance of receiving the survey (and apartment dwellers, for example, a greater chance than single family home dwellers). As a consequence, results must be weighted to recapture the proper representation of apartment dwellers. The results of the weighting scheme are presented in the table on the following page. 88

98 Skokie, IL Citizen Survey Weighting Table Characteristic Population Norm 1 Unweighted Data Weighted Data Housing Rent home 28% 19% 28% Own home 72% 81% 72% Detached unit 58% 54% 58% Attached unit 42% 46% 42% Race and Ethnicity White 63% 70% 65% Not white 37% 30% 35% Not Hispanic 92% 96% 96% Hispanic 8% 4% 4% White alone, not Hispanic 58% 67% 63% Hispanic and/or other race 42% 33% 37% Sex and Age Female 54% 62% 53% Male 46% 38% 47% years of age 24% 8% 23% years of age 35% 29% 34% 55+ years of age 41% 63% 43% Females % 5% 12% Females % 19% 18% Females % 38% 23% Males % 3% 12% Males % 10% 16% Males % 25% 19% 1 Source: 2010 Census/ ACS 89

99 S U R V E Y D A T A A N A L Y S I S A N D R E P O R T I N G The survey dataset was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Frequency distributions were presented in the body of the report. Use of the Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor R es ponse Scale The scale on which respondents are asked to record their opinions about service and community quality is excellent, good, fair or poor (EGFP). This scale has important advantages over other scale possibilities (very good to very bad; very satisfied to very dissatisfied; strongly agree to strongly disagree, as examples). EGFP is used by the plurality of jurisdictions conducting citizen surveys across the U.S. The advantage of familiarity was one that NRC did not want to dismiss when crafting questionnaire, because elected officials, staff and residents already are acquainted with opinion surveys measured this way. EGFP also has the advantage of offering three positive options, rather than only two, over which a resident can offer an opinion. While symmetrical scales often are the right choice in other measurement tasks, NRC has found that ratings of almost every local government service in almost every jurisdiction tend, on average, to be positive (that is, above the scale midpoint). Therefore, to permit finer distinctions among positively rated services, EGFP offers three options across which to spread those ratings. EGFP is more neutral because it requires no positive statement of service quality to judge (as agree-disagree scales require) and, finally, EGFP intends to measure absolute quality of service delivery or community quality (unlike satisfaction scales which ignore residents perceptions of quality in favor of their report on the acceptability of the level of service offered). Don t Know Respons es On many of the questions in the survey respondents may answer don t know. The proportion of respondents giving this reply is shown in the full set of responses included in Appendix A. However, these responses have been removed from the analyses presented in the body of the report. In other words, the tables and graphs display the responses from respondents who had an opinion about a specific item. B e nchmark Co mp arisons NRC has been leading the strategic use of surveys for local governments since 1991, when the principals of the company wrote the first edition of what became the classic text on citizen surveying. In Citizen Surveys: how to do them, how to use them, what they mean, published by ICMA, not only were the principles for quality survey methods articulated, but both the idea of benchmark data for citizen opinion and the method for gathering benchmark data were pioneered. The argument for benchmarks was called In Search of Standards. What has been missing from a local government s analysis of its survey results is the context that school administrators can supply when they tell parents how an 80 percent score on the social studies test compares to test results from other school systems... 90

100 NRC s database of comparative resident opinion is comprised of resident perspectives gathered in citizen surveys from approximately 500 jurisdictions whose residents evaluated local government services. Conducted with typically no fewer than 400 residents in each jurisdiction, opinions are intended to represent over 30 million Americans. NRC has innovated a method for quantitatively integrating the results of surveys that are conducted by NRC with those that others have conducted. The integration methods have been thoroughly described not only in the Citizen Surveys book, but also in Public Administration Review, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. Scholars who specialize in the analysis of citizen surveys regularly have relied on this work (e.g., Kelly, J. & Swindell, D. (2002). Service quality variation across urban space: First steps towards a model of citizen satisfaction. Journal of Urban Affairs, 24, ; Van Ryzin, G., Muzzio, D., Immerwahr, S., Gulick, L. & Martinez, E. (2004). Drivers and consequences of citizen satisfaction: An application of the American Customer Satisfaction Index Model to New York City, Public Administration Review, 64, ). The method described in those publications is refined regularly and statistically tested on a growing number of citizen surveys in NRC s proprietary databases. NRC s work on calculating national benchmarks for resident opinions about service delivery and quality of life won the Samuel C. May award for research excellence from the Western Governmental Research Association. The comparison evaluations are from the most recent survey completed in each jurisdiction; most communities conduct surveys every year or in alternating years. NRC adds the latest results quickly upon survey completion, keeping the benchmark data fresh and relevant. T h e Role of Compariso ns Benchmark comparisons are used for performance measurement. Jurisdictions use the comparative information to help interpret their own citizen survey results, to create or revise community plans, to evaluate the success of policy or budget decisions and to measure local government performance. Taking the pulse of the community has little meaning without knowing what pulse rate is too high and what is too low. When surveys of service satisfaction turn up good citizen evaluations, jurisdictions need to know how others rate their services to understand if good is good enough. Furthermore, in the absence of national or peer community comparisons, a jurisdiction is left with comparing its fire protection rating to its street maintenance rating. That comparison is unfair. Streets always lose to fire. More important and harder questions need to be asked; for example, how do residents ratings of fire service compare to opinions about fire service in other communities? A police department that provides the fastest and most efficient service one that closes most of its cases, solves most of its crimes and keeps the crime rate low still has a problem to fix if the residents in the community it intends to protect believe services are not very good compared to ratings given by residents to their own objectively worse departments. The benchmark data can help that police department or any department to understand how well citizens think it is doing. Without the comparative data, it would be like bowling in a tournament without knowing what the other teams are scoring. NRC recommends that citizen opinion be used in conjunction with other sources of data about budget, personnel and politics to help managers know how to respond to comparative results. 91

101 Jurisdictions in the benchmark database are distributed geographically across the country and range from small to large in population size. Most commonly, comparisons are made to the entire database. Comparisons may also be made to subsets of jurisdictions (for example, within a given region or population category). Despite the differences in jurisdiction characteristics, all are in the business of providing local government services to residents. Though individual jurisdiction circumstances, resources and practices vary, the objective in every community is to provide services that are so timely, tailored and effective that residents conclude the services are of the highest quality. High ratings in any jurisdiction, like SAT scores in any teen household, bring pride and a sense of accomplishment. C omp arison o f Skokie to the B en chmark Da tabase The Village of Skokie chose to have comparisons made to the entire database. A benchmark comparison (the average rating from all the comparison jurisdictions where a similar question was asked) has been provided when a similar question on the Village of Skokie Survey was included in NRC s database and there were at least five jurisdictions in which the question was asked. For most questions compared to the entire dataset, there were more than 100 jurisdictions included in the benchmark comparison. Where comparisons for quality ratings were available, the Village of Skokie results were generally noted as being above the benchmark, below the benchmark or similar to the benchmark. For some questions those related to resident behavior, circumstance or to a local problem the comparison to the benchmark is designated as more, similar or less (for example, the percent of crime victims, residents visiting a park or residents identifying code enforcement as a problem.) In instances where ratings are considerably higher or lower than the benchmark, these ratings have been further demarcated by the attribute of much, (for example, much less or much above ). These labels come from a statistical comparison of the Village of Skokie's rating to the benchmark where a rating is considered similar if it is within the margin of error; above, below, more or less if the difference between your jurisdiction s rating and the benchmark is greater the margin of error; and much above, much below, much more or much less if the difference between your jurisdiction s rating and the benchmark is more than twice the margin of error. 92

102 Appendix C: Survey Materials The following pages contain copies of the survey materials sent to randomly selected households within the Village of Skokie. 93

103 VILLAGE OF S KOKIE, IL 2012 DRAFT Benchmark Report 2955 Valmont Road, Suite North Capitol Street NE, Suite 500 Boulder, CO Washington, DC ICMA

104 Contents Understanding the Benchmark Comparisons... 1 Comparison Data... 1 Putting Evaluations onto the 100-point Scale... 2 Interpreting the Results... 3 National Benchmark Comparisons... 4 Jurisdictions Included in National Benchmark Comparisons by National Research Center, Inc.

105 Understanding the Benchmark Comparisons C O M P A R I S O N D A T A NRC s database of comparative resident opinion is comprised of resident perspectives gathered in citizen surveys from approximately 500 jurisdictions whose residents evaluated local government services and gave their opinion about the quality of community life. The comparison evaluations are from the most recent survey completed in each jurisdiction; most communities conduct surveys every year or in alternating years. NRC adds the latest results quickly upon survey completion, keeping the benchmark data fresh and relevant. The jurisdictions in the database represent a wide geographic and population range as shown in the table below. Region Jurisdiction Characteristic Percent of Jurisdictions West Coast 1 17% West 2 20% North Central West 3 11% North Central East 4 13% South Central 5 7% South 6 26% Northeast West 7 2% Northeast East 8 4% Population Less than 40,000 46% 40,000 to 74,999 19% 75,000 to 149,000 17% 150,000 or more 18% by National Research Center, Inc. 1 Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Hawaii 2 Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico 3 North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota 4 Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin 5 Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas 6 West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, Delaware, Washington DC 7 New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey 8 Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine 1

106 P U T T I N G E V A L U A T I O N S O N T O T H E 100-POINT S C A L E Although responses to many of the evaluative questions were made on a four point scale with 1 representing the best rating and 4 the worst, the benchmarks are reported on a common scale where 0 is the worst possible rating and 100 is the best possible rating. The 95 percent confidence interval around an average score on the 100-point scale is no greater than plus or minus three points based on all respondents. The 100-point scale is not a percent. It is a conversion of responses to an average rating. Each response option is assigned a value that is used in calculating the average score. For example, excellent =100, good =67, fair =33 and poor =0. If everyone reported excellent, then the average rating would be 100 on the 100-point scale. Likewise, if all respondents gave a poor, the result would be 0 on the 100-point scale. If half the respondents gave a score of excellent and half gave a score of poor, the average would be in the middle of the scale (like the center post of a teeter totter) between fair and good. An example of how to convert survey frequencies into an average rating appears below. Response option Total with don t know Example of Converting Responses to the 100-point Scale How do you rate the community as a place to live? Step1: Remove the percent of don t know responses Total without don t know Step 2: Assign scale values Step 3: Multiply the percent by the scale value Step 4: Sum to calculate the average rating Excellent 36% =36 (100-5)= 38% 100 =38% x 100 = 38 Good 42% =42 (100-5)= 44% 67 =44% x 67 = 30 Fair 12% =12 (100-5)= 13% 33 =13% x 33 = 4 Poor 5% =5 (100-5)= 5% 0 =5% x 0 = 0 Don t know 5% -- Total 100% 100% 72 How do you rate the community as a place to live? 5% 13% 44% 38% by National Research Center, Inc. 0 Poor 33 Fair 67 Good Excellent 2

107 I N T E R P R E T I N G T H E R E S U L T S Average ratings are compared when similar questions are included in NRC s database, and there are at least five jurisdictions in which the question was asked. Where comparisons are available, three numbers are provided in the table. The first column is your jurisdiction s rating on the 100- point scale. The second column is the rank assigned to your jurisdiction s rating among jurisdictions where a similar question was asked. The third column is the number of jurisdictions that asked a similar question. The final column shows the comparison of your jurisdiction s average rating to the benchmark. Where comparisons for quality ratings were available, the Village of Skokie s results were generally noted as being above the benchmark, below the benchmark or similar to the benchmark. For some questions those related to resident behavior, circumstance or to a local problem the comparison to the benchmark is designated as more, similar or less (for example, the percent of crime victims, residents visiting a park or residents identifying code enforcement as a problem.) In instances where ratings are considerably higher or lower than the benchmark, these ratings have been further demarcated by the attribute of much, (for example, much less or much above ). These labels come from a statistical comparison of the Village of Skokie's rating to the benchmark where a rating is considered similar if it is within the margin of error; above, below, more or less if the difference between your jurisdiction s rating and the benchmark is greater the margin of error; and much above, much below, much more or much less if the difference between your jurisdiction s rating and the benchmark is more than twice the margin of error. This report contains benchmarks at the national level. by National Research Center, Inc. 3

108 National Benchmark Comparisons Overall Community Quality Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Overall quality of life in Skokie Similar Your neighborhood as place to live Similar Skokie as a place to live Similar Recommend living in Skokie to someone who asks Similar Remain in Skokie for the next five years Similar Community Transportation Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Ease of car travel in Skokie Much above Ease of bus travel in Skokie Much above Ease of rail or subway travel in Skokie Much above Ease of bicycle travel in Skokie Much above Ease of walking in Skokie Much above Availability of paths and walking trails Above Traffic flow on major streets Much above by National Research Center, Inc. Skokie average rating Frequency of Bus Use Benchmarks Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Ridden a local bus within Skokie Much more Drive Alone Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Average percent of work commute trips made by driving alone Less 4

109 Transportation and Parking Services Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Street repair Above Street cleaning Much above Street lighting Above Snow removal Much above Sidewalk maintenance Much above Bus or transit services Much above Amount of public parking Much above Housing Characteristics Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Availability of affordable quality housing Much above Variety of housing options Much above Housing Costs Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Experiencing housing costs stress (housing costs 30% or MORE of income) More by National Research Center, Inc. Skokie average rating Built Environment Benchmarks Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Quality of new development in Skokie Much above Overall appearance of Skokie Above Skokie average rating Population Growth Benchmarks Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Population growth seen as too fast Much less 5

110 Planning and Community Code Enforcement Services Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Land use, planning and zoning Much above Code enforcement (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) Much above Animal control Much above Economic Sustainability and Opportunities Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Employment opportunities Much above Shopping opportunities Much above Skokie as a place to work Much above Overall quality of business and service establishments in Skokie Much above Skokie average rating Economic Development Services Benchmarks Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Economic development Much above by National Research Center, Inc. Skokie average rating Job and Retail Growth Benchmarks Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Retail growth seen as too slow Much more Jobs growth seen as too slow Less Personal Economic Future Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Positive impact of economy on household income Above 6

111 Community and Personal Public Safety Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark In your neighborhood during the day Below In your neighborhood after dark Much below In Skokie's downtown area during the day Similar In Skokie's downtown area after dark Above Violent crime (e.g., rape, assault, robbery) Much below Property crimes (e.g., burglary, theft) Much below Environmental hazards, including toxic waste Similar Skokie average rating Crime Victimization and Reporting Benchmarks Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Victim of crime More Reported crimes Much less by National Research Center, Inc. Public Safety Services Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Police services Much above Fire services Much above Ambulance or emergency medical services Much above Crime prevention Similar Fire prevention and education Above Traffic enforcement Much above Emergency preparedness (services that prepare the community for natural disasters or other emergency situations) Much above Community Environment Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Cleanliness of Skokie Much above Quality of overall natural environment in Skokie Similar Air quality Similar 7

112 Frequency of Recycling Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Recycled used paper, cans or bottles from your home More Skokie average rating Utility Services Benchmarks Number of Jurisdictions for Rank Comparison Comparison to benchmark Electric utility service Similar Sewer services Similar Drinking water Much above Storm drainage Similar Yard waste pick-up Above Recycling Much above Garbage collection Much above Community Recreational Opportunities Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Recreation opportunities Much above by National Research Center, Inc. Participation in Parks and Recreation Opportunities Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Participated in a recreation program or activity Much more Visited a neighborhood park or Village park Similar Skokie average rating Parks and Recreation Services Benchmarks Number of Jurisdictions for Rank Comparison Comparison to benchmark Village parks Much above Cultural and Educational Opportunities Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Opportunities to attend cultural activities Much above Educational opportunities Much above 8

113 Participation in Cultural and Educational Opportunities Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Used Skokie Public Library or its services Much more Community Health and Wellness Access and Opportunities Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Availability of affordable quality health care Much above Availability of preventive health services Much above Health and Wellness Services Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Skokie Health Department services Much above Community Quality and Inclusiveness Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Sense of community Above Openness and acceptance of the community toward people of diverse backgrounds Much above Availability of affordable quality child care Much above Skokie as a place to raise kids Above Skokie as a place to retire Similar by National Research Center, Inc. Services Provided for Population Subgroups Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Services to seniors Much above Services to youth Much above Services to low income people Much above 9

114 Civic Engagement Opportunities Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Opportunities to participate in community matters Above Opportunities to volunteer Similar Participation in Civic Engagement Opportunities Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Attended a meeting of local elected officials or other local public meeting Much less Watched a meeting of local elected officials or other public meeting on cable television, the Internet or other media Much less Volunteered your time to some group or activity in Skokie Much less Voter Behavior Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Registered to vote Similar Voted in last general election Similar by National Research Center, Inc. Use of Information Sources Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Read NewSkokie newsletter Much more Visited the Village of Skokie Web site Much more Local Government Media Services and Information Dissemination Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Cable television Above Social Engagement Opportunities Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Opportunities to participate in social events and activities Much above 10

115 Contact with Immediate Neighbors Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Has contact with neighbors at least several times per week Similar Public Trust Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Value of services for the taxes paid to Skokie Much above The overall direction that Skokie is taking Much above Job Skokie government does at welcoming citizen involvement Much above Overall image or reputation of Skokie Similar Services Provided by Local, State and Federal Governments Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Services provided by the Village of Skokie Much above Services provided by the Federal Government Much above Services provided by the State Government Similar Services provided by Cook County Government Much below by National Research Center, Inc. Contact with Village Employees Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Had contact with Village employee(s) in last 12 months Much more Perceptions of Village Employees (Among Those Who Had Contact) Benchmarks Skokie average rating Rank Number of Jurisdictions for Comparison Comparison to benchmark Knowledge Above Responsiveness Much above Courteousness Above Overall impression Much above 11

116 J U R I S D I C T I O N S I N C L U D E D I N N A T I O N A L B E N C H M A R K C O M P A R I S O N S by National Research Center, Inc. Valdez, AK... 3,976 Auburn, AL... 53,380 Dothan, AL... 65,496 Gulf Shores, AL... 9,741 Tuskegee, AL... 9,865 Vestavia Hills, AL... 34,033 Fayetteville, AR... 73,580 Fort Smith, AR... 86,209 Little Rock, AR ,524 Avondale, AZ... 76,238 Casa Grande, AZ... 48,571 Chandler, AZ ,123 Cococino County, AZ ,421 Dewey-Humboldt, AZ... 3,894 Flagstaff, AZ... 65,870 Florence, AZ... 25,536 Gilbert, AZ ,453 Goodyear, AZ... 65,275 Green Valley, AZ... 21,391 Kingman, AZ... 28,068 Marana, AZ... 34,961 Maricopa, AZ... 43,482 Maricopa County, AZ... 3,817,117 Mesa, AZ ,041 Nogales, AZ... 20,837 Peoria, AZ ,065 Phoenix, AZ... 1,445,632 Pinal County, AZ ,770 Prescott Valley, AZ... 38,822 Queen Creek, AZ... 26,361 Scottsdale, AZ ,385 Sedona, AZ... 10,031 Surprise, AZ ,517 Tempe, AZ ,719 Yuma, AZ... 93,064 Yuma County, AZ ,751 Apple Valley, CA... 69,135 Benicia, CA... 26,997 Brea, CA... 39,282 Brisbane, CA... 4,282 Burlingame, CA... 28,806 Concord, CA ,067 Coronado, CA... 18,912 Cupertino, CA... 58,302 Davis, CA... 65,622 Dublin, CA... 46,036 El Cerrito, CA... 23,549 Elk Grove, CA ,015 Galt, CA... 23,647 Laguna Beach, CA... 22,723 Laguna Hills, CA... 30,344 Livermore, CA... 80,968 Lodi, CA... 62,134 Long Beach, CA ,257 Marin County, CA ,409 Menlo Park, CA... 32,026 Mission Viejo, CA... 93,305 Newport Beach, CA... 85,186 Palm Springs, CA... 44,552 Palo Alto, CA... 64,403 Pasadena, CA ,122 Richmond, CA ,701 San Carlos, CA... 28,406 San Diego, CA... 1,307,402 San Francisco, CA ,235 San Luis Obispo County, CA ,637 San Mateo, CA... 97,207 San Rafael, CA... 57,713 Santa Monica, CA... 89,736 Seaside, CA... 33,025 South Lake Tahoe, CA... 21,403 Stockton, CA ,707 Sunnyvale, CA ,081 Temecula, CA ,097 Thousand Oaks, CA ,683 Visalia, CA ,442 Walnut Creek, CA... 64,173 Adams County, CO ,603 Arapahoe County, CO ,003 Archuleta County, CO... 12,084 Arvada, CO ,433 Aspen, CO... 6,658 Aurora, CO ,078 Boulder, CO... 97,385 Boulder County, CO ,567 Broomfield, CO... 55,889 Castle Rock, CO... 48,231 Centennial, CO ,377 Clear Creek County, CO... 9,088 Colorado Springs, CO ,427 Commerce City, CO... 45,913 Craig, CO... 9,464 Crested Butte, CO... 1,487 Denver, CO ,158 Douglas County, CO ,465 Eagle County, CO... 52,197 Edgewater, CO... 5,170 El Paso County, CO ,263 Englewood, CO... 30,255 Estes Park, CO... 5,858 Fort Collins, CO ,986 Frisco, CO... 2,683 12

117 by National Research Center, Inc. Fruita, CO... 12,646 Georgetown, CO... 1,034 Gilpin County, CO... 5,441 Golden, CO... 18,867 Grand County, CO... 14,843 Greeley, CO... 92,889 Gunnison County, CO... 15,324 Highlands Ranch, CO... 96,713 Hudson, CO... 2,356 Jackson County, CO... 1,394 Jefferson County, CO ,543 Lafayette, CO... 24,453 Lakewood, CO ,980 Larimer County, CO ,630 Lone Tree, CO... 10,218 Longmont, CO... 86,270 Louisville, CO... 18,376 Loveland, CO... 66,859 Mesa County, CO ,723 Montrose, CO... 19,132 Northglenn, CO... 35,789 Park County, CO... 16,206 Parker, CO... 45,297 Pueblo, CO ,595 Rifle, CO... 9,172 Salida, CO... 5,236 Teller County, CO... 23,350 Thornton, CO ,772 Vail, CO... 5,305 Westminster, CO ,114 Wheat Ridge, CO... 30,166 Windsor, CO... 18,644 Coventry, CT... 2,990 Hartford, CT ,775 Dover, DE... 36,047 Rehoboth Beach, DE... 1,327 Brevard County, FL ,376 Cape Coral, FL ,305 Charlotte County, FL ,978 Clearwater, FL ,685 Collier County, FL ,520 Cooper City, FL... 28,547 Dade City, FL... 6,437 Dania Beach, FL... 29,639 Daytona Beach, FL... 61,005 Delray Beach, FL... 60,522 Destin, FL... 12,305 Escambia County, FL ,619 Gainesville, FL ,354 Hillsborough County, FL... 1,229,226 Jupiter, FL... 55,156 Lee County, FL ,754 Martin County, FL ,318 Miami Beach, FL... 87,779 North Palm Beach, FL... 12,015 Oakland Park, FL... 41,363 Ocala, FL... 56,315 Oviedo, FL... 33,342 Palm Bay, FL ,190 Palm Beach County, FL... 1,320,134 Palm Coast, FL... 75,180 Panama City, FL... 36,484 Pasco County, FL ,697 Pinellas County, FL ,542 Port Orange, FL... 56,048 Port St. Lucie, FL ,603 Sanford, FL... 53,570 Sarasota, FL... 51,917 St. Cloud, FL... 35,183 Titusville, FL... 43,761 Winter Garden, FL... 34,568 Albany, GA... 77,434 Alpharetta, GA... 57,551 Cartersville, GA... 19,731 Conyers, GA... 15,195 Decatur, GA... 19,335 McDonough, GA... 22,084 Peachtree City, GA... 34,364 Roswell, GA... 88,346 Sandy Springs, GA... 93,853 Savannah, GA ,286 Smyrna, GA... 51,271 Snellville, GA... 18,242 Suwanee, GA... 15,355 Valdosta, GA... 54,518 Honolulu, HI ,207 Altoona, IA... 14,541 Ames, IA... 58,965 Ankeny, IA... 45,582 Bettendorf, IA... 33,217 Cedar Falls, IA... 39,260 Cedar Rapids, IA ,326 Clive, IA... 15,447 Des Moines, IA ,433 Indianola, IA... 14,782 Muscatine, IA... 22,886 Urbandale, IA... 39,463 West Des Moines, IA... 56,609 Boise, ID ,671 Hailey, ID... 7,960 Jerome, ID... 10,890 Meridian, ID... 75,092 Moscow, ID... 23,800 Pocatello, ID... 54,255 Post Falls, ID... 27,574 Twin Falls, ID... 44,125 13

118 by National Research Center, Inc. Batavia, IL... 26,045 Bloomington, IL... 76,610 Centralia, IL... 13,032 Collinsville, IL... 25,579 Crystal Lake, IL... 40,743 DeKalb, IL... 43,862 Elmhurst, IL... 44,121 Evanston, IL... 74,486 Freeport, IL... 25,638 Highland Park, IL... 29,763 Lincolnwood, IL... 12,590 Lyons, IL... 10,729 Naperville, IL ,853 Normal, IL... 52,497 Oak Park, IL... 51,878 O'Fallon, IL... 28,281 Orland Park, IL... 56,767 Palatine, IL... 68,557 Park Ridge, IL... 37,480 Peoria County, IL ,494 Riverside, IL... 8,875 Sherman, IL... 4,148 Shorewood, IL... 15,615 Sugar Grove, IL... 8,997 Wilmington, IL... 5,724 Brownsburg, IN... 21,285 Fishers, IN... 76,794 Munster, IN... 23,603 Noblesville, IN... 51,969 Abilene, KS... 6,844 Arkansas City, KS... 12,415 Fairway, KS... 3,882 Garden City, KS... 26,658 Gardner, KS... 19,123 Johnson County, KS ,179 Lawrence, KS... 87,643 Mission, KS... 9,323 Olathe, KS ,872 Roeland Park, KS... 6,731 Wichita, KS ,368 Bowling Green, KY... 58,067 New Orleans, LA ,829 Andover, MA... 8,762 Barnstable, MA... 45,193 Burlington, MA... 24,498 Cambridge, MA ,162 Needham, MA... 28,886 Annapolis, MD... 38,394 Baltimore, MD ,961 Baltimore County, MD ,029 Dorchester County, MD... 32,618 Gaithersburg, MD... 59,933 La Plata, MD... 8,753 Montgomery County, MD ,777 Prince George's County, MD ,420 Rockville, MD... 61,209 Takoma Park, MD... 16,715 Freeport, ME... 1,485 Lewiston, ME... 36,592 Saco, ME... 18,482 Scarborough, ME... 4,403 South Portland, ME... 25,002 Ann Arbor, MI ,934 Battle Creek, MI... 52,347 Escanaba, MI... 12,616 Farmington Hills, MI... 79,740 Flushing, MI... 8,389 Gladstone, MI... 4,973 Howell, MI... 9,489 Hudsonville, MI... 7,116 Jackson County, MI ,248 Kalamazoo, MI... 74,262 Kalamazoo County, MI ,331 Midland, MI... 41,863 Novi, MI... 55,224 Otsego County, MI... 24,164 Petoskey, MI... 5,670 Port Huron, MI... 30,184 Rochester, MI... 12,711 South Haven, MI... 4,403 Albert Lea, MN... 18,016 Beltrami County, MN... 44,442 Blaine, MN... 57,186 Bloomington, MN... 82,893 Carver County, MN... 91,042 Chanhassen, MN... 22,952 Coon Rapids, MN... 61,476 Dakota County, MN ,552 Duluth, MN... 86,265 Edina, MN... 47,941 Elk River, MN... 22,974 Fridley, MN... 27,208 Hutchinson, MN... 14,178 Inver Grove Heights, MN... 33,880 Mankato, MN... 39,309 Maple Grove, MN... 61,567 Mayer, MN... 1,749 Minneapolis, MN ,578 Olmsted County, MN ,248 Savage, MN... 26,911 Scott County, MN ,928 Shorewood, MN... 7,307 St. Louis County, MN ,226 Washington County, MN ,136 Woodbury, MN... 61,961 Blue Springs, MO... 52,575 14

119 by National Research Center, Inc. Branson, MO... 10,520 Cape Girardeau, MO... 37,941 Clay County, MO ,939 Clayton, MO... 15,939 Columbia, MO ,500 Ellisville, MO... 9,133 Harrisonville, MO... 10,019 Jefferson City, MO... 43,079 Lee's Summit, MO... 91,364 Maryland Heights, MO... 27,472 Platte City, MO... 4,691 Raymore, MO... 19,206 Richmond Heights, MO... 8,603 Riverside, MO... 2,937 Rolla, MO... 19,559 Wentzville, MO... 29,070 Billings, MT ,170 Bozeman, MT... 37,280 Missoula, MT... 66,788 Asheville, NC... 83,393 Cabarrus County, NC ,011 Cary, NC ,234 Charlotte, NC ,424 Davidson, NC... 10,944 High Point, NC ,371 Hillsborough, NC... 6,087 Huntersville, NC... 46,773 Indian Trail, NC... 33,518 Mecklenburg County, NC ,628 Mooresville, NC... 32,711 Stallings, NC... 13,831 Wake Forest, NC... 30,117 Wilmington, NC ,476 Winston-Salem, NC ,617 Wahpeton, ND... 7,766 Grand Island, NE... 48,520 La Vista, NE... 15,758 Lincoln, NE ,379 Papillion, NE... 18,894 Dover, NH... 29,987 Lebanon, NH... 13,151 Summit, NJ... 21,457 Albuquerque, NM ,852 Farmington, NM... 45,877 Las Cruces, NM... 97,618 Los Alamos County, NM... 17,950 Rio Rancho, NM... 87,521 San Juan County, NM ,044 Carson City, NV... 55,274 Henderson, NV ,729 North Las Vegas, NV ,961 Reno, NV ,221 Sparks, NV... 90,264 Washoe County, NV ,407 Geneva, NY... 13,261 New York City, NY... 8,175,133 Ogdensburg, NY... 11,128 Blue Ash, OH... 12,114 Delaware, OH... 34,753 Dublin, OH... 41,751 Hamilton, OH... 62,477 Hudson, OH... 22,262 Kettering, OH... 56,163 Orange Village, OH... 3,323 Piqua, OH... 20,522 Springboro, OH... 17,409 Sylvania Township, OH... 18,965 Upper Arlington, OH... 33,771 Broken Arrow, OK... 98,850 Edmond, OK... 81,405 Norman, OK ,925 Oklahoma City, OK ,999 Stillwater, OK... 45,688 Tulsa, OK ,906 Albany, OR... 50,158 Ashland, OR... 20,078 Bend, OR... 76,639 Corvallis, OR... 54,462 Forest Grove, OR... 21,083 Hermiston, OR... 16,745 Jackson County, OR ,206 Keizer, OR... 36,478 Lake Oswego, OR... 36,619 Lane County, OR ,715 McMinnville, OR... 32,187 Medford, OR... 74,907 Portland, OR ,776 Springfield, OR... 59,403 Tualatin, OR... 26,054 Umatilla, OR... 6,906 Wilsonville, OR... 19,509 Chambersburg, PA... 20,268 Cumberland County, PA ,406 Kennett Square, PA... 6,072 Kutztown Borough, PA... 5,012 Radnor Township, PA... 30,878 State College, PA... 42,034 West Chester, PA... 18,461 East Providence, RI... 47,037 Newport, RI... 24,672 Greer, SC... 25,515 Rock Hill, SC... 66,154 Rapid City, SD... 67,956 Sioux Falls, SD ,888 Cookeville, TN... 30,435 Germantown, TN... 38,844 15

120 by National Research Center, Inc. Morristown, TN... 29,137 Nashville, TN ,222 White House, TN... 10,255 Arlington, TX ,438 Austin, TX ,390 Benbrook, TX... 21,234 Bryan, TX... 76,201 College Station, TX... 93,857 Colleyville, TX... 22,807 Corpus Christi, TX ,215 Dallas, TX... 1,197,816 Denton, TX ,383 Duncanville, TX... 38,524 El Paso, TX ,121 Flower Mound, TX... 64,669 Fort Worth, TX ,206 Georgetown, TX... 47,400 Houston, TX... 2,099,451 Hurst, TX... 37,337 Hutto, TX... 14,698 La Porte, TX... 33,800 League City, TX... 83,560 McAllen, TX ,877 McKinney, TX ,117 Plano, TX ,841 Round Rock, TX... 99,887 Rowlett, TX... 56,199 San Marcos, TX... 44,894 Southlake, TX... 26,575 Temple, TX... 66,102 The Woodlands, TX... 93,847 Tomball, TX... 10,753 Watauga, TX... 23,497 Westlake, TX Park City, UT... 7,558 Provo, UT ,488 Riverdale, UT... 8,426 Salt Lake City, UT ,440 Sandy, UT... 87,461 Saratoga Springs, UT... 17,781 Springville, UT... 29,466 Washington City, UT... 18,761 Albemarle County, VA... 98,970 Arlington County, VA ,627 Ashland, VA... 7,225 Botetourt County, VA... 33,148 Chesapeake, VA ,209 Chesterfield County, VA ,236 Fredericksburg, VA... 24,286 Hampton, VA ,436 Hanover County, VA... 99,863 Herndon, VA... 23,292 James City County, VA... 67,009 Lexington, VA... 7,042 Lynchburg, VA... 75,568 Montgomery County, VA... 94,392 Newport News, VA ,719 Norfolk, VA ,803 Purcellville, VA... 7,727 Radford, VA... 16,408 Roanoke, VA... 97,032 Spotsylvania County, VA ,397 Virginia Beach, VA ,994 Williamsburg, VA... 14,068 York County, VA... 65,464 Montpelier, VT... 7,855 Airway Heights, WA... 6,114 Auburn, WA... 70,180 Bellevue, WA ,363 Clark County, WA ,363 Edmonds, WA... 39,709 Federal Way, WA... 89,306 Gig Harbor, WA... 7,126 Hoquiam, WA... 8,726 Kirkland, WA... 48,787 Lynnwood, WA... 35,836 Maple Valley, WA... 22,684 Mountlake Terrace, WA... 19,909 Pasco, WA... 59,781 Redmond, WA... 54,144 Renton, WA... 90,927 Sammamish, WA... 45,780 SeaTac, WA... 26,909 Snoqualmie, WA... 10,670 Spokane Valley, WA... 89,755 Tacoma, WA ,397 Vancouver, WA ,791 West Richland, WA... 11,811 Woodland, WA... 5,509 Yakima, WA... 91,067 Chippewa Falls, WI... 13,661 Columbus, WI... 4,991 De Pere, WI... 23,800 Eau Claire, WI... 65,883 Madison, WI ,209 Merrill, WI... 9,661 Oshkosh, WI... 66,083 Racine, WI... 78,860 Wauwatosa, WI... 46,396 Wind Point, WI... 1,723 Casper, WY... 55,316 Cheyenne, WY... 59,466 Gillette, WY... 29,087 16

121 VILLAGE OF S KOKIE, IL 2012 DRAFT Report of Demographic Subgroup Comparisons 2955 Valmont Road, Suite North Capitol Street NE, Suite 500 Boulder, CO Washington, DC ICMA

122 Contents Survey Background... 1 About... 1 Understanding the Results... 2 Don t Know Responses... 2 Understanding the Tables... 2 Comparisons... 3 by National Research Center, Inc.

123 Survey Background A B O U T T H E N A T I O N A L C I T I Z E N S U R V E Y (The NCS ) is a collaborative effort between National Research Center, Inc. (NRC) and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). The survey and its administration are standardized to assure high quality survey methods and comparable results across jurisdictions. Participating households are selected at random and the household member who responds is selected without bias. Multiple mailings give each household more than one chance to participate with self-addressed and postage paid envelopes. Results are statistically weighted to reflect the proper demographic composition of the entire community. customized for this jurisdiction was developed in close cooperation with local jurisdiction staff. The Village of Skokie staff selected items from a menu of questions about services and community problems; they defined the jurisdiction boundaries NRC used for sampling; and they provided the appropriate letterhead and signatures for mailings. Village of Skokie staff also determined local interest in a variety of add-on options to The National Citizen Survey Basic Service. One of the add-on options that Skokie chose was to have crosstabulations of evaluative questions 1-18 by demographic questions D3 (number of years in Skokie), D4 (housing unit type), D9 (annual household income), D12 (age of respondent), and D13 (gender of respondent). by National Research Center, Inc. 1

124 Understanding the Results DON T K N O W R E S P O N S E S On many of the questions in the survey respondents may answer don t know. The proportion of respondents giving this reply is shown in the full set of responses included in Appendix A. However, these responses have been removed from the analyses presented in the body of the report. In other words, the tables and graphs display the responses from respondents who had an opinion about a specific item. U N D E R S T A N D I N G T H E T A B L E S In this report, comparisons between demographic subgroups are shown. For most of the questions, we have shown only one number for each question. We have summarized responses to show only the proportion of respondents giving a certain answer; for example, the percent of respondents who rated the quality of life as excellent or good, or the percent of respondents who felt the rate of growth was about right. ANOVA and chi-square tests of significance were applied to these comparisons of survey questions by demographic subgroups. A p-value of 0.05 or less indicates that there is less than a 5% probability that differences observed between subgroups are due to chance; or in other words, a greater than 95% probability that the differences observed are real. Where differences were statistically significant, they are marked in grey. by National Research Center, Inc. 2

125 Comparisons Cells shaded grey indicate statistically significant differences between subgroups. Please rate each of the following aspects of quality of life in Skokie: Less than 5 years Question 1: Quality of Life (Percent "excellent" or "good") Number of years in Skokie Housing unit type Annual household income 6 to 20 years More than 20 years Overall Detached Attached Overall Less than $49,999 $50,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more Skokie as a place to live 83% 88% 92% 88% 94% 81% 88% 88% 85% 93% 88% Your neighborhood as a 60% 81% 85% 77% 92% 57% 77% 71% 75% 88% 77% place to live Skokie as a place to raise 72% 85% 88% 83% 89% 72% 83% 84% 77% 88% 83% children Skokie as a place to work 65% 71% 84% 74% 80% 66% 74% 73% 68% 86% 75% Skokie as a place to retire 48% 64% 76% 65% 70% 57% 65% 66% 62% 66% 65% The overall quality of life in Skokie 67% 82% 88% 80% 88% 69% 80% 75% 78% 91% 80% Overall by National Research Center, Inc. Question 1: Quality of Life (Percent "excellent" or "good") Age Gender Please rate each of the following aspects of quality of life in Skokie: Overall Female Male Overall Skokie as a place to live 77% 91% 93% 88% 84% 93% 88% Your neighborhood as a place to live 52% 77% 90% 77% 77% 77% 77% Skokie as a place to raise children 66% 84% 90% 83% 79% 87% 83% Skokie as a place to work 56% 80% 81% 74% 73% 74% 73% Skokie as a place to retire 49% 53% 79% 65% 69% 60% 65% The overall quality of life in Skokie 62% 81% 90% 80% 77% 83% 80% 3

126 by National Research Center, Inc. Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Skokie as a whole: Less than 5 years Question 2: Community Characteristics (Percent "excellent" or "good") Number of years in Skokie Housing unit type Annual household income 6 to 20 years More than 20 years Overall Detached Attached Overall Less than $49,999 $50,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more Sense of community 56% 72% 80% 71% 77% 62% 71% 68% 70% 74% 70% Openness and acceptance of 71% 82% 87% 81% 87% 72% 81% 74% 85% 86% 81% the community toward people of diverse backgrounds Overall appearance of Skokie 69% 77% 81% 77% 82% 69% 77% 80% 68% 82% 77% Cleanliness of Skokie 68% 86% 88% 82% 92% 67% 82% 77% 79% 94% 82% Overall quality of new development in Skokie 62% 73% 73% 70% 74% 65% 70% 74% 65% 75% 71% Variety of housing options 62% 72% 80% 72% 79% 63% 72% 71% 62% 85% 72% Overall quality of business and service establishments in Skokie 72% 74% 75% 74% 79% 67% 74% 77% 67% 78% 74% Shopping opportunities 81% 89% 88% 86% 89% 82% 87% 92% 79% 90% 88% Opportunities to attend cultural 63% 81% 84% 78% 86% 65% 78% 69% 84% 83% 78% activities Recreational opportunities 71% 81% 85% 80% 85% 71% 80% 73% 82% 87% 80% Employment opportunities 32% 47% 54% 46% 50% 42% 46% 48% 32% 62% 46% Educational opportunities 89% 86% 89% 88% 90% 85% 88% 85% 92% 89% 89% Opportunities to participate in social events and activities 72% 75% 77% 75% 80% 68% 75% 66% 82% 79% 75% Opportunities to volunteer 60% 81% 81% 76% 85% 61% 75% 66% 81% 85% 76% Opportunities to participate in community matters 63% 75% 72% 71% 76% 63% 71% 68% 65% 85% 72% Ease of car travel in Skokie 82% 78% 88% 83% 83% 82% 83% 83% 79% 88% 83% Ease of bus travel in Skokie 69% 71% 77% 73% 74% 71% 73% 64% 76% 91% 73% Ease of rail or subway travel in Skokie 81% 79% 88% 83% 81% 87% 83% 83% 85% 85% 84% Ease of bicycle travel in Skokie 53% 55% 74% 62% 61% 63% 62% 56% 70% 61% 62% Ease of walking in Skokie 65% 70% 89% 76% 82% 67% 76% 69% 88% 71% 75% Availability of paths and 70% 66% 70% 69% 70% 67% 68% 62% 76% 70% 69% Overall 4

127 by National Research Center, Inc. Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Skokie as a whole: walking trails Less than 5 years Question 2: Community Characteristics (Percent "excellent" or "good") Number of years in Skokie Housing unit type Annual household income 6 to 20 years More than 20 years Overall Detached Attached Overall Less than $49,999 $50,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more Traffic flow on major streets 40% 64% 69% 59% 67% 49% 60% 54% 54% 76% 60% Amount of public parking 51% 65% 75% 65% 74% 54% 66% 53% 70% 79% 65% Availability of affordable quality housing 48% 58% 66% 58% 69% 44% 58% 51% 55% 76% 59% Availability of affordable quality child care 50% 64% 70% 63% 67% 58% 64% 56% 68% 71% 64% Availability of affordable quality 57% 78% 82% 75% 84% 59% 75% 64% 77% 87% 75% health care Availability of preventive health services 62% 76% 78% 73% 81% 62% 74% 62% 72% 95% 74% Air quality 64% 69% 79% 71% 76% 65% 71% 68% 75% 73% 71% Quality of overall natural environment in Skokie 66% 77% 79% 75% 79% 70% 75% 73% 70% 83% 75% Overall image or reputation of Skokie 62% 77% 72% 71% 77% 63% 71% 72% 62% 80% 71% Overall 5

128 by National Research Center, Inc. Question 2: Community Characteristics (Percent "excellent" or "good") Age Gender Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Skokie as a whole: Overall Female Male Overall Sense of community 48% 74% 81% 71% 72% 69% 71% Openness and acceptance of the community toward people of diverse backgrounds 68% 81% 88% 81% 81% 82% 81% Overall appearance of Skokie 58% 81% 84% 77% 73% 80% 77% Cleanliness of Skokie 60% 90% 87% 82% 82% 82% 82% Overall quality of new development in Skokie 64% 74% 70% 70% 74% 67% 70% Variety of housing options 63% 71% 79% 72% 72% 72% 72% Overall quality of business and service establishments in Skokie 68% 76% 75% 74% 71% 76% 73% Shopping opportunities 84% 87% 87% 87% 81% 93% 87% Opportunities to attend cultural activities 61% 79% 86% 78% 84% 71% 78% Recreational opportunities 72% 77% 87% 80% 83% 75% 80% Employment opportunities 29% 48% 53% 46% 46% 45% 45% Educational opportunities 83% 91% 88% 88% 88% 88% 88% Opportunities to participate in social events and activities 71% 73% 79% 75% 75% 75% 75% Opportunities to volunteer 55% 80% 81% 76% 80% 70% 76% Opportunities to participate in community matters 62% 75% 72% 71% 72% 71% 71% Ease of car travel in Skokie 81% 77% 88% 83% 80% 86% 83% Ease of bus travel in Skokie 59% 73% 80% 73% 69% 78% 73% Ease of rail or subway travel in Skokie 83% 81% 86% 84% 82% 85% 84% Ease of bicycle travel in Skokie 52% 58% 71% 62% 62% 62% 62% Ease of walking in Skokie 55% 79% 86% 76% 77% 74% 75% Availability of paths and walking trails 61% 66% 75% 68% 67% 69% 68% Traffic flow on major streets 41% 58% 72% 60% 57% 62% 60% Amount of public parking 47% 66% 74% 65% 69% 62% 66% Availability of affordable quality housing 44% 56% 71% 58% 62% 54% 58% Availability of affordable quality child care 60% 62% 67% 64% 69% 59% 64% Availability of affordable quality health care 62% 70% 85% 75% 79% 71% 75% Availability of preventive health services 67% 70% 80% 74% 76% 71% 74% Air quality 59% 67% 82% 71% 71% 71% 71% 6

129 Question 2: Community Characteristics (Percent "excellent" or "good") Age Gender Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Skokie as a whole: Overall Female Male Overall Quality of overall natural environment in Skokie 62% 74% 84% 75% 72% 79% 75% Overall image or reputation of Skokie 56% 73% 79% 71% 71% 71% 71% Please rate the speed of growth in the following categories in Skokie over the past 2 years: Less than 5 years Question 3: Growth (Percent of respondents) Number of years in Skokie Housing unit type Annual household income 6 to 20 years More than 20 years Overall Detached Attached Overall Less than $49,999 $50,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more Population growth too fast 50% 35% 21% 32% 23% 47% 32% 29% 39% 28% 32% Retail growth too slow 51% 54% 42% 49% 45% 55% 49% 55% 45% 46% 49% Job growth too slow 64% 82% 71% 73% 76% 67% 72% 81% 65% 64% 72% Overall by National Research Center, Inc. Question 3: Growth (Percent of respondents) Age Gender Please rate the speed of growth in the following categories in Skokie over the past 2 years: Overall Female Male Overall Population growth too fast 59% 31% 17% 32% 37% 25% 32% Retail growth too slow 54% 51% 46% 49% 51% 48% 49% Job growth too slow 63% 70% 80% 72% 76% 69% 73% 7

130 To what degree, if at all, are the following problems in Skokie: Less than 5 years Question 4: Opportunities (Percent a "major" problem) Number of years in Skokie Housing unit type Annual household income 6 to 20 years More than 20 years Overall Detached Attached Overall Less than $49,999 $50,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more Crime 27% 11% 12% 15% 11% 22% 15% 20% 15% 8% 15% Drugs 24% 19% 20% 21% 15% 27% 21% 21% 25% 9% 19% Too much growth 14% 18% 9% 14% 11% 17% 14% 16% 9% 12% 12% Property taxes 41% 48% 38% 42% 39% 47% 42% 41% 47% 35% 41% Traffic congestion 5% 4% 7% 5% 3% 9% 5% 4% 8% 1% 5% Unsupervised youth 35% 17% 23% 24% 14% 38% 24% 29% 27% 12% 24% Unmaintained properties (weeds, peeling paint, etc.) 9% 5% 11% 8% 6% 12% 8% 15% 5% 2% 8% Overall by National Research Center, Inc. Question 4: Opportunities (Percent a "major" problem) Age Gender To what degree, if at all, are the following problems in Skokie: Overall Female Male Overall Crime 29% 13% 9% 15% 16% 15% 15% Drugs 29% 17% 17% 20% 24% 17% 20% Too much growth 25% 11% 9% 13% 17% 9% 13% Property taxes 57% 40% 35% 41% 45% 37% 41% Traffic congestion 5% 3% 7% 5% 6% 5% 5% Unsupervised youth 44% 17% 18% 24% 25% 23% 24% Unmaintained properties (weeds, peeling paint, etc.) 13% 6% 8% 8% 9% 7% 8% 8

131 Please rate how safe or unsafe you feel from the following in Skokie: Violent crime (e.g., rape, assault, robbery) Less than 5 years Question 5: Community Safety (Percent "very" or "somewhat" safe) Number of years in Skokie Housing unit type Annual household income 6 to 20 years More than 20 years Overall Detached Attached Overall Less than $49,999 $50,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more 56% 68% 70% 65% 72% 56% 65% 67% 63% 70% 66% Property crimes (e.g., burglary, theft) 40% 53% 51% 48% 51% 46% 49% 56% 45% 43% 49% Environmental hazards, including toxic waste 74% 72% 75% 74% 80% 66% 74% 72% 79% 77% 75% Overall by National Research Center, Inc. Question 5: Community Safety (Percent "very" or "somewhat" safe) Age Gender Please rate how safe or unsafe you feel from the following in Skokie: Overall Female Male Overall Violent crime (e.g., rape, assault, robbery) 55% 65% 71% 65% 62% 68% 65% Property crimes (e.g., burglary, theft) 36% 45% 59% 48% 49% 49% 49% Environmental hazards, including toxic waste 75% 70% 76% 74% 67% 82% 74% 9

132 Please rate how safe or unsafe you feel: In your neighborhood during the day In your neighborhood after dark In Skokie's downtown area during the day In Skokie's downtown area after dark Less than 5 years Question 6: Personal Safety (Percent "very" or "somewhat" safe) Number of years in Skokie Housing unit type Annual household income 6 to 20 years More than 20 years Overall Detached Attached Overall Less than $49,999 $50,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more Overall 78% 89% 91% 87% 92% 79% 87% 83% 91% 91% 87% 51% 67% 71% 64% 75% 49% 64% 59% 61% 79% 65% 83% 90% 90% 88% 93% 83% 88% 89% 88% 91% 89% 58% 72% 68% 66% 72% 60% 67% 65% 69% 71% 68% by National Research Center, Inc. Question 6: Personal Safety (Percent "very" or "somewhat" safe) Age Gender Please rate how safe or unsafe you feel: Overall Female Male Overall In your neighborhood during the day 78% 89% 90% 87% 88% 85% 87% In your neighborhood after dark 43% 69% 73% 64% 61% 68% 64% In Skokie's downtown area during the day 83% 90% 91% 89% 86% 91% 88% In Skokie's downtown area after dark 56% 71% 70% 67% 62% 71% 66% 10

133 During the past 12 months, were you or anyone in your household the victim of any crime in Skokie? Less than 5 years Questions 7 and 8: Crime Victimization and Reporting (Percent "yes") Number of years in Skokie Housing unit type Annual household income 6 to 20 years More than 20 years Overall Detached Attached Overall Less than $49,999 $50,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more 15% 21% 14% 17% 19% 12% 17% 13% 15% 26% 17% If yes, was this crime (these crimes) reported to the police? 90% 65% 66% 71% 73% 67% 71% 53% 88% 75% 71% Overall by National Research Center, Inc. Questions 7 and 8: Crime Victimization and Reporting (Percent "yes") Age Gender Overall Female Male Overall During the past 12 months, were you or anyone in your household the victim of any crime in 25% 18% 11% 16% 16% 16% 16% Skokie? If yes, was this crime (these crimes) reported to the police? 66% 76% 72% 71% 63% 83% 72% 11

134 by National Research Center, Inc. In the last 12 months, about how many times, if ever, have you or other household members participated in the following activities in Skokie? Less than 5 years Question 9: Resident Behaviors (Percent at least once in past 12 months) Number of years in Skokie Housing unit type Annual household income 6 to 20 years More than 20 years Overall Detached Attached Overall Less than $49,999 $50,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more Used Skokie Public Library or its services 83% 93% 89% 88% 88% 90% 89% 89% 90% 87% 89% Participated in a recreation program 49% 63% 66% 60% 71% 45% 60% 46% 61% 85% 61% or activity Visited a neighborhood park or Village park 87% 94% 84% 88% 89% 87% 88% 82% 93% 97% 89% Ridden a local bus within Skokie 34% 44% 27% 35% 32% 40% 35% 45% 35% 20% 36% Attended a meeting of local elected 6% 19% 29% 19% 22% 16% 19% 15% 23% 20% 19% officials or other local public meeting Watched a meeting of local elected 15% 28% 33% 26% 22% 31% 26% 33% 22% 21% 26% officials or other Village-sponsored public meeting on cable television, the Internet or other media Read NewSkokie Newsletter 88% 95% 95% 93% 94% 92% 93% 88% 96% 98% 93% Visited the Village of Skokie Web site 74% 75% 64% 71% 73% 66% 70% 64% 74% 84% 72% (at Recycled used paper, cans or bottles 71% 90% 95% 87% 94% 76% 87% 83% 84% 96% 86% from your home Volunteered your time to some group 12% 23% 27% 22% 25% 17% 22% 19% 24% 24% 22% or activity in Skokie Listened to 1660 AM Skokie radio 6% 18% 18% 15% 17% 13% 15% 18% 12% 14% 15% station Ridden a Senior Transportation for 0% 7% 5% 4% 3% 6% 4% 10% 0% 0% 4% Area Residents (STAR) bus Ridden the Skokie Swift 61% 66% 52% 59% 55% 65% 59% 64% 62% 51% 60% Attended a neighborhood block party 6% 22% 28% 20% 25% 12% 20% 15% 19% 29% 20% Called or ed the Village for yard waste collection 25% 41% 59% 43% 67% 12% 44% 30% 51% 55% 43% Overall 12

135 In the last 12 months, about how many times, if ever, have you or other household members participated in the following activities in Skokie? Less than 5 years Question 9: Resident Behaviors (Percent at least once in past 12 months) Number of years in Skokie Housing unit type Annual household income 6 to 20 years More than 20 years Overall Detached Attached Overall Less than $49,999 $50,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more Dined or shopped in Downtown Skokie 87% 88% 86% 87% 84% 91% 87% 87% 87% 91% 88% Visited the Skokie Farmers' Market 58% 67% 62% 62% 62% 63% 63% 61% 59% 73% 64% Overall by National Research Center, Inc. Question 9: Resident Behaviors (Percent at least once in past 12 months) In the last 12 months, about how many times, if ever, have you or other household members participated in the following activities in Skokie? Age Gender Overall Female Male Overall Used Skokie Public Library or its services 88% 91% 86% 88% 89% 88% 88% Participated in a recreation program or activity 51% 69% 59% 60% 61% 58% 60% Visited a neighborhood park or Village park 91% 95% 82% 88% 88% 89% 88% Ridden a local bus within Skokie 35% 40% 30% 35% 35% 32% 34% Attended a meeting of local elected officials or other local public meeting 7% 24% 23% 20% 20% 19% 20% Watched a meeting of local elected officials or other Village-sponsored public meeting on cable television, the Internet or other media 23% 23% 30% 26% 26% 26% 26% Read NewSkokie Newsletter 87% 95% 94% 93% 94% 92% 93% Visited the Village of Skokie Web site (at 79% 83% 57% 71% 72% 69% 71% Recycled used paper, cans or bottles from your home 71% 90% 93% 87% 87% 86% 86% Volunteered your time to some group or activity in Skokie 10% 29% 22% 22% 20% 22% 21% Listened to 1660 AM Skokie radio station 8% 17% 16% 15% 15% 15% 15% Ridden a Senior Transportation for Area Residents (STAR) bus 3% 3% 6% 5% 7% 2% 5% Ridden the Skokie Swift 66% 71% 46% 59% 58% 60% 59% Attended a neighborhood block party 9% 24% 22% 20% 18% 21% 20% Called or ed the Village for yard waste collection 20% 49% 52% 44% 42% 44% 43% Dined or shopped in Downtown Skokie 89% 88% 86% 87% 89% 85% 87% Visited the Skokie Farmers' Market 56% 69% 60% 62% 63% 61% 62% 13

136 Visit with neighbors at least several times a week Less than 5 years Question 10: Neighborliness (Percent at least several times a week) Number of years in Skokie Housing unit type Annual household income 6 to 20 years More than 20 years Overall Detached Attached Overall Less than $49,999 $50,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more Overall 39% 45% 56% 48% 57% 35% 48% 36% 58% 52% 47% Question 10: Neighborliness (Percent at least several times a week) Age Gender Overall Female Male Overall Visit with neighbors at least several times a week 31% 50% 55% 47% 44% 51% 48% by National Research Center, Inc. 14

137 by National Research Center, Inc. Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Skokie: Less than 5 years Question 11: Service Quality (Percent "excellent" or "good") Number of years in Skokie Housing unit type Annual household income 6 to 20 years More than 20 years Overall Detached Attached Overall Less than $49,999 $50,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more Police services 79% 87% 92% 87% 91% 81% 87% 83% 86% 94% 87% Fire services 89% 97% 100% 97% 97% 96% 97% 92% 99% 100% 96% Ambulance or emergency medical 89% 95% 99% 95% 95% 96% 95% 93% 100% 95% 96% services Crime prevention 47% 63% 82% 66% 75% 54% 66% 62% 65% 73% 66% Fire prevention and education 79% 74% 93% 84% 88% 76% 84% 78% 84% 93% 83% Traffic enforcement 66% 82% 79% 77% 85% 66% 77% 69% 75% 92% 77% Street repair 46% 62% 54% 55% 58% 51% 55% 58% 49% 55% 54% Street cleaning 64% 79% 81% 76% 81% 68% 76% 70% 71% 90% 76% Street lighting 54% 68% 77% 68% 73% 61% 68% 60% 68% 80% 67% Snow removal 49% 65% 80% 67% 78% 51% 67% 58% 69% 82% 67% Sidewalk maintenance 66% 65% 67% 66% 70% 60% 66% 64% 65% 71% 66% Bus or transit services 72% 80% 89% 81% 87% 73% 81% 74% 84% 94% 81% Garbage collection 77% 90% 95% 89% 96% 78% 89% 79% 94% 99% 88% Recycling 68% 91% 93% 86% 95% 70% 86% 77% 90% 94% 86% Yard waste pick-up 66% 69% 86% 76% 79% 68% 76% 68% 82% 81% 76% Storm drainage 37% 59% 71% 58% 61% 52% 58% 55% 59% 57% 57% Drinking water 68% 79% 94% 81% 90% 69% 82% 78% 81% 87% 81% Sewer services 58% 72% 78% 71% 76% 61% 71% 61% 76% 78% 70% Electric utility service 65% 84% 90% 81% 87% 73% 81% 77% 82% 86% 81% Village parks 78% 93% 94% 89% 94% 81% 89% 87% 92% 89% 89% Land use, planning and zoning 56% 72% 71% 67% 69% 65% 68% 69% 69% 65% 68% Code enforcement (weeds, 43% 67% 67% 61% 68% 52% 62% 61% 57% 65% 61% abandoned buildings, etc.) Animal control 68% 73% 75% 73% 74% 71% 73% 70% 72% 79% 73% Economic development 54% 61% 62% 60% 61% 58% 60% 61% 59% 60% 60% Skokie Health Department services 55% 85% 91% 81% 91% 64% 81% 70% 90% 89% 81% Overall 15

138 by National Research Center, Inc. Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Skokie: Less than 5 years Question 11: Service Quality (Percent "excellent" or "good") Number of years in Skokie Housing unit type Annual household income 6 to 20 years More than 20 years Overall Detached Attached Overall Less than $49,999 $50,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more Services to seniors 70% 83% 88% 83% 88% 73% 82% 77% 90% 82% 82% Services to youth 61% 76% 80% 74% 82% 60% 73% 66% 78% 78% 73% Services to low-income people 52% 56% 82% 66% 81% 47% 65% 48% 67% 95% 65% Services to families 74% 65% 79% 73% 81% 58% 72% 53% 81% 91% 72% Cable television 60% 63% 71% 65% 71% 59% 66% 67% 53% 78% 65% Emergency preparedness (services 52% 72% 84% 73% 83% 59% 73% 70% 70% 84% 74% that prepare the community for natural disasters or other emergency situations) Administrative hearings (parking 65% 54% 75% 65% 69% 60% 66% 66% 59% 75% 66% and code violations) Sidewalk snow plowing 36% 59% 68% 57% 66% 43% 57% 50% 56% 67% 56% Alley maintenance 35% 46% 70% 51% 62% 36% 51% 44% 54% 60% 51% Obtaining a building permit 59% 64% 68% 65% 68% 51% 65% 74% 59% 61% 64% Public information AM Skokie radio station 59% 72% 81% 74% 86% 54% 75% 71% 77% 76% 74% Public information - NewSkokie municipal newsletter 77% 85% 88% 84% 88% 78% 84% 80% 86% 89% 84% Public information - 69% 92% 85% 83% 86% 78% 83% 80% 77% 93% 83% municipal Web site Public information - Village of Skokie monthly newsletter 72% 88% 85% 83% 85% 79% 83% 83% 86% 78% 82% Overall competence of Police 67% 86% 89% 82% 90% 71% 82% 82% 79% 87% 82% Department employees Police officers' attitudes and 52% 79% 83% 73% 84% 58% 74% 67% 69% 87% 73% behaviors toward citizens Fire prevention - code 67% 78% 91% 81% 90% 68% 81% 70% 89% 94% 81% enforcement Fire prevention - public education 64% 76% 86% 77% 88% 61% 77% 66% 82% 95% 78% Overall 16

139 Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Skokie: Senior Transportation for Area Residents (STAR) bus service Less than 5 years Question 11: Service Quality (Percent "excellent" or "good") Number of years in Skokie Housing unit type Annual household income 6 to 20 years More than 20 years Overall Detached Attached Overall Less than $49,999 $50,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more 74% 73% 84% 79% 85% 66% 78% 67% 95% 90% 79% Overall by National Research Center, Inc. Question 11: Service Quality (Percent "excellent" or "good") Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Skokie: Age Gender Overall Female Male Overall Police services 73% 91% 92% 87% 84% 91% 87% Fire services 94% 96% 99% 97% 96% 98% 97% Ambulance or emergency medical services 86% 97% 99% 96% 95% 97% 96% Crime prevention 37% 70% 82% 67% 65% 68% 66% Fire prevention and education 63% 84% 92% 84% 84% 84% 84% Traffic enforcement 65% 79% 83% 77% 76% 78% 77% Street repair 41% 60% 59% 55% 56% 53% 55% Street cleaning 63% 76% 82% 75% 74% 76% 75% Street lighting 56% 63% 78% 68% 69% 65% 67% Snow removal 39% 67% 80% 67% 65% 69% 67% Sidewalk maintenance 57% 67% 70% 66% 64% 68% 66% Bus or transit services 75% 79% 89% 82% 81% 82% 82% Garbage collection 73% 91% 96% 89% 91% 86% 89% Recycling 68% 86% 94% 86% 88% 84% 86% Yard waste pick-up 62% 70% 87% 77% 79% 73% 76% Storm drainage 40% 49% 75% 58% 61% 56% 59% Drinking water 68% 82% 89% 82% 87% 77% 82% Sewer services 50% 69% 82% 71% 73% 70% 71% Electric utility service 67% 83% 88% 81% 83% 79% 81% Village parks 76% 90% 97% 89% 88% 90% 89% Land use, planning and zoning 54% 63% 80% 67% 70% 65% 68% 17

140 by National Research Center, Inc. Question 11: Service Quality (Percent "excellent" or "good") Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Skokie: Age Gender Overall Female Male Overall Code enforcement (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) 33% 62% 75% 61% 63% 61% 62% Animal control 63% 72% 78% 73% 76% 70% 73% Economic development 49% 57% 68% 59% 63% 56% 59% Skokie Health Department services 53% 79% 92% 81% 82% 80% 81% Services to seniors 66% 81% 88% 82% 84% 80% 82% Services to youth 61% 72% 82% 73% 76% 71% 73% Services to low-income people 55% 56% 82% 66% 68% 65% 66% Services to families 64% 70% 81% 73% 68% 76% 72% Cable television 62% 58% 73% 65% 62% 70% 65% Emergency preparedness (services that prepare the community for natural disasters or other 47% 73% 85% 73% 75% 71% 73% emergency situations) Administrative hearings (parking and code violations) 52% 62% 77% 66% 60% 72% 66% Sidewalk snow plowing 40% 53% 69% 57% 57% 57% 57% Alley maintenance 21% 58% 67% 51% 51% 50% 51% Obtaining a building permit 44% 69% 70% 65% 58% 72% 65% Public information AM Skokie radio station 42% 73% 87% 76% 76% 76% 76% Public information - NewSkokie municipal newsletter 82% 81% 89% 85% 83% 87% 85% Public information - municipal Web site 75% 87% 86% 84% 84% 82% 83% Public information - Village of Skokie monthly newsletter 78% 80% 89% 84% 90% 78% 84% Overall competence of Police Department employees 71% 82% 90% 83% 81% 85% 83% Police officers' attitudes and behaviors toward citizens 53% 72% 85% 74% 72% 77% 74% Fire prevention - code enforcement 51% 86% 93% 82% 82% 80% 82% Fire prevention - public education 48% 83% 86% 78% 77% 78% 78% Senior Transportation for Area Residents (STAR) bus service 79% 73% 83% 79% 75% 83% 79% 18

141 Overall, how would you rate the quality of the services provided by each of the following? Less than 5 years Question 12: Government Services Overall (Percent "excellent" or "good") Number of years in Skokie Housing unit type Annual household income 6 to 20 years More than 20 years Overall Detached Attached Overall Less than $49,999 $50,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more The Village of Skokie 77% 86% 94% 87% 94% 75% 87% 82% 89% 90% 86% The Federal Government 52% 55% 54% 54% 56% 50% 54% 67% 34% 54% 53% The State Government 41% 37% 43% 41% 40% 41% 41% 54% 31% 29% 40% Cook County Government 38% 41% 42% 41% 38% 44% 41% 54% 30% 31% 40% Overall by National Research Center, Inc. Question 12: Government Services Overall (Percent "excellent" or "good") Age Gender Overall, how would you rate the quality of the services provided by each of the following? Overall Female Male Overall The Village of Skokie 70% 88% 95% 87% 87% 87% 87% The Federal Government 52% 52% 56% 54% 57% 50% 54% The State Government 34% 39% 46% 41% 44% 37% 40% Cook County Government 37% 37% 47% 41% 45% 36% 41% 19

142 Have you had any in-person, phone or contact with an employee of the Village of Skokie within the last 12 months (including police, receptionists, planners or any others)? Less than 5 years Question 13: Contact with Village Employees (Percent "yes") Number of years in Skokie Housing unit type Annual household income 6 to 20 years More than 20 years Overall Detached Attached Overall Less than $49,999 $50,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more Overall 79% 64% 77% 73% 78% 64% 72% 61% 81% 83% 73% Question 13: Contact with Village Employees (Percent "yes") Age Gender Overall Female Male Overall Have you had any in-person, phone or contact with an employee of the Village of Skokie within the last 12 months (including police, receptionists, planners or any others)? 81% 75% 67% 73% 71% 74% 72% by National Research Center, Inc. 20

143 What was your impression of the employee(s) of the Village of Skokie in your most recent contact? Less than 5 years Question 14: Village Employees (Percent "excellent" or "good") Number of years in Skokie Housing unit type Annual household income 6 to 20 years More than 20 years Overall Detached Attached Overall Less than $49,999 $50,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more Knowledge 76% 89% 84% 83% 92% 69% 83% 86% 81% 82% 83% Responsiveness 75% 94% 83% 84% 91% 74% 84% 84% 80% 89% 84% Courtesy 63% 86% 86% 80% 88% 65% 80% 77% 78% 84% 79% Overall impression 69% 92% 83% 82% 91% 68% 82% 77% 81% 88% 82% Overall by National Research Center, Inc. Question 14: Village Employees (Percent "excellent" or "good") Age Gender What was your impression of the employee(s) of the Village of Skokie in your most recent contact? Overall Female Male Overall Knowledge 65% 87% 91% 83% 84% 83% 84% Responsiveness 73% 85% 91% 84% 85% 84% 85% Courtesy 54% 83% 95% 80% 82% 80% 81% Overall impression 65% 83% 92% 82% 83% 82% 82% 21

144 Please rate the following categories of Skokie government performance: The value of services for the taxes paid to Skokie Less than 5 years Question 15: Government Performance (Percent "excellent" or "good") Number of years in Skokie Housing unit type Annual household income 6 to 20 years More than 20 years Overall Detached Attached Overall Less than $49,999 $50,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more Overall 50% 64% 74% 65% 74% 50% 65% 61% 64% 69% 64% The overall direction that Skokie is taking 56% 68% 69% 65% 69% 59% 65% 67% 62% 68% 65% The job Skokie government does at welcoming citizen involvement 57% 59% 71% 64% 72% 52% 64% 65% 57% 68% 64% by National Research Center, Inc. Question 15: Government Performance (Percent "excellent" or "good") Age Gender Please rate the following categories of Skokie government performance: Overall Female Male Overall The value of services for the taxes paid to Skokie 34% 68% 78% 65% 59% 72% 65% The overall direction that Skokie is taking 48% 66% 74% 66% 62% 70% 66% The job Skokie government does at welcoming citizen involvement 39% 65% 74% 64% 61% 67% 64% 22

145 Please indicate how likely or unlikely you are to do each of the following: Recommend living in Skokie to someone who asks Remain in Skokie for the next five years Less than 5 years Question 16: Recommendation and Longevity (Percent "somewhat" or "very" likely) Number of years in Skokie Housing unit type Annual household income 6 to 20 years More than 20 years Overall Detached Attached Overall Less than $49,999 $50,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more 87% 82% 91% 87% 91% 81% 87% 89% 78% 94% 87% 69% 81% 87% 80% 88% 69% 80% 78% 74% 88% 79% Overall Question 16: Recommendation and Longevity (Percent "somewhat" or "very" likely) Age Gender Please indicate how likely or unlikely you are to do each of the following: Overall Female Male Overall Recommend living in Skokie to someone who asks 73% 90% 92% 87% 80% 95% 87% Remain in Skokie for the next five years 55% 87% 89% 80% 77% 84% 80% by National Research Center, Inc. 23

146 Less than 5 years Question 17: Impact of the Economy (Percent "somewhat" or "very" positive) Number of years in Skokie Housing unit type Annual household income 6 to 20 years More than 20 years Overall Detached Attached Overall Less than $49,999 $50,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more What impact, if any, do you think the economy will have on your family income in the next 6 months? Do you think the impact will be: 28% 21% 19% 22% 21% 25% 23% 22% 23% 25% 23% Overall Question 17: Impact of the Economy (Percent "somewhat" or "very" positive) Age Gender Overall Female Male Overall What impact, if any, do you think the economy will have on your family income in the next 6 months? Do you think the impact will be: 24% 20% 24% 22% 19% 26% 22% by National Research Center, Inc. 24

147 by National Research Center, Inc. Please rate how important, if at all, each of the following community issues or initiatives is for the Village of Skokie: Less than 5 years Question 18a: Custom Question 2 (Percent "essential" or "very important") Number of years in Skokie Housing unit type Annual household income 6 to 20 years More than 20 years Overall Detached Attached Overall Less than $49,999 $50,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more Increase vehicle sticker fee to hire more police officers 27% 23% 34% 28% 28% 30% 29% 23% 28% 35% 28% Street resurfacing 43% 41% 61% 50% 51% 46% 49% 49% 45% 56% 49% Redevelop Dempster Street 38% 39% 47% 42% 45% 39% 42% 43% 32% 55% 43% Downtown Skokie redevelopment 63% 45% 56% 54% 51% 58% 54% 57% 44% 66% 55% Construct new bike paths and bike lanes 44% 45% 40% 43% 42% 45% 43% 53% 25% 53% 44% Elderly care services 64% 62% 74% 67% 62% 75% 67% 72% 59% 68% 67% At-risk youth programs 66% 60% 70% 66% 63% 69% 65% 70% 56% 71% 66% Implement licensing of landlords 40% 52% 63% 53% 53% 53% 53% 49% 44% 71% 53% and multi-family buildings Increase code enforcement for 45% 50% 64% 54% 48% 64% 54% 54% 50% 58% 54% property standards violations residents public safety and crime alerts 57% 65% 65% 63% 61% 67% 63% 62% 60% 67% 62% Use of user fees and special taxes instead of property taxes 35% 57% 50% 48% 50% 46% 48% 51% 44% 51% 49% Question 18a: Custom Question 2 (Percent "essential" or "very important") Please rate how important, if at all, each of the following community issues or initiatives is for the Village of Skokie: Age Gender Overall Overall Female Male Overall Increase vehicle sticker fee to hire more police officers 32% 21% 33% 29% 27% 30% 28% Street resurfacing 44% 40% 59% 49% 54% 44% 49% Redevelop Dempster Street 39% 41% 45% 42% 50% 34% 42% Downtown Skokie redevelopment 70% 44% 54% 54% 59% 49% 54% Construct new bike paths and bike lanes 49% 44% 38% 43% 45% 41% 43% Elderly care services 58% 66% 73% 67% 68% 65% 67% 25

148 Question 18a: Custom Question 2 (Percent "essential" or "very important") Please rate how important, if at all, each of the following community issues or initiatives is for the Village of Skokie: Age Gender Overall Female Male Overall At-risk youth programs 67% 58% 71% 66% 70% 59% 65% Implement licensing of landlords and multi-family buildings 66% 41% 57% 53% 59% 44% 52% Increase code enforcement for property standards violations 60% 44% 59% 54% 62% 46% 54% residents public safety and crime alerts 58% 60% 68% 63% 67% 58% 63% Use of user fees and special taxes instead of property taxes 43% 43% 56% 48% 54% 41% 48% by National Research Center, Inc. The Village's property taxes have not increased since To what extent would you support or oppose a property tax increase to fund the following programs or initiatives? Question 18b: Custom Question 2 (Percent "somewhat" or "strongly" support) Less than 5 years Number of years in Skokie Housing unit type Annual household income 6 to 20 years More than 20 years Overall Detached Attached Overall Less than $49,999 $50,000 to $99,999 $100,000 or more Revitalize Downtown Skokie 58% 42% 50% 50% 46% 56% 50% 52% 43% 56% 50% Revitalize Dempster Street 45% 42% 45% 44% 42% 48% 44% 51% 30% 52% 45% Revitalize other shopping/commercial areas (East Oakton Street, Main Street, etc.) 36% 39% 40% 39% 35% 44% 39% 40% 34% 43% 39% Continue sidewalk snow plowing 65% 68% 81% 72% 66% 80% 72% 76% 65% 71% 71% Increase street resurfacing 52% 61% 77% 65% 64% 65% 64% 63% 61% 71% 64% Increase the number of property 33% 39% 54% 43% 37% 50% 43% 51% 25% 49% 41% standards inspectors "Green" or other environmentally friendly equipment and programs 52% 52% 62% 56% 51% 62% 56% 67% 37% 65% 56% Install additional traffic safety devices 35% 48% 56% 48% 46% 49% 47% 51% 38% 48% 46% Increase the number of police officers 42% 54% 70% 56% 59% 52% 56% 54% 53% 58% 55% Continue twice per week refuse pick-up 55% 60% 80% 67% 63% 74% 67% 69% 62% 66% 66% Overall 26

149 Question 18b: Custom Question 2 (Percent "somewhat" or "strongly" support) The Village's property taxes have not increased since To what extent would you support or oppose a property tax increase to fund the following programs or initiatives? Age Gender Overall Female Male Overall Revitalize Downtown Skokie 62% 46% 46% 50% 51% 49% 50% Revitalize Dempster Street 45% 44% 45% 44% 46% 43% 45% Revitalize other shopping/commercial areas (East Oakton Street, Main Street, etc.) 33% 40% 42% 39% 42% 36% 39% Continue sidewalk snow plowing 67% 64% 79% 71% 73% 70% 71% Increase street resurfacing 53% 62% 73% 65% 64% 65% 64% Increase the number of property standards inspectors 41% 32% 52% 42% 47% 37% 42% "Green" or other environmentally friendly equipment and programs 51% 56% 59% 56% 56% 55% 56% Install additional traffic safety devices 30% 52% 54% 48% 53% 42% 48% Increase the number of police officers 41% 57% 66% 56% 60% 53% 56% Continue twice per week refuse pick-up 54% 60% 79% 67% 67% 67% 67% by National Research Center, Inc. 27

150 VILLAGE OF S KOKIE, IL 2012 DRAFT Report of Geographic Subgroup Comparisons 2955 Valmont Road, Suite North Capitol Street NE, Suite 500 Boulder, CO Washington, DC ICMA

151 Contents Survey Background... 1 About... 1 Understanding the Results... 2 Don t Know Responses... 2 Understanding the Tables... 2 Comparisons... 3 by National Research Center, Inc.

152 Survey Background A B O U T T H E N A T I O N A L C I T I Z E N S U R V E Y (The NCS ) is a collaborative effort between National Research Center, Inc. (NRC) and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). The survey and its administration are standardized to assure high quality survey methods and comparable results across jurisdictions. Participating households are selected at random and the household member who responds is selected without bias. Multiple mailings give each household more than one chance to participate with self-addressed and postage paid envelopes. Results are statistically weighted to reflect the proper demographic composition of the entire community. customized for this jurisdiction was developed in close cooperation with local jurisdiction staff. The Village of Skokie staff selected items from a menu of questions about services and community problems; they defined the jurisdiction boundaries NRC used for sampling; and they provided the appropriate letterhead and signatures for mailings. Village of Skokie staff also determined local interest in a variety of add-on options to The National Citizen Survey Basic Service. by National Research Center, Inc. 1

153 Understanding the Results DON T K N O W R E S P O N S E S On many of the questions in the survey respondents may answer don t know. The proportion of respondents giving this reply is shown in the full set of responses included in Appendix A. However, these responses have been removed from the analyses presented in the body of the report. In other words, the tables and graphs display the responses from respondents who had an opinion about a specific item. U N D E R S T A N D I N G T H E T A B L E S In this report, comparisons between geographic subgroups are shown. For most of the questions, we have shown only one number for each question. We have summarized responses to show only the proportion of respondents giving a certain answer; for example, the percent of respondents who rated the quality of life as excellent or good, or the percent of respondents who felt the rate of growth was about right. ANOVA and chi-square tests of significance were applied to these comparisons of survey questions by geographic subgroups. A p-value of 0.05 or less indicates that there is less than a 5% probability that differences observed between subgroups are due to chance; or in other words, a greater than 95% probability that the differences observed are real. Where differences were statistically significant, they are marked in grey. The 95 percent confidence level for this survey is generally no greater than plus or minus five percentage points around any given percent reported for the entire sample (352 completed surveys). For each Zip Code (60076, or 60203), the margin of error rises to approximately + or - 16% since sample sizes were approximately 156 for 60076, 158 for and 38 for by National Research Center, Inc. 2

154 Comparisons Cells shaded grey indicate statistically significant differences between subgroups. Question 1: Quality of Life (Percent "excellent" or "good") Zip Code Please rate each of the following aspects of quality of life in Skokie: Overall Skokie as a place to live 89% 86% 95% 88% Your neighborhood as a place to live 79% 73% 96% 78% Skokie as a place to raise children 84% 79% 94% 83% Skokie as a place to work 72% 72% 86% 73% Skokie as a place to retire 66% 61% 89% 65% The overall quality of life in Skokie 82% 76% 95% 81% by National Research Center, Inc. Question 2: Community Characteristics (Percent "excellent" or "good") Zip Code Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Skokie as a whole: Overall Sense of community 73% 66% 84% 71% Openness and acceptance of the community toward people of diverse backgrounds 81% 79% 92% 81% Overall appearance of Skokie 80% 70% 96% 77% Cleanliness of Skokie 88% 74% 92% 82% Overall quality of new development in Skokie 77% 60% 87% 70% Variety of housing options 75% 68% 84% 72% Overall quality of business and service establishments in Skokie 75% 70% 87% 74% Shopping opportunities 88% 83% 96% 86% Opportunities to attend cultural activities 83% 73% 81% 78% Recreational opportunities 80% 78% 86% 80% Employment opportunities 44% 46% 55% 46% Educational opportunities 85% 91% 86% 88% Opportunities to participate in social events and activities 74% 74% 83% 75% Opportunities to volunteer 80% 71% 76% 76% Opportunities to participate in community matters 76% 64% 79% 71% Ease of car travel in Skokie 81% 84% 83% 82% 3

155 Question 2: Community Characteristics (Percent "excellent" or "good") Zip Code Please rate each of the following characteristics as they relate to Skokie as a whole: Overall Ease of bus travel in Skokie 70% 76% 72% 73% Ease of rail or subway travel in Skokie 80% 87% 82% 83% Ease of bicycle travel in Skokie 66% 60% 58% 62% Ease of walking in Skokie 79% 72% 79% 76% Availability of paths and walking trails 64% 69% 86% 69% Traffic flow on major streets 63% 53% 71% 60% Amount of public parking 68% 61% 77% 65% Availability of affordable quality housing 60% 56% 71% 59% Availability of affordable quality child care 66% 59% 75% 64% Availability of affordable quality health care 75% 71% 89% 75% Availability of preventive health services 76% 67% 88% 73% Air quality 70% 70% 93% 71% Quality of overall natural environment in Skokie 75% 73% 86% 75% Overall image or reputation of Skokie 70% 69% 88% 71% by National Research Center, Inc. Question 3: Growth (Percent of respondents) Zip Code Please rate the speed of growth in the following categories in Skokie over the past 2 years: Overall Population growth too fast 26% 41% 7% 32% Retail growth too slow 45% 55% 35% 49% Jobs growth too slow 75% 72% 64% 72% 4

156 Question 4: Opportunities (Percent a "major" problem) Zip Code To what degree, if at all, are the following problems in Skokie: Overall Crime 20% 14% 4% 15% Drugs 20% 23% 6% 20% Too much growth 16% 14% 0% 14% Property taxes 47% 40% 22% 42% Traffic congestion 3% 8% 0% 5% Unsupervised youth 23% 29% 0% 24% Unmaintained properties (weeds, peeling paint, etc.) 9% 9% 0% 9% by National Research Center, Inc. Question 5: Community Safety (Percent "very" or "somewhat" safe) Zip Code Please rate how safe or unsafe you feel from the following in Skokie: Overall Violent crime (e.g., rape, assault, robbery) 67% 62% 78% 65% Property crimes (e.g., burglary, theft) 43% 51% 64% 49% Environmental hazards, including toxic waste 70% 76% 82% 74% Question 6: Personal Safety (Percent "very" or "somewhat" safe) Zip Code Please rate how safe or unsafe you feel: Overall In your neighborhood during the day 90% 83% 94% 87% In your neighborhood after dark 64% 62% 83% 65% In Skokie's downtown area during the day 90% 86% 95% 89% In Skokie's downtown area after dark 66% 64% 82% 66% 5

157 Questions 7 and 8: Crime Victimization and Reporting (Percent "yes") Zip Code Overall During the past 12 months, were you or anyone in your household the victim of any crime in Skokie? 20% 11% 24% 16% If yes, was this crime (these crimes) reported to the police? 59% 88% 85% 71% by National Research Center, Inc. Question 9: Resident Behaviors (Percent at least once in past 12 months) In the last 12 months, about how many times, if ever, have you or other household members participated in the following activities in Skokie? Zip Code Overall Used Skokie Public Library or its services 90% 90% 78% 89% Participated in a recreation program or activity 63% 54% 72% 60% Visited a neighborhood park or Village park 91% 85% 87% 88% Ridden a local bus within Skokie 33% 35% 34% 34% Attended a meeting of local elected officials or other local public meeting 19% 19% 18% 19% Watched a meeting of local elected officials or other Village-sponsored public meeting on cable television, the Internet or other media 23% 28% 28% 26% Read NewSkokie Newsletter 90% 96% 94% 93% Visited the Village of Skokie Web site (at 68% 72% 73% 70% Recycled used paper, cans or bottles from your home 93% 78% 97% 87% Volunteered your time to some group or activity in Skokie 24% 17% 37% 22% Listened to 1660 AM Skokie radio station 16% 14% 19% 15% Ridden a Senior Transportation for Area Residents (STAR) bus 4% 5% 4% 4% Ridden the Skokie Swift 56% 66% 37% 59% Attended a neighborhood block party 24% 12% 42% 20% Called or ed the Village for yard waste collection 52% 32% 62% 44% Dined or shopped in Downtown Skokie 83% 91% 85% 87% Visited the Skokie Farmers' Market 64% 63% 50% 63% 6

158 Question 10: Neighborliness (Percent at least several times a week) Zip Code Overall Visit with neighbors at least several times a week 45% 46% 69% 48% by National Research Center, Inc. Question 11: Service Quality (Percent "excellent" or "good") Zip Code Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Skokie: Overall Police services 86% 86% 91% 87% Fire services 94% 99% 100% 97% Ambulance or emergency medical services 93% 99% 97% 96% Crime prevention 69% 59% 88% 66% Fire prevention and education 87% 80% 89% 84% Traffic enforcement 80% 72% 91% 77% Street repair 53% 51% 83% 55% Street cleaning 80% 67% 97% 76% Street lighting 73% 59% 94% 68% Snow removal 68% 62% 92% 67% Sidewalk maintenance 66% 62% 90% 66% Bus or transit services 82% 81% 82% 82% Garbage collection 86% 89% 100% 89% Recycling 86% 83% 100% 86% Yard waste pick-up 75% 75% 83% 76% Storm drainage 53% 58% 79% 58% Drinking water 85% 75% 100% 82% Sewer services 70% 68% 88% 71% Electric utility service 84% 76% 97% 81% Village parks 89% 86% 100% 89% Land use, planning and zoning 71% 60% 95% 68% Code enforcement (weeds, abandoned buildings, etc.) 68% 47% 91% 61% Animal control 76% 70% 69% 73% 7

159 by National Research Center, Inc. Question 11: Service Quality (Percent "excellent" or "good") Zip Code Please rate the quality of each of the following services in Skokie: Overall Economic development 59% 56% 81% 60% Skokie Health Department services 83% 76% 98% 81% Services to seniors 83% 81% 87% 83% Services to youth 74% 71% 90% 74% Services to low-income people 72% 56% 85% 65% Services to families 71% 68% 97% 72% Cable television 69% 63% 67% 66% Emergency preparedness (services that prepare the community for natural disasters or other emergency situations) 75% 71% 70% 73% Administrative hearings (parking and code violations) 61% 70% 68% 66% Sidewalk snow plowing 60% 54% 68% 57% Alley maintenance 59% 45% 60% 52% Obtaining a building permit 66% 64% 68% 65% Public information AM Skokie radio station 82% 67% 72% 75% Public information - NewSkokie municipal newsletter 86% 82% 90% 85% Public information - municipal Web site 89% 77% 86% 83% Public information - Village of Skokie monthly newsletter 83% 80% 96% 83% Overall competence of Police Department employees 85% 78% 87% 82% Police officers' attitudes and behaviors toward citizens 79% 65% 86% 74% Fire prevention - code enforcement 85% 75% 91% 81% Fire prevention - public education 82% 71% 89% 78% Senior Transportation for Area Residents (STAR) bus service 70% 80% 100% 77% 8

160 Question 12: Government Services Overall (Percent "excellent" or "good") Zip Code Overall, how would you rate the quality of the services provided by each of the following? Overall The Village of Skokie 90% 83% 94% 87% The Federal Government 58% 51% 50% 54% The State Government 40% 43% 39% 41% Cook County Government 37% 45% 41% 41% Question 13: Contact with Village Employees (Percent "yes") Zip Code Overall Have you had any in-person, phone or contact with an employee of the Village of Skokie within the last 12 months (including police, receptionists, planners or any others)? 78% 66% 80% 73% by National Research Center, Inc. Question 14: Village Employees (Percent "excellent" or "good") Zip Code What was your impression of the employee(s) of the Village of Skokie in your most recent contact? Overall Knowledge 83% 80% 100% 84% Responsiveness 85% 81% 100% 85% Courtesy 76% 81% 96% 80% Overall impression 81% 80% 100% 82% Question 15: Government Performance (Percent "excellent" or "good") Zip Code Please rate the following categories of Skokie government performance: Overall The value of services for the taxes paid to Skokie 67% 58% 85% 65% The overall direction that Skokie is taking 67% 59% 91% 65% The job Skokie government does at welcoming citizen involvement 66% 60% 71% 64% 9

161 Question 16: Recommendation and Longevity (Percent "somewhat" or "very" likely) Zip Code Please indicate how likely or unlikely you are to do each of the following: Overall Recommend living in Skokie to someone who asks 85% 86% 100% 87% Remain in Skokie for the next five years 82% 75% 96% 80% Question 17: Impact of the Economy (Percent "somewhat" or "very" positive) Zip Code Overall What impact, if any, do you think the economy will have on your family income in the next 6 months? Do you think the impact will be: 19% 23% 35% 23% by National Research Center, Inc. Question 18a: Custom Question 2 (Percent "essential" or "very important") Zip Code Please rate how important, if at all, each of the following community issues or initiatives is for the Village of Skokie: Overall Increase vehicle sticker fee to hire more police officers 30% 24% 42% 29% Street resurfacing 62% 34% 60% 49% Redevelop Dempster Street 46% 33% 66% 42% Downtown Skokie redevelopment 53% 55% 56% 54% Construct new bike paths and bike lanes 45% 41% 44% 43% Elderly care services 69% 65% 67% 67% At-risk youth programs 70% 62% 61% 66% Implement licensing of landlords and multi-family buildings 55% 51% 47% 53% Increase code enforcement for property standards violations 57% 50% 60% 54% residents public safety and crime alerts 69% 58% 68% 64% Use of user fees and special taxes instead of property taxes 58% 38% 47% 48% 10

162 Question 18b: Custom Question 2 (Percent "somewhat" or "strongly" support) The Village's property taxes have not increased since To what extent would you support or oppose a property tax increase to fund the following programs or initiatives? Zip Code Overall Revitalize Downtown Skokie 39% 59% 60% 50% Revitalize Dempster Street 43% 42% 71% 45% Revitalize other shopping/commercial areas (East Oakton Street, Main Street, etc.) 35% 41% 49% 39% Continue sidewalk snow plowing 65% 77% 82% 72% Increase street resurfacing 68% 58% 78% 65% Increase the number of property standards inspectors 36% 46% 57% 42% "Green" or other environmentally friendly equipment and programs 51% 58% 66% 56% Install additional traffic safety devices 44% 49% 62% 48% Increase the number of police officers 56% 50% 88% 56% Continue twice per week refuse pick-up 60% 73% 78% 68% by National Research Center, Inc. 11

163 VILLAGE OF S KOKIE, IL 2012 DRAFT Report of Open-ended Question 2955 Valmont Road, Suite North Capitol Street NE, Suite 500 Boulder, CO Washington, DC ICMA