Water main break floods roads in Skokie, prompts boil water order and e-learning​on February 15, 2025 at 9:56 am

SKOKIE, Ill. (WLS) — Our coverage of this story has moved here.

A large water main break flooded roads, prompted a boil order and caused schools to turn to e-learning in the north suburbs on Friday morning.

Skokie officials said crews responded to the water main break around 5:15 a.m. at East Prairie Road and Emerson Street. All 68,000 Skokie residents may feel the impact of the boil order.

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The village is working on making repairs to the water main break, but officials said they have not established a timeline for when it will be fixed.

Falling snow slowed the repair slog as bulldozers grinded away late into the night, burrowing into the pavement, and plowing out what was left of seeping water.

The public works director said they hoped for water pressure to be restored on Friday evening. Officials said water will need to be tested, which may take up to 48 hours, before the boil order is lifted.

Skokie police said East Prairie Road between Church Street and Golf Road remained closed Friday evening. Officers asked people to avoid the area.

Earlier in the day, McCormick Boulevard from Dempster Street to Golf Road and East Prairie Road from Church Street to Golf Road were closed to traffic, but have since reopened.

“An additional bottled water distribution event will take place on Saturday, February 15, 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., at Sketchbook Brewing, 4901 Main St., in Skokie,” a social media post from village officials announced.

It was a nightmare of a morning for people in northeast Skokie as the water main break flooded homes and vehicles across several blocks.

Chopper 7 was over the scene earlier Friday morning. Water could be seen spewing from the break site.

“I looked outside and saw the street, and my car in water,” said Debbie, who lives on Lyons Street.

An ABC Plumbing truck was seen stuck in the icy water as a water main break caused flooding in Skokie on Friday morning.

The boiler system in Skokie resident Martin Pelletier’s building ran out of water early Friday, leaving him, his sick wife and their infant in a top floor apartment with a rapidly dropping temperature.

“It does not look like it’s on, does not feel warm. I have not heard it go on,” Pelletier said. “If the water and everything came back on right now, we would be fine. The trouble is it’s going to get colder, it’s going to keep going on. The next few hours.”

Rising water meant a Friday full of plans down the drain for a lot of people in Skokie.

“My wife’s appointment at the hospital was canceled because hospital workers don’t have water, don’t have bathrooms,” resident Mitch Jacoby said. “I went out and shoveled snow and put it in various bins, brought it into the house and let it melt just to be able to flush toilets.”

Larsa’s Mediterranean Grill was one of the few Skokie restaurants powering through, with a few adjustments to the Valentine’s Day menu.

“Bathrooms aren’t usable, dishwasher is not usable. Can’t use any plates so substituted using plastic forks and knives so we don’t have leftover stuff to clean,” said Marvin Taliya with Larsa’s Mediterranean Grill. “[But] we are open… Salads are already pre-washed. So salad is okay until we run out of it. Right now, all salads are good.”

With the power of a hastily-organized bottled water drive by a few village synagogues, Shabbat dinner will be able to go on as planned

“Just making sure everyone has enough water to take care of themselves from a cleansing perspective to get ready for Shabbat and also to prepare all the food they need,” said Daniel Rosenthal with Congregation Or Torah Synagogue.

Seeping water began to re-freeze on Skokie streets after sunset Friday.

“We weren’t expecting to get lake front property for Valentine’s Day,” resident Natalie Gillespie said. “Feels like we’re in Venice.”

The water flooded Gillespie’s garage Friday morning, potentially damaging her electric vehicle inside. That’s the story for many of the homeowners, as another woman just down the block on Lyons Street said all three of her vehicles won’t start.

“Our cars are all up to the undercarriage so none of them work,” resident Kathleen Schmidt said. “We had to make insurance claims… I had to call into work. I told my principal my boat won’t make it there.”

Schmidt had her hands full with her 8-year-old triplets, and there was no water pressure in the home and no way to get anywhere if they need something. But that’s where neighbors have rushed in to help.

“We have a great community here everyone is checking on everyone else,” Schmidt said.

The village is still trying to get a handle on the water main break and figure out the cause, but said crews were out Thursday trying to fix a minor issue with the main transmission line.

They temporarily sealed it and had hoped to return this morning to continue repairs in daylight, but that’s when the village says the problem got worse.

“We’ve made significant progress within the last few hours,” Skokie Director of Public Works Max Slankard said. “I want to acknowledge our crews are dealing with frozen ground and very cold water.”

Officials said water will need to be tested, which may take several hours, before the boil order is lifted.

The water was several feet deep in some areas, but had gone down since the early morning hours.

Several cars and even an ABC Plumbing truck could be seen partially submerged in the floodwaters. Some residents told ABC7 they are stuck in their homes.

One homeowner, who says she is stuck in her Skokie home amid a large water main break in the area, spoke with ABC7 on Friday morning.

One neighbor, Jason, told ABC7 he thought something was wrong since Thursday night, and noticed his water pressure was low.

“I noticed there was water coming out of the sewer. I did not think much of it, but later on, I saw blockades and stuff out there. We got a knock on the door last night that we were going to be out of water,” Jason said.

A boil water order is in effect for Skokie residents and people living in parts of Evanston.

The boil water order impacts Evanston areas bordered by Glenview Road and Isabella Street to Green Bay Road, from Green Bay Road to McCormick Boulevard, from McCormick Boulevard to Elgin Road and Simpson Street, from Simpson Street to Crawford Avenue, from Crawford Avenue to Harrison Street and from Harrison Street to Princeton Avenue and Glenview Road.

Village officials asked residents to avoid non-essential tap water use.

A water main break is causing Skokie flooding on Friday morning. A boil order and street closures are in effect.

Niles Township District 219 sent a letter to families, saying all D219 schools except Bridges Transition Center will be closed and will have an e-learning day on Friday.

Westfield Old Orchard is closed on Friday, the shopping mall’s website says.

NorthShore said all appointments on Friday at the Skokie Hospital campus and two Evanston locations, 1000 Central Street and the COS Building at 2500 Ridge Avenue, are canceled and will be rescheduled.

With frigid temperatures expected to continue, neighbors are worried it will turn into an icy mess.

“I’ve never seen anything of this magnitude, especially this time of the season. It is bad for surrounding houses, because as a result of all this, pipes bust, you’re going to have a problem on your hand,” Jason said.