In-person classes and activities were cancelled at Niles North on Feb. 14, due to a lack of safe water after a water main broke at roughly 5:15 a.m. at the intersection of East Prairie Road and Emerson Street. District 219 sent out an email to residents at 7:38 a.m. declaring Feb. 14 an e-learning day at all district schools, with the exception of BRIDGES Transition Center. In addition to the closure of two roads, due to flooding—McCormick Boulevard, between Dempster Street and Golf Road, and East Prairie Road, between Church Street and Golf Road—the break has resulted in a boil water order from the village of Skokie.
Residents are asked not to use tap water unless it is utterly necessary, with bottled water being a possible substitute. If tap water must be used—particularly for drinking, teeth-brushing, dish-washing, or the making of food or ice—it must first be boiled for five minutes and allowed to cool. Evanston Now reports that even filtered tap water should be boiled before usage, and that residents should take care not to swallow any water used to bathe. Though village leaders, in speaking with CBS news, said that the order had been issued “out of an overabundance of caution,” anyone who drank tap water before the order went out that is experiencing “gastrointestinal-type symptoms” should find medical attention.
Sophomore Ari Smith was attending jazz band class when a security guard came to the band room and instructed students to ask their parents to pick them up. The news came as a blow to Smith’s plans for Valentine’s Day.
“I was really disappointed when we had to go home after jazz band, because there was so much to look forward to today,” Smith said. “Like, I had the whole day planned out as to what was going to happen for [my partner] every period, and I was super disappointed that that wouldn’t be able to happen today, but since we paid for a majority of the things, I assume it’ll happen on Tuesday…I’m happy about that.”
Likewise, Smith was disappointed by the disruption to her after-school activities ]—theater rehearsal and a Thespian Board meeting. “It throws things out of whack a little bit, but for me personally, it all turned out fine because I get to spend the day with [my partner].”
In addition to District 219, District 69 (which encompasses portions of both Skokie and Morton Grove) has closed. The Hartstein campus of Oakton Community College has switched to e-learning. (Information on school closures is available from the Emergency Closing Center.) Per CBS, the Skokie Public Library and Westfield Old Orchard Mall have shut their doors as well, while Skokie Hospital says it is working to reschedule appointments.
In Evanston, the sixth and part of the seventh wards of the city are also under a Boil Water Order. Speaking to CBS News, Mike Charley, Skokie’s director of health and human services, said that the boil water order would likely be in place until the afternoon on Saturday, at the minimum, as the village obeys Illinois Department of Public Health regulations to ensure the quality of the water. Skokie leaders said that the village would share updates on the situation through the village website and the village’s profiles on X and Instagram, as well as through Smart911 updates.
A note to readers: this story has been updated to correct the phrasing used by Mike Charley in giving advice to those who drank tap water prior to the issuing boil water order. Mr. Charley said “gastrointestinal-type symptoms,” not “gastrointestinal symptoms.”
