Sikh Religious Society of Chicago, Palatineਸਿੱਖ ਰਿਲੀਜਸ ਸੋਸਾਇਟੀ, ਪੈਲਾਟਾਈਨ

The Sikh Religious Society of Chicago runs the gurdwara at Palatine, Illinois, the first gurdwara in the Greater Chicago area and the largest in Midwest America, on a campus of fourteen acres at 1280 Winnetka Street. The society was incorporated in 1972 and its temple opened in 1979, when Sikhs drove in from across the Midwest because there was no other gurdwara in the region. It is one of the entries in our guide to Gurdwaras in the USA.

What is the Sikh Religious Society of Chicago?

It is a not for profit Sikh religious organisation based in Palatine, a suburb north west of Chicago, and the congregation behind the Palatine gurdwara. The society's stated aims include spreading accurate information about Sikhism, holding discourses on Gurbani, Sikh history and culture, running religious education for the community, celebrating Sikh occasions and promoting interfaith work. Its gurdwara is open seven days a week for prayer, kirtan, the singing of hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib Ji, and discourses on spirituality.

History: from house gatherings to the opening of 1979

Sikhs have lived in the United States since the early 1900s, but Chicago's community only grew quickly after American immigration law changed in 1965, when professionals such as engineers and doctors began arriving from Punjab with their families. In the late 1960s and early 1970s the small community met in one another's homes, then rented space from the Lombard Park District for Sunday worship. In 1972 the families incorporated the Sikh Religious Society, pooled their own money, and gave personal guarantees to the bank so land could be bought in what was then unincorporated Cook County outside Palatine.

Ground was broken in the mid 1970s and, after about four years of building, the gurdwara opened in 1979. Community member Rajinder Singh Mago recalls that it was then the only gurdwara in the whole Midwest, and families drove a hundred miles or more on weekends to pray and hear kirtan. The site was later annexed into the Village of Palatine, and the campus has grown through several expansions as the congregation grew to several thousand families across Chicago's suburbs.

Architecture and the dome story

The main entry hall of the Palatine gurdwara is crowned by a large copper clad onion dome, the classic shape of Sikh religious architecture. That dome has its own history. In 2010 the society proposed a new dome about 40 feet high as part of an expansion, and some neighbours objected, saying it would not fit the neighbourhood. The Chicago Tribune reported the dispute in detail, and after feedback from residents the management scaled the plan down and lowered the dome's height. The episode became a local lesson in how a growing immigrant congregation and a settled suburb learn to live together, and the temple responded with more open houses and outreach.

Significance: the Midwest's first gurdwara

Palatine matters in American Sikh history because it anchored the faith in the Midwest a generation before most other cities in the region had a gurdwara of their own. For families in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and Iowa it was for years the one place for a wedding, a funeral, an akhand path or a child's first visit to a darbar sahib. In 2017 the society hosted the Mool Nanakshahi Calendar Implementation Conference, drawing speakers and hundreds of attendees from the United States, India, Australia and Canada, a sign of how far a congregation that began in living rooms had come.

Festivals, langar and community life

The weekly rhythm centres on Sunday diwans with kirtan and katha, and the big gurpurabs and Vaisakhi fill the campus, its three parking lots and the streets around it. A very large commercial kitchen serves langar, the free vegetarian meal open to everyone, which the society also takes outward: it has served the local community since 1992, work recognised in 2019 when the Salvation Army's Metropolitan Division gave it a Lifetime Achievement Award. A Gurmat school teaches children Sikh teachings, history, kirtan and Punjabi in weekly classes and summer camps, and the society takes part in food banks, interfaith events and Palatine's Independence Day parade, where its contingent has repeatedly been judged among the best.

How do you reach the Palatine gurdwara?

The gurdwara stands at 1280 Winnetka Street, Palatine, Illinois, in Chicago's north western suburbs, reached by road from the city and from O'Hare side suburbs; most visitors drive, and parking is on site. It is open seven days a week and everyone is welcome, Sikh or not. As at any gurdwara, cover your head, remove your shoes and wash your hands before entering the prayer hall, and join the langar afterwards if you wish.