Reviews of Illinois Eye Center (Ophthalmologist)

EMARS77 .

Fantastic experience start to finish. Excellent care, very professional, and very thorough. Highly recommended. Dr. Kolettis is the best.

Scott Smith

In 2016 my 5 year old boy was let go from this facility due to 3 missed appointments. At the time I was a single dad who had custody wile working full time his mom failed to take him all 3 times with out me knowing. Its Apr 2019 and tried to get him seen for the quality of work the drs do and was told he can not return until he is above age. This is complete nonsense and their politics should be reevaluated!.

Emily Ferrell

I wear soft contacts and have really dry eyes. By 3p I'm wanting to wear my glasses instead. Dr Crow suggested a new thicker eye drop that was worked wonders! Thank you, Dr Crow!!

Sara Ridley

This place is the biggest joke ever. 1st time took my Granny in for an eye exam. Just an eye exam. Over 15 people in the waiting room for her Dr. who she had a 330 appt for. We were not done until 530. Ridiculous. Greedy and overbooked. Now we are here getting her lenses cut for 1pm. It is now 145. They just inform me it takes an hour to do this. There are alot of elderly clients here and there is no consideration for them and how much time they have to spend there. Never waste your precious time or money here. And they are super overpriced for services and frames and lenses.

Logan Gregg

Everyone is very respectful and patient! I was in and out in minutes!

Denny Schuler

Dr Pike was a pleasure to work with.... an excellent Dr.

Allison Russell

The doctors and staff at the Illinois Eye Center are fantastic. You can tell everyone within this practice truly cares about the well-being of the patients.

Kieth Wagner

Was extremely disappointed in the clear violation of HEPA laws with people receiving eye exams in waiting room area.

Robert Hillier

My friend had cataract surgery which went well. But they have screwed up her prescription three times. Going back again tommorrow. Eye exams done by optical techs, not a professional. Reporting them to the department of Professional Registration.

Y. Rupp

Place is a rip-off. One routine eye exam is $300 out of pocket and we can find eye exams in town for as little as $30 but most will be around $60. So, do the math. Also at the optical shop, you can expect to be there forever, very slow service and a few impatient clerks.

Dodge Henry

My daughter is a patient of Dr. Lichtenstein. He performed a cataract surgery on her when she was 5 and she is 9 now. He did an amazing job. He is the kindest doctor and his staff is so patient and kind to us. Couldn't ask for a better practice!!

Michael Endris

Exam was fine, their billing staff is terrible. They made a mistake in billing and refused to correct it, and were quite unhelpful when I called.

Aprilseahorse

Go there 20 minutes early and still sat over 1 hour and 45 minutes after schedule appointment before name was called. Just over 2 hours just to get eyes dilated and examined. No other eye tests. To top it off, political comments made by receptionist to me was way out of line. I did not reply to them, but should have. I chose to go elsewhere for the rest of my exam.

Justin Erixon

The waits are usually pretty long as others have stated in their reviews. The staff however are all professional and nice.

Brittany Spinks

My sister went in and everyone was so nice and helpful!! Totally recommended this place!!

EMARS77

Fantastic experience start to finish. Excellent care, very professional, and very thorough. Highly recommended. Dr. Kolettis is the best.

Kristen Klysner

Most of the staff was great. However, I overheard the doctor speaking negatively about me personally to one of the assistants. He was right outside my door! Nothing is wrong with my hearing! It was completely unprofessional. I thought I would be treated with some respect, not to be disrespected when he thought I wasn't paying attention. Shame on you.

Chen Sun

The eye exam here requires eye dilation. Be prepare for it.

Mike Jones

I can see thank you Jesus. Doctors are badass!

Scott Smith

In 2016 my 5 year old boy was let go from this facility due to 3 missed appointments. At the time I was a single dad who had custody wile working full time his mom failed to take him all 3 times with out me knowing. Its Apr 2019 and tried to get him seen for the quality of work the drs do and was told he can not return until he is above age. This is complete nonsense and their politics should be reevaluated!.

C M

Excellent staff very friendly and professional. They don’t try sell you what you don’t need. My family been coming here for 20+ years. We get eye exams , contact lenses and glasses. Never had a bad experience

lun r

The Illinois Eye Center claims to be on par with Iowa and others and for the most part I'd agree. For a certain range of needs. The main problem is that its run like a factory but it seems to have always been run that way. The new building is setup really well. It's just that the waiting rooms feel so squished. I try to avoid them for prescription updates. But as far as testing my blindspot and eye structure, they are well equipped. I've heard good things about their glaucoma doctor and he seemed sharp. As far as the initial diagnosis I felt compelled to visit Iowa but am satisfied with their ability to assess my progress.

C M

Excellent staff very friendly and professional. They don’t try sell you what you don’t need. My family been coming here for 20+ years. We get eye exams , contact lenses and glasses. Never had a bad experience

Jeanne Wallace

Was so disappointed that Dr Sicher retired just as I was ready for cataract surgery. Not to fear I was referred to Dr. Pike who did the surgery and I couldn't be more happy with him and the entire staff.

Mike Gray

I was having some eye problems so my eye doctor sent me here for help. The staff is very friendly and professional. Dr. Rhode was excellent to deal with. He explained to my wife and I what my problems were and a plan to correct them. Can't say enough about how great my experiences here have been.

Margie Delap

I have been here many times over the last 3-4 months to bring my 74 yr. old mother in for retinal artery occlusion & for cataract surgery in both eyes. Every exam/appt.was ridiculous! You sit forever waiting (at the least, an hour) then you are moved between 3 different rooms & 3 different waiting areas before even seeing the doctor! Each area was always full of others also waiting. Trying to move my mother from her wheelchair to the exam chairs 3-4 different times is very frustrating for us both! Both of her surgeries were scheduled for arrival at 6:00 am, but you get there at 6:00 & wait 30-45 min. before you can even register & then to a waiting room to wait with 20 other patients 1-2 hours before being taken back for pre-op... Every time we have been here has been a very long & frustrating wait. For my mother, who does not feel well most times, the waiting & bouncing from room to room just makes everything worse! If you have nothing better to do & have a lot of patience & time then this is ok for you, but our family will find another place from now on.

Gary Shaine

I've been here multiple times this past 6 months. Each time, the wait has been pretty reasonable. The staff has been pretty friendly & Dr. Cuite has been great. She seems to be in high demand there, so she can be in & out fairly quick. But, always in a good mood & makes sure any questions are answered before leaving. I would definitely suggest if you have questions, have them ready!

Lilian Akumu

So slow, moving from waiting room to waiting room. 3 hours!!! Pack a lunch!

Sarah Sutter

My daughter has strabismus and we've been going to Illinois eye every three months since October 2015. My daughter was 20 months old when she started seeing Dr. Vahey. All of the nurses we have worked with have been terrific! The wait in the morning is usually shorter than later in the day. They have a great children's waiting room with a television with movies playing and other things for the kids to do. Dr. Vahey tried a few different things before suggesting surgery. The day she would have suggested setting up a surgery date my daughter had fallen off a chair and hit her head at lunch. Dr. Vahey wanted to make sure the numbers she was getting that day weren't skewed by the fall so we came back 3 months later and set up surgery. She showed that she is thorough and I was thankful for her cautiousness. The last visit we had we set up surgery and Dr. Vahey took her time before leaving the room so that I could process everything and actually ask a few more questions. I really haven't had any problems with any of the staff and highly recommend Illinois Eye's pediatric unit to others! *Update: we had surgery in January 2017 at proctor. It went well and the staff were very attentive and helpful. We were given a Linus project Blanket that helped soothe my daughter as she was having trouble coping with everything going on that day. Dr. Vahey came and updated us after surgery. All went as planned. I am updating in March of 2018 and thankfully our daughter is doing very well. The strabismus is not completely gone but is much closer to the normal range and is not noticable. I do want to say that we had been told by Dr. Vahey that the surgery could be done the exact same way for 100 different people and come out many different ways. It's not a fool proof surgery but we came out on the positive end. *

Fanny Springer

Warning, watch for charges that should not be processed the way they do. They gouge patients. Wish I would have seen the other patient review before going in for a routine eye exam. My routine eye exam should of been covered, but Dr. Pike chose to charge me medically for a question I asked, but he never helped me with it. Then he told me to get some blood work done, for a condition I "might" have. I only saw him for a few short minutes. The routine eye exam is no longer done by the ophthalmologists at this practice. They have an assistant. I went there, and thought I would pay for the ophthalmologist to do the vision check, so not only did he not do the exam, but charges me medically for not helping. My bill that day should have been $20 for a routine visit, but now being charged almost $200.

lun r

The Illinois Eye Center claims to be on par with Iowa and others and for the most part I'd agree. For a certain range of needs. The main problem is that its run like a factory but it seems to have always been run that way. The new building is setup really well. It's just that the waiting rooms feel so squished. I try to avoid them for prescription updates. But as far as testing my blindspot and eye structure, they are well equipped. I've heard good things about their glaucoma doctor and he seemed sharp. As far as the initial diagnosis I felt compelled to visit Iowa but am satisfied with their ability to assess my progress.

Becky Johnson

Great experience with Lasik. Surgical coordinator, mary, was so helpful and Dr. Kolettis was so calm and amazing during the procedure. Very minimal discomfort and great outcomes following their advice.

Rachel Mckeehan

Efficient welcome staff when you enter the building.There is an entertainment area for kids which was a nice surprise. And the optic center has a nice selection! My doctor is very thorough, knowledgeable and eager to answer any questions I have.

Christy McClure

IEC IS AMAZING. I’ve never felt so taken care of by EVERYONE in one office before. They ALL were so good to me prior and during my lasik surgery. I was very nervous last minute to starting treatment and EVERYONE made me feel comfortable. Mary has been so amazing throughout the process. The two ladies that prep’d me in the little spa room before lasik were great, I asked a question they didn’t have an answer to but ACTUALLY went and found the answer from the Dr. and came back right away to let me know. Dr. Pike did my lasik and I met and talked with Dr. Kolettis, both are amazing and I would recommend either to my friends who are looking into lasik. Dr. Pike spoke to me thru the whole lasik which made me feel very relaxed. Dr. Kolettis took the time out of his schedule to meet with me and answer questions I had which really meant a lot. I’ve been excited to leave this review, it’s even making me a little emotional! I am so very happy and pleased I came to IEC❤️

Thuong Le

I had previously had my LASIK done at Illinois Eye Center 8 years ago. I was relatively happy with the results, I have glare/halo driving at night, but I was informed that it can be a potential be a side affect. I accepted that. Since then I had went back for routine eye check-ups. Then back in 2015 or so during one of my routine, I received a bill for around $200. I didn't really question it much, and just pay the bill because I trusted the practice. This year, before scheduling the appointment, I called the practice. I checked to make sure that they are part of United Healthcare VSP plan. This meant that I would only be paying $20 copay. I even mentioned and asked them to look at my previous billing before scheduling the appointment. As I didn't want to be bill around $200 again, else I would rather wait til the following year. The receptionist looked at my record, and said I should be covered under VSP plan and I should only be pay $20 out of pocket. She mentioned the doctors and insurance had worked out some deal. So assuming that was the case, I went for my appointment. Throughout the appointment, I asked if the appointment would be covered under my VSP plan. They continued to dilate my eyes. The doctor then came in for a few minutes to look at my eyes, and noticed some issue with my retina. He admitted himself that he wasn't a specialist and needed to refer me to specialist at the same facility. He then proceeded to tell the scribe to change the billing code, and tell the scribe to get me to sign a form. The form had in big bold letters saying Vision Benefit (which I assumed that was what it is the VSP plan), but because my eyes were dilated and not working properly, I didn't read the entire form. The form was very misleading, in the very last sentence, in smaller print, it said I had waived my VSP plan, and is now being billed under my medical plan. In hindsight, I remembered the doctor mentioning they would only get pay a little bit for VSP. I think that's why they opted to scam the patients by changing the billing code to medical instead of routine eye exam. The should have been upfront and forthright when I asked them during the appointment. Just an analogy, if I went to my dentist for a routine exam, and he noticed an issue and needed to refer me to a specialist. He still charged me the fee for the routine exam, and not change the billing code mid way. I would then pay extra to see the specialist. I don't mind paying what's right! But I wished the practice would have been upfront and honest, and not wait til my eyes were dilated to ask me to sign the form, especially since the whole time I asked if this would be covered under my VSP plan, and even called ahead and asked them to look at my previous billing. So instead of the $20 out of pocket co-pay. I am now stuck with $200 bill. So just beware, this office seems to be more about scamming money from you instead of caring for patient. Now I'm not even sure if I do have a retina issue like he mentioned, or he's just trying to make more money. I'm doubting their integrity now. I've attached the form below for everyone to be aware. It is very unethical how they've communicated the expenses/claims. They should have asked the patient to sign this form before their eyes were dilated and can read properly. Then in this way, they won't be misinterpreted as being unethical. P.S. I posted this on my Facebook page, and found out that they've done this to quite a few others. So just be aware. Overall, I'm disappointed, and had trusted place, and their ethics had went down hill.

Carol Rutherford

Absolutely wonderful.

Tina Claahsen

Very pleasant. Runs like a well oiled machine. Everyone knows what they are doing. If not for Dr. Labour is and his knowledge I would be blind.

Elizabeth Guth

I have been going to Illinois Eye Center for years now. I am even taking my son because of his lazy eye problems. I can honestly say Dr. Lichtenstein is absolutely amazing with him. But past that the office is horrible. I have had to wait with my son multiple times up to 3 to 4 hours to be seen. Just recently I had an eye problem and went here for a follow up. Nurses brought me into rooms on two separate occasions, after waiting a total of 2hours, I saw the Dr. from 4:57 to 4:58. And by the way that's $50, I am apparently in the wrong profession. No excuse for it, none at all. To make the day better, all the nurses were gathered outside my door making fun of certain patients and talking about stealing from places such as Wal-Mart and Target. I am in the medical field, and it is COMMON SENSE you do not talk about things of this nature anywhere within ear shot of patients. Completely unprofessional I will never come back and if anybody says they need an eye dr I will definitely tell them to stay far away from this office.

nancy j simmons

If you are looking for a great pediatric eye Dr Dr. Steve L is the one. Can't say enough about the man. I'm not only a patients mom but a nurse by profession, if everyone in medicine had his enthusiasm and bedside manor the medical field would really be awesome!

Charlotte Vancil

Very friendly doctors and employees. Doctors are kind and spend time with you during your visit, explaining everything clearly

Bradley Ricketts

Dr. Kolettis did my Lasik and I couldn't be more pleased with the results. Highly recommend Illinois Eye Center's Team for all your eye care needs.

Rachel Mckeehan

Efficient welcome staff when you enter the building.There is an entertainment area for kids which was a nice surprise. And the optic center has a nice selection! My doctor is very thorough, knowledgeable and eager to answer any questions I have.

Simeon Johnson

The staff at Illinois Eye center is absolutely amazing. The staff are all so friendly and helpful. They truly make your experience great.

Travis Kale

Typical eye exam experience, OK experience. What I didn't like... I went to get an updated eye glass prescription. To get glasses you need to know your pupillary distance (PD). The optometrist would not give me this number, she said the optical department could give me the PD measurement. The optical department wanted to charge $30.00 to measure PD! This withholding of the PD measurement is done to prevent you from getting reasonably priced glasses online. They want you to purchase from the optical department. A conflict of interest one might say. I think it's completely disgusting that I went there for an eye glass prescription but they withhold a critical piece of the prescription. Yes this is common practice, but we as consumers must stand up against this practice and let optometrists know this is not acceptable. Yes, you can get tools/smart phone apps to measure PD, but that's not the point, I went to a professional to get a professional prescription and they did not give me all pieces of the puzzle to get a pair of prescription glasses. Not professional in my book.

Corie Bartley

I had LASIK done and I love it! Dr. Pike is super easy to talk to and made me feel very comfortable. He is confident with his abilities and demonstrated them well. I highly recommend!

D C

Been IEC patient/customer for 25+ yrs. Nothing but best care & service. Some servers not chit chatty but all very professional, thorough, & accurate.

Ian Bruckner

Edit after reply: there's no need to discuss this. A reply that had meaning would be along the lines of "we'll look at how closely we schedule appointments and our staffing model... realizing some appointments go over and some under (we try to spend quality and efficient time with each patient)... but anything past ___ minutes does seem unreasonable. Sorry you've encountered that every time... and so too apparently have most reviewers so we realize it's not an aberration. We'll be working to fix that, and we'll also work on a way to let our patients know what they should expect so their day isn't wasted waiting in our waiting or patient rooms for staff to be ready. Overall, sorry. We're going to legitimately try to make a systemic change." Original: Never on time... Ever. By a long shot. Always without notice, explanation, or apology. However, they have great doctors and cadre of medical staff. Just stinks the administration side can't support them or the patient and family experience well enough.

Shandra Ghent

The wait here is ridiculous.. I have been in this waiting room for over an hour. Hey IL eye center, we have schedules too!

Steve Jones

Very frustrated, waiting over 1 hr for initial appointment for doctor to exam small wart on eyelid. Already in 2 exam rooms w/ different nurse taking different info. Poor procedures, inefficient. I'll try to avoid in future. Update. Returned for actual minor surgery. Arrgh. Waited 1.5 hrs! Procedure ultimately was only 20 min. Very frustrated w/ scheduling.

Rik Light

Whoa that i could give not zero stars. Worst experience ever. Went in for a consult abourlt electrolysis for eyelashes. Instead i got a full blown eye exam and eye dilation. No one actually examed my eyes after dilating. And the person i needed to talk to i did not have an appt with. She was not even in town. This place is a processing plant. They should just be up front and install the conveyor belts. Do not go here if you want to be treated like an individual, you are just an atm. To add to this the day after my appt, they called my to confirm some other persons appt. Neither the contact person nor the patient they named had my name and my name is on my voicemail. Ineptitude. A couple days later they called and left a message (for Me this time, nailed it! Congrats) about wanting to schedule something with the correct doctor. I never called back. Several days later i got a text saying i had an appt with said doctor which i never made. Out of courtesy i asked my wife to call and cancel. She called 3 times during the day and was put on hold 3 times for several minutes before hanging up. She then called on the day of the call, finally got through and the reception/admin asst or whoever handles scheduling was very rude that she would call the day of the appt. My wife explained that we never made the aforementioned appt but that did not stop the rudeness. Just a small light bulb here...don't make appts without a patient approving, dont be rude to my wife when we are being courtesy enough to cancel something that we did not schedule, oh and when you schedule someone for a consult maybe make sure you have them consulting the correct doctor. But thats just one man's opinion.

Julie Russell

Dr. Buehler is awesome! I had worn hard contacts for years, and just wore glasses now because I didn't like how the contacts felt. He suggested a special kind of soft lenses - and I love them! I can wear regular sunglasses again!!!! :0 ) yay!

Marie Lindahl

Love this office! All 4 of my girls and I have used Illinois Eye Center. Dr. Kirchkesner, Dr. Vahey, & Dr. Lichtenstein are all wonderful and the optical center is super helpful

Travis Kale

Typical eye exam experience, OK experience. What I didn't like... I went to get an updated eye glass prescription. To get glasses you need to know your pupillary distance (PD). The optometrist would not give me this number, she said the optical department could give me the PD measurement. The optical department wanted to charge $30.00 to measure PD! This withholding of the PD measurement is done to prevent you from getting reasonably priced glasses online. They want you to purchase from the optical department. A conflict of interest one might say. I think it's completely disgusting that I went there for an eye glass prescription but they withhold a critical piece of the prescription. Yes this is common practice, but we as consumers must stand up against this practice and let optometrists know this is not acceptable. Yes, you can get tools/smart phone apps to measure PD, but that's not the point, I went to a professional to get a professional prescription and they did not give me all pieces of the puzzle to get a pair of prescription glasses. Not professional in my book.

Corie Bartley

I had LASIK done and I love it! Dr. Pike is super easy to talk to and made me feel very comfortable. He is confident with his abilities and demonstrated them well. I highly recommend!

D C

Been IEC patient/customer for 25+ yrs. Nothing but best care & service. Some servers not chit chatty but all very professional, thorough, & accurate.

Kevin Herren

It's the best place to take your children all 4 of mine have went there.

Colin DeCair

Is it possible to give negative stars? My 9 month old son is required to be a patient here as there are no other options in our area that serve children his age. He is on an adult blood pressure medication to keep a hemangioma on his eye lid from permanently affecting his vision past the astigmatism it's already caused. The only problem, they refuse to process his prescription renewals without us removing 10 arms and 10 legs adding new hoops to jump through each and every time we need to refill. Go somewhere else if you are able. Bedside manner is great...actual care for their patients...doubtful.

Susan Murray

Awesome Dr. as well as all the help that works there!

Matthew Taylor

Elizabeth Lee is spot on. Oct 2013--1 out of 5 stars: I have now been there three times for my toddler son because of eye issues. Our doctor did not readily explain vision enhancement options or advice, and we have had zero improvement but plenty of wasted visits & even more confusion. Beyond the medical care itself, the experience is atrocious. We have now had to wait a minimum of an hour on each occasion just to be seen for no more than 5 minutes--with a decent bill waiting for us a week later. To make the experience worse, as a nurse was calling in another patient from the waiting room, she said "glad it's not the toddler who was crying." The toddler she was referring to was my son who had already been waiting for an hour over lunch time. Completely unprofessional, and I will never bring my family back to this office. Plan on at least one hour minimum for waiting room time, plus travel time to get to this terribly located clinic. Best, though, to just save your time & stress and find another eye care clinic. UPDATE 5 MONTHS LATER: The original pediatric eye doctor we had seen just didn't work out--she wanted to jump right into surgery & didn't give us favorable options. We decided to go with a 2nd opinion from Dr. Lichtenstein, and we were amazed by his care, concern, expertise & guidance. He has been incredibly helpful, and--for the first time--we have noticeable results with his recommendations. If you need pediatric eye care, don't waste your energy with anyone else--just go with Dr. Lichtenstein no matter how long you have to wait for the appointment.

Erika Sparks

I appreciate their expertise & friendly staff. Must take off half day of work to see them as wait time is 1.5 - 2 hours before seeing provider. Very frustrating .

Iva Punke

Dr Cutie was very friendly and helpful. She found an underlying condition and referred me to specialist Dr. Han. Personally shock. He is smart and I fell E did a good job for me but I felt insignificant and brushed off by his staff and especially by him. He and his staff seemed on edge and at odds. When I spend money for service I expect kindness.