Exhibit 23.3
                                                                               



                        CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS



The Board of Directors
First Midwest Bancorp, Inc.



We consent to the incorporation by reference in the registration statement on
Form S-8 of First Midwest Bancorp, Inc. pertaining to the First Midwest Bancorp,
Inc. Non-Employee Directors' Stock Option Plan of our report dated January 19,
1996, relating to the consolidated statements of income, changes in
stockholders' equity and cash flows of First Midwest Bancorp, Inc. and
subsidiaries for the year ended December 31, 1995, which report appears in the
December 31, 1997 annual report on Form 10-K of First Midwest Bancorp, Inc.



KPMG PEAT MARWICK LLP



Chicago, Illinois
September 8, 1998