Lake County News
From Ann Maine
Lake County Board & Forest Preserve District 21
May 2010
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| A Note From Ann |
Dear Neighbors,
Both the County Board and the Forest Preserve had busy meetings in April. At the County Board directed the Zoning Board of Appeals to hold a public hearing on text changes related to solid waste. Waste to energy systems have not been included in the proposed plan. One outcome of our discussion was the formation of a task force to examine ways to increase recycling in Lake County. I've been appointed to that commission, so I'll keep you informed about the meetings. We do have a pilot program that utilizes organic waste.
Property tax bills were mailed this week, so you should have received yours. I've included a lot of information about your tax bills below.
County Board meetings are available on-line. If you are interested in a specific item, you can look at the agenda and click on it. In the next year Forest Preserve agendas will also be available on line.
As always, I welcome your comments on these or any other issues. Government works best when the citizens are heard, so I hope you'll continue to share your concerns.If you'd like me to come to your Homeowner's meeting or other group to address more issues in person, just contact me.
Sincerely,
Ann Maine
Lake County Board and Forest Preserve
District 21
amaine@lakecountyil.gov
847-374-9787 I encourage you to forward this update to others who may be interested in Lake County news. Persons who wish to automatically receive these free updates should send their email address information to: amaine@lakecountyil.gov or click "join our mailing" list above.
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Property Tax Bill Information
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time, several of you have written or phoned me asking about the county
board's role in the property tax bill. Since all of us should have received
our tax bills in the past few days, I thought I should send you a bit of information
on the County's role.
Did you know that the Lake County Board doesn't determine your tax bill?
The township assessor sets the value of your property and each
government body sets its own tax rate, approves its own budget and holds
annual budget hearings. Taxpayers have an opportunity to provide input
at these public hearings. While you write your property
tax payment to the Lake County Collector, Lake County government is
responsible for 7% of the tax bill. Property taxes make up only 29% of
the County's budget. Other revenue comes from sales and motor fuel
taxes, and fees for services.
So, for a house with a value of $250,000; $346 of the property tax bill
goes to county government. The rest is distributed to more than 200
other taxing districts with schools receiving the most. Each taxing
body is responsible for their portion of the tax
bill. Unless taxing bodies reduce spending levels, property tax bills
will not be lowered.
You can watch a brief budget video . This will explain further where your tax dollars go. Remember, your first installment is due June 3 and the second installment is due September 3. You can view and pay your bill on line. Whether you pay on-line or by mail, you may want to check the current payment status of your bill. The time for challenging your assessment has passed. You can review Understanding the Tax Cycle.
In response to the declining economy the County Board made reductions to
the 2010 budget of over $6,000,000 while maintaining a balanced budget
and AAA bond rating. We are in the top 38 counties in the country out of over 3000.
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Forest Preserve and Nature News
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The popular Mother's Day Plant Sale will be held again at Independence Grove May 8, 2010: 9am - 3pm 
May 9, 2010: 10am - 3pm
This is a great opportunity to purchase native flowers, grasses, shrubs and trees for your spring planting. You can view the entire list and photos.
We approved the contract for final engineering to remove the low head dam at Ryerson Conservation Area. Many of you may be familiar with this dam near the cabin. It's removal will improve the water quality, be safer for canoes, yet still allow the scenic view. You can also find out what programs The Friends of Ryerson Wood are sponsoring
If you are an educator or work with Scout groups, be sure to visit the Forest Preserve's web site on education.
 You can also take the kids or grandchildren and head to the Lake County Discovery Museum. You'll have a great time recollecting your favorite stories and the children will love the artwork from 60 years of Little Golden Books. For more information about the Golden legacy exhibit or to download discount admission coupons, call 847-968-3400 or visit online at: GoldenLegacy
The Forest Preserve calender has information on other
programs including photography,history and dinosaurs.
The Friends of the Chicago River are sponsoring the 18th Chicago River Day on May 8th. From 9 am to noon there are a number of activities and projects, many located here in Lake County.
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Environmental Issues
| Wind Power
On April 26 the Zoning Board of
Appeals held a public hearing regarding regulations for the
permitting of wind energy facilities. Issues that were (or will be) discussed include height restrictions,
setbacks, and operating conditions of wind energy facilities including
penalties and enforcement for violations of the proposed regulations.
This would only be for unincorporated land in Lake County.
The meeting was well attended and many issues were raised. The next two dates for the public hearing for the amendment have been
scheduled on Mondays May 17 and Monday 24 at 1:00, on the second floor of the Central
Permit Facility off Winchester Road in Libertyville.
Safe Disposal of Unused and Expired PharmaceuticalsConcern about pharmaceuticals in water has been in the news recently; flushing pills down the toilet is not a safe way to dispose of unused pharmaceuticals. When drugs
are flushed, the chemicals become integrated with the
water and most treatment plants are unable to remove such chemicals
from the water supply. Fish and wildlife in Lake Michigan are negatively affected by these
drugs, showing signs of neurological and physiological damage, according
to health officials. Unused portions of drugs in medicine cabinets also
pose a danger to children who may accidentally
ingest these drugs or to others who may use these drugs for
recreational purposes. Luckily, we have alternatives available to us! The Lake County Health Department's North Shore Health Center in
Highland Park is now a collection site where residents can dispose of
unused or expired prescription drugs in an environmentally safe way. The Health Center has joined P2D2, the Prescription Pill and Drug
Disposal Program of Highland Park, which is working to keep prescription
drugs out of the water supply and out of the hands of children. Drugs
disposed of at this site are collected by the
Highland Park Police and incinerated.
The public can
drop off prescription drugs in a mail box-shaped receptacle in the foyer
of the North Shore Health Center, 1840 Green Bay Road in Highland Park,
on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 8 a.m.
to 8 p.m. and Tuesday, Friday and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Drugs may also be disposed of at the Highland Park Police Department,
1677 Old Deerfield Road in Highland Park, 24 hours a day.
Pills are accepted in any packaging, including glass, plastic
containers, baggie or foil. A permanent marker can be used to mark out
personal information. Patrons may also remove labels prior to drop off.
Residential Household Chemical Waste CollectionNo Appointment Necessary The next Mobile
collections
will be: Saturday, May 15, 2010
Vernon Hills Metra Station
Route 45 and Ranney Road
8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.All HCW collection events,
sponsored by SWALCO, are for Illinois residents ONLY and are
FREE. You do not need to be a resident of the community where the
collection takes place in order to participate.
The following are
general lists of materials/items that are acceptable and not acceptable
at our household chemical waste collections. Materials ACCEPTED at HCW Collections:
Aerosol Products, Antifreeze,
Asbestos, Batteries: Rechargeable (NI-CAD), Lithium and Metal Hydride
Batteries (NO ALKALINE or LEAD-ACID), Drain Cleaners, Driveway Sealers,
Fertilizers, Herbicides,
Fluorescent Lights and CFL's (compact fluorescent bulbs), Fungicides,
Furniture Strippers and Varnishes , Garden and Lawn Chemicals, Gasoline,
Hobby Chemicals, Household Cleaners, Insecticides and Pesticides,
Mercury (including thermometers and thermostats),
Metal Polishes, Motor Oil, Oil-based Paints, Paint Removers, Pool
Chemicals, Prescription Drugs (for People and Pets), Over-the Counter
Medicines and Supplements (NO DEA CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES - see below)
Personal Care Products
(including cosmetics, skin-care products, shampoos, etc.)
Solvents. The following materials are NOT ACCEPTED at
HCW Collections: Agricultural Chemicals,
Alkaline Batteries, Business or Institutional Wastes,
DEA Controlled Substances, Explosives
and Ammunition, Fire Extinguishers, Fireworks, Household Electronics,
Latex Paint, Lead-acid Batteries, Propane Tanks, Medical Wastes,
Sharps/Needles, Smoke Detectors, Tires. County ProjectsOne appropriation last month was to install Uninterrupted Power Supply for upgrading 14 intersections with LED. This uses less energy. To learn more about what you can do, visit Lake County Go Green Team. Or you can watch our live video stream by clicking on the image below.  |
| Winchester House |
Many of you know of Winchester House as a nursing home. But it also has a rehabilitation department that provides
physical, occupational and speech therapy. Some services at Winchester
House include
Rehabilitation �
Long Term Care �
Memory Care �
Ancillary Care.
During the month of March, the Health and Community Services Committee heard a presentation on the possible design of a new Winchester House. This incorporated many of the ideas we saw at other nursing homes in Wisconsin, which use a resident centered approach.
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Prescription Drug Card
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County residents can take advantage of a prescription drug
discount card program. The
free card that is accepted at most pharmacies offers
average savings of
20 percent off the retail price of commonly prescribed
drugs. This is intended for people without prescription coverage or on
medicines not covered by your plan. The card may also be accepted to
fill prescriptions for pets. To receive a
card, click here.
I hear from
residents many times that they were able to save money on the monthly
prescriptions bills. Maybe you can too!
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| Transportation Update | The construction signs are sprouting along with the tulips. There are
literally a hundred road projects planned for the Lake and Cook County
area. This doesn't even include local road projects. The Lake County
Dept. of Transportation will try to include links to all projects in the
area, even if the department is not working on them. Here is an up-to-date map of construction projects.
We will be letting the contracts for a number of projects in the next 2 months. I'll let you know when to expect the start of construction.
Good news includes the completion of the Rt. 22 bridge over the tollway. All lanes are open (at least when I'm writing this) as is the pedestrian path along the south side of the road
With the price of gas going up again and summer construction season, you may want to check out Metra website. Remember, you can also take Metra to O'Hare airport from the Vernon Hills, Prairie View or Buffalo Grove train stations. It's easy and fast.
 You can also bike more! The County and the Forest Preserve are both working on additional bike lanes; some are off road tails, while county projects may also include bike lanes along the road or wider paved shoulders that make it more feasible for bikes. Construction will start soon on a separate bike/pedestrian bridge over the Des Plaines River along Deerfield Rd. This is a joint project between Lake County DOT and the Lake County Forest Preserve District. Other projects are in the Mundelein area connecting to the Prairie Crossing Metra station, as well as resurfacing parts of the Millenium Path and the Chain O'Lakes Path.
Drive less. Live more promotes alternative transportation in northern Illinois. They have information on bikes on public transportation, as well as ride sharing information, biking paths and more.
If you haven't used the Lake County Division of Transportation's PASSAGE program before. This summer is the time to start. Drivers can find real-time information, online or on the radio (1620 AM), about congestion, construction, accidents and detours on local roadways. You can also get traffic updates on your PDA. |
Community News
| Community Symposium on Drug & Alcohol Awareness on Tuesday May 11 at 7 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center at Stevenson High School. This event is sponsored by Stevenson, Vernon Hills, Buffalo Grove and Libertyville High Schools. You can register on-line.
The Brainerd Community Center is holding a Spring Fund Raiser on May 29.
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Lake County News Archive
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Click here to view past issues of Lake County News from Ann Maine.
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