Lake County News
From Ann Maine
Lake County Board & Forest Preserve District 21
June 2010
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| A Note From Ann |
Dear Neighbors,
Remember--Tax bills are due June
3. I've included information on different payment options below.
Congratulations to a District 21 community, Bannockburn, on their Stormwater Management Award for their rain garden program.
An unfortunate development has been increased elder abuse. The Lake County State's Attorney is offering a program on the topic. I've included more information below.
In May, the Forest Preserve purchased over 900 acres, of which 700 form a new preserve, Dutch Gap. We used the bond monies approved by over 66% of the residents in the November 2008 referendum. We promised we would do this without raising your tax rate, and we have not. By law, we must use 85% of the monies bonded within 3 years and all of the money within 5 years.
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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Memorial Day Ceremonies
| Many communities sponsor Memorial Day Ceremonies. I hope you will be able to attend one.
Libertyville: Monday May 31
Activities recognizing those in the military service
will begin with a parade departing from the train station at 9:30 a.m.
to Cook Park for a Memorial Day Ceremony at 9:45 a.m. and then
proceeding to the Veterans' Memorial in Lakeside Cemetery.
Lincolnshire: Monday May 31
Meet at Spring Lake Park at 10 am. There will be a special service to honor Pfc. William Gregory Landon who was killed in battle in Viet Nam.
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1st Installment of Property Taxes Due June 3
| The first installment of
Lake County property taxes are due on Thursday, June 3.
Payment
Options:
U.S. Mail (18 N. County Street, #102, Waukegan, IL 60085) To
avoid late penalties, payments must be received or postmarked by June 3,
2010. By Illinois State Statute, any payment received after the due
date must include a 1.5% penalty per month.
Office
hours are Monday - Friday 8:30 am to 5 pm, and from 8:30 am to 7 pm on
June 3. For more information contact the
Lake County Treasurer's Office.
While Lake County collects the taxes, the amount each taxing body colelcts is determined by them. On average 7 cents of every dollar collected goes to Lake County, while 3 cents go to the Forest Preserve District. You can watch a brief budget video . This will explain further where your Lake County tax dollars go. Your 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
| Purchase of New Preserve in northern Lake County
May 11 was a historic day at the Forest Preserve as we purchased over 900 acres, including 748 acres to form a new preserve, Dutch Gap.  It contains a beautiful example of oak savanna. In addition, it provides connections to the Pine Dunes Preserve along Hunt Club Road and to the Prairie Stream Preserve, as well as the state owned Red Wing Slough. Ethel's Woods and Raven Glen are also in the area, creating over 3000 acres of preserved land. Long term planning could include at least 20 miles of looped trails. To get a better sense of the area, you can look at a map.
June Calender of Events in the Forest Preserves
Kids Funfest
� Sunday, June 6, from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Greenbelt Cultural Center.
Kids Day at the Lake County Discovery Museum
� Monday, May 31, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
� Free museum admission for all kids 17 and under.
� A variety of crafts and activities will be offered
throughout the day.
� Sponsored by the Friends of the Lake County Discovery
Museum.
Adlai E. Stevenson Historic Home Public
Tours
� Located on St. Mary's Road just north of Everett Road,  this home was built in 1938 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The grounds are open. Guided will be offered on June
13, July 18, August 1 and 21 this summer. The cost is $3 for Lake County residents and registration is required. Come learn about the history in your community!
Leith Sharp is giving a lecture on The Greening of American Education on June 16 at 7:30-9p.m. Get more information on this and other programs sponsored by Friends of Ryerson Woods.
 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
See the Forest Preserve calender for information on the many other programs offered, including Wildflower walk, and a Moonlit walk.
There are some limited camp openings remaining.
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Environmental Issues
| Recycle Flower Pots
Attention Gardeners!! On June 5, the Chicago Botanic Garden is celebrating World Environment Day. They have a number of activities planned, including recycling of flower pots.
9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Parking Lot 4
#2, #4, #5, and #6 garden pots, containers, polystyrene cellpacks
and trays
Please knock out all dirt and debris from materials before
bringing them to the Garden. If possible, please sort and stack by pot
size and number.
Congratulations to Bannockburn
Lake County Stormwater Community of the Year!
The award is part of SMC's 4th Annual
Stormwater Awards Program recognizing outstanding efforts for their proactive actions and
innovative projects to improve water quality, reduce flooding,
and help restore the natural drainage system.
Bannockburn is commended for its implementation of a
community-wide rain garden program. The program actively involves
property owners and incorporates an on-going educational
component for school children. While accomplishing stormwater
management, the program also encourages groundwater recharging and
provides an aesthetically pleasing stormwater management practice for
the community. The Village was also successful in its recent
request to the Illinois Department of Transportation to include rain
gardens and bioswales in the roadway design for Route 22 through
Bannockburn.
Village of Lincolnshire Woodland Rehab Day
June 19th from 9:00 am until noon, at Riverside Park, 45 Londonderry Lane. Bring work gloves and wear long pants and sleeves. Water and refreshments provided.
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Information for Seniors and Their Families
| Wednesday June 9 from 9 am to 12 pm is the 38th Annual Seniors Day at Independence Grove. Hosted by the Forest Preserve District, it's a great day of food, fun and music--all free. Enjoy a boat ride, some ice cream or just sit in the shade and listen to music.
Lake
County Response to Elder Abuse Program on Friday June 25 from 8:00 am
to 3:30 pm. at the College of Lake County. The program will feature a
variety of speakers and its multidisciplinary training is intended for
township officials, bank and financial officers, EMTs, first responders,
faith community, social workers, attorneys and others. The cost is
$10, for more information and registration visit elder abuse.
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| Transportation Update | Lake County has been working steadily on improving transportation--and we don't just mean roads. Watch our program on Transportation Progress Report to learn more about the different programs we've been working on for mass transit and bike ways.
Update on Rt 22
Illinois DOT expects to have the intersection of Rt. 22 and Milwaukee finished by the middle of September. Look on the south side of the road and you'll see that the bike path is being extended. It will eventually run from Trinity College on the east all the way to Buffalo Grove Road on the west. Stops include the Vernon Area Library and Stevenson High School. We'll have a month of no construction --when the eastern part in Bannockburn will be started! You can get updates on IDOT construction.
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, including the Everett Road and Riverwoods Rd. roundabout. Because of the location, traffic will be able to continue to use the intersection.
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.
At our May 11 County Board meeting we approved funds for the construction of a bike path along Park Avenue West from the Highland Park Country Club to east of Rt. 41. On the same day, the Forest Preserve District approved agreements with ComEd for easements so we can continue the Millenium Trail bike path.
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
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Vernon Township is sponsoring the 2nd Annual Community Garage Sale. Saturday June 5 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. For more information, or to reserve a space for $25, call 847-634-4600.
 Lincolnshire Art Festival on June 12 and June 13 from 10 am to 5 pm at the Lincolnshire Village Green.
Libertyville Days Festival from June 17 through June 20. Enjoy the annual event with a carnival, music, food and crafts.
The Libertyville Village Band will present a series of free concerts.
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| Job and Business Information | On June 3 Lake County Partners present
Small Business Success: Thriving in Today's Environment
You can learn more or register.
Lake County Workforce Development's new web site has a variety of information to serve businesses, adult jobseekers and youth with a variety of career
and training opportunities. Another source of job information, including job sessions, is at the Job Center of Lake County.
Lake County job postings are now on-line.
Available jobs at the Forest Preserve.
The Forest Preserve is now placing bids and requests for proposals on-line.
The Lake County Workforce Investment Board has useful information for businesses.
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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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