Dear Neighbors, 

On Tuesday, the Lake County Board approved our annual budget that dedicates $437 million to fund core services by a vote of 14-7. I voted against the budget and the $3.3 million property tax levy increase, and in this email I will briefly explain why. 

In short, I believe the our efforts to focus on efficiency are producing results, and we are delivering. But this budget takes the approach that the County should raise the property tax levy now before the state legislature prohibits us from doing that next year.  The entire reason that the State legislature and the Governor talk about "freezing" property taxes is because property taxes continue to rise and many of us believe they are too high. So the County budget is a perfect example of a chicken vs. egg dilemma. The county's "conservative" approach to budgeting in some ways is pragmatic, but it also compounds the very problem that motivates legislative "tax freeze."  I believe that our budget should not contribute to our rising property taxes unless absolutely necessary. Just raising the tax levy to get ahead of the State doesn't meet that standard in my view. 

Our budget is only about 1/3 funded by property taxes. The County depends on state and federal funding for key services as well as sales taxes and user fees for specific services.  The County portion of the average Lake County property tax bill is only abut 7%. While small, I don't think it's insignificant. As I said, I don't believe this levy increase met the threshold of absolute need at this time. 

I don't take voting against this or any budget lightly. We provide many essential services.  In my first year on this board as your representative, I have seen that many of the county's departments are efficient and well run. The board discusses and debates policies in a collaborative manner. I joined other board members on tours of the county jail, the Sheriff's offices, bond courts, the County Coroner's office, the health department, the Clerk and the Clerk of the Court's offices. We have seen the inner workings of your county government, and I am always asking probing questions, trying to raise new ideas and look for efficient and new ways to achieve operational excellence.  Yet, I believe we can do more to make the county government more transparent.  

This was my first budget as your Board member, and I learned a lot about our budget process this year, including some things about the process that I think we can improve. The county's budget process provided for several weeks of discussion and Q&A opportunities.  I sit on two of the most important committees, Law & Judicial and Health and Community Services. Both committees held two budget meetings. However, at the end of the process I felt that the Board members are not provided enough information to truly determine what are the policy implications of each budget decision.  I look forward to taking what I have learned in this process and putting it to work for you in 2018.

Thanks as always for reading my newsletter and for your consideration of my views.

Lake County is committed to promoting a sustainable environment, and we have several initiatives and projects underway to make progress toward this strategic goal and core value. Recently, the Lake County Board approved a contract with a professional consulting firm that provides expertise in sustainability that will help advance specific tasks over the next year. They include: grant opportunities, energy audits for selected County facilities, a waste reduction program/food scrap collection (composting) pilot program at the Lake County Jail, and completion of a baseline carbon footprint for Lake County. Visit our Sustainable Lake County website to find out ways you can help promote sustainability!  

As the holidays approach, a great way to relax and unwind is to go to one of Lake County’s tree lightings and other special holiday events. Check out Visit Lake County’s listing of tree lightings and special holiday events to enjoy time with family and friends.

Join these community festivities:

• Celebrate the start of the holiday season at Port Clinton Square in downtown Highland Park from 3 to 5 p.m on Saturday, Nov. 18. Learn more
• Highwood will hold its Holiday Fest from 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18 in downtown Highwood.
• Deerfield's fourth annual holiday lighting ceremony will take place from 4 to 5 p.m. Nov. 22 at the Deerfield Village Centre Plaza. Learn more

Lake County Road Safety
Making sure that Lake County roads, bridges and bike paths are safe for the traveling public is the top priority of the Lake County Division of Transportation (LCDOT), local government agencies and police departments. Together, we have formed a multi-jurisdictional Safety Task Force to look for opportunities to enhance safety for Lake County residents. 

We can study the crash data and look for engineering improvements or enforcement strategies to make roads safer, but we need your help. As a road user, there are decisions you make and actions you take that have an impact on the safety of everyone around you. Many serious injury or fatal crashes are the result of driver behavior and can be prevented. Watch this video to learn how you can also help make our roads safer.

The Lake County Division of Transportation wants your input too! Take this survey to share your concerns about road safety. 

Lake County Update - Pace Bus Services
Improving transportation is a top strategic goal for the Lake County Board, which includes working with our transit partners like Pace suburban bus service to provide services that meet the needs of our residents and our workforce. In this edition of Lake County Update, Linda Soto, Lake County’s representative on the Pace Board of Directors, talks about the fixed Pace routes in Lake County, Paratransit, the Shuttle Bug program, and new programs being rolled out elsewhere in the region that may make their way to Lake County, including Park-n-Ride and new Flex Lanes where express buses can move onto the shoulder of the Tollway when traffic is congested. 

To better address veteran homelessness and veterans in need and in crisis, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office has partnered with the Veterans Assistance Commission and other county resources to ensure nobody is left behind.   

To address the challenge and ensure crisis services are available after hours, select Sheriff’s Office employees received training on issues of veteran homelessness and veterans “in crisis” as well as transport, shelter, and referral options for immediate assistance. Watch this video to learn more about the Veteran Ambassador Program.

In Lake County, we appreciate the dedication and commitment of the men and women who have served in the United States Military. To honor their service, we offer resources to help veterans and their families. To learn more, visit the Veterans Assistance Commission website, and sign up for their monthly newsletter.

Recorder of Deeds Office Offers Information to Our Veterans
The Lake County Recorder of Deeds Office offers various services to our veterans and their families. This includes being the official keeper of veteran’s military records, or DD214. The Recorder’s Office is happy to provide veterans a free copy of this form upon the completion of a request for discharge record.

To increase efficiency and make the Lake County Circuit Clerk’s Office more accessible to the public, the office will now accept payments online for certain criminal and traffic cases. Individuals who owe outstanding fines and court costs may pay online by visiting the Circuit Clerk’s website. The website offers instructions in over 50 languages, and the service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Learn more 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service will be sending out new Medicare cards to individuals with Medicare benefits beginning in April 2018 without Social Security numbers, all to prevent identity theft, fight fraud and keep taxpayer dollars safe. But scammers are taking advantage of this change, especially at the start of Medicare open enrollment.

In some calls, the caller requests to verify your personal information in order to receive a new card, and others claim you need to pay for your new card and threaten benefits. Medicare will never email or call asking for your personal information, and the new cards will be free. Visit the Federal Trade Commission's website to learn more.

Forest Preserve News

Engaging Volunteers for Nature
Walking through Greenbelt Forest Preserve in North Chicago this fall, you can’t miss the changes. Where there was once a dense wall of buckthorn, you can now look out across a rare combination of prairie, interspersed with native shrubs and small trees. This unique scrubland habitat draws migrating birds such as eastern kingbird, northern flicker, and brown thrasher.

People are flocking to enjoy Greenbelt and to help with restoration efforts. In 2016, a $100,000 grant from the Illinois Coastal Management Program supported this restoration work and funded project partner, Audubon Great Lakes, to engage the community. From April 2016 to April 2017, nearly 400 volunteers logged more than 1,000 hours cutting and burning brush, weeding, shrub and seed planting, and seed collecting. On one workday, 30 students from Abbott Middle School donned work gloves loppers, and saws to cut buckthorn. Become a volunteer

Annual Fund Spotlight
Engaging Volunteers at Greenbelt is exactly the kind of project the Preservation Foundation Annual Fund was created to support. With limited staff, the District cannot reach into every Lake County community to engage volunteers we need to help care for our preserves. With a grant in 2016, Audubon Great Lakes got off to a great start in North Chicago. To build on that success, the Foundation Board awarded a $20,000 grant so the District can continue working with Audubon Great Lakes. The goal is to build a self-sustaining volunteer corps to support our ongoing work at Greenbelt.

Shelter Update
Plan early for your family reunion, company picnic or other group gathering to ensure your first choice of shelter and date. Reservations for 2018 picnic shelter rentals are now being accepted. Purchase permits online, by phone, or in person.

Spring Bluff Project Includes New Trail and Habitat Restoration
Thanks to an Open Space Land Acquisition and Development Grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, 0.7 miles of new trail will be developed at 229-acre Spring Bluff Forest Preserve in Winthrop Harbor, converting an existing asphalt roadway to a recreational trail. The new trail will connect to existing trails at adjacent Illinois Beach State Park via the 7th Street bike lanes.  The project also includes building a wildlife education and observation deck and completing habitat restoration work within the preserve. Spring Bluff is primarily wetlands with oak savanna and prairie. 

The land being restored is part of a greater ecological complex that supports multiple natural landmarks, including the recent designation as a RAMSAR Wetland of International Importance, nine endangered plant and animal species, and 114 bird species. The expected project completion is late 2018. View map

College students and their parents can get help applying for college financial aid by attending a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) workshop offered now through February 2018 at locations across Lake County. View the full schedule in English and Spanish. At these free workshops, staff will help you complete and file your FAFSA online. The FAFSA must be filled out for students to be considered for state and federal financial aid, and many colleges and universities rely on FAFSA data to determine eligibility for the institution’s own financial aid funds.  Learn more, including what documents to bring to the session.