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Remember to turn your clocks backward one hour on Sunday, Nov. 5. Also, take this time to change the batteries in your smoke detectors, too!
 The Lake County Board will vote on the FY2018
budget in November. Lake County is committed to investing in people and our
communities — that is at the foundation of our strategic plan and carries
through to our budget. It’s a balanced budget that spends $437 million to fund
core services, including transportation and infrastructure, health services,
and public safety. For more than 20 years, Lake County has maintained a AAA bond
rating from both major credit agencies – the highest rating possible. This
budget continues to deliver efficient, cost-effective and accountable programs
and services, by leveraging shared services and consolidation, like in the area
of regional 911, utilizing technology, and streamlining operations.
Watch this video with
the Chair of the Finance and Administrative Services Committee. Check out our
reader-friendly budget summary, and read the entire budget.
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 Don't Miss Chance to Show Your Best Turkey Drawing
Remember to submit your best drawing of a
Thanksgiving turkey and get a chance to have your drawing selected to be featured in my upcoming
District 2 postcard! The final day to submit your entry is Nov. 10.
The postcard will be sent to District 2 residents and will feature
fiscal year 2018 budget information, the turkey picture, and more.
Submit
your photo online, or you can mail your entry to my attention at the Lake
County Board Office, 18 N. County St., 10th Floor, Waukegan, IL 60085. If you
have any questions, please email me at dhewitt@lakecountyil.gov.
Great Waukegan Pink-Out
Students, staff and
their families within Waukegan School District 60 are organizing the eighth
annual Great Waukegan Pink-Out to increase awareness of the fight against
cancer. On Jan. 20, 2018, all schools in Waukegan will stand united in special
activities that celebrate this cause. To learn more, contact the district
office at 224-303-1000.
Turkey Day Boot Camp
Come to the Hunt Club Park Community Center from
7:30 to 9 a.m. Nov. 23 to work off those calories before you feast. Out-of-town
family and friends are welcome to this free event. Learn
more
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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 in an effort
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 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services website to learn more about the new card.
 Don’t Throw Out Your Pumpkins! Drop Them Off to
be Composted
Bring your pumpkin to
these free drop-off events, so your pumpkins can be composted. Any pumpkins,
gourds and other organics can be included. Please remove candles, yarn, plastic
or other decorations before dropping off your pumpkin.
- 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Nov. 4
at the Village of Gurnee, 235 O’Plaine Road
- 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 4 at the College of Lake County, Parking Lot 3, Grayslake
- 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday,
Nov. 5 at the Mundelein Park District’s Community Park Sled Hill, 1401 N.
Midlothian Road
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Household Chemical Waste
Collection
The Solid Waste
Agency of Lake County will hold its next household chemical waste collection
from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4 at the Mundelein Metra train
station, 205 N. Archer Ave. Year-round HCW collections also are offered the
second Saturday and fourth Monday of every month, by appointment only, at the
Gurnee facility. These collections are open to Illinois residents only. View
accepted items |
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 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.
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 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 Deed's
Office Offers Information to Our Veterans
The Lake County Recorder of Deed's 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.
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Dispose
your unused, unwanted and expired prescription drugs properly at disposal boxes
across Lake County. And the service is free! In 2016, Lake County disposed of nearly 15,000 pounds. Find a drug disposal box near
you, and learn what the program cannot accept. |
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 Forest Preserve News
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Chili Scramble
at Countryside Golf Course
Grab
a friend and join this fall favorite. The Chili Scramble has a 10 a.m. shotgun
start on Sunday, Nov. 5 on Countryside's
traditional course in Mundelein.
With your two-player team you’ll enjoy 18 holes with a cart, chili,
beverages, prizes for winners, and free range balls. Register online or at the Pro Shop.
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 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
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The 2017 Lake County Summer Youth Employment Program
recently wrapped up another exciting summer as more than 200 youth gained
meaningful work experience while earning a paycheck. Funded by the Lake
County Board, the program matches youth with local worksites that offer a paid,
part-time work experience. Learn
more about the Summer Youth Employment Program. |
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More
than 96,000 Lake County students from 142 schools participated in this year’s
Fall Attendance Competition. The top 10 schools in weekly attendance rate
recently were honored by the Lake County Regional Office of Education. Watch this video to learn more about
the competition. |
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 Beginning Jan. 1, 2018, Illinois will require all civil
cases to be submitted electronically. eFileIL,
Illinois’ new e-filing system, will provide the ability to electronically file
documents through an authorized Electronic Filing Service Provider (EFSP)
anytime for no additional cost using a secure web portal, thus reducing filing
time and trips to the courthouse. The Lake County Circuit Clerk’s Office
will offer free training for attorneys and other filers on Nov. 16 and Nov. 30
at the Lake County Courthouse to learn more about the e-filing process. Today is the final day to register for the Nov. 16 training. Register now
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 When it comes to safe drinking water, public bodies are
required to test for lead and copper. Our water systems are typically tested
for lead and copper every three years. Lake County Public Works has no
lead water lines, and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) even
reduced our lead monitoring requirements as a result of no sampling violations.
However, systems that change water sources, such as switching from wells to
Lake Michigan water, are tested more frequently after the cross over. This
year eight systems were tested and found to be within standards.
- Systems tested in 2017: Vernon Hills, Wildwood, Brooks Farm,
Pekara, Hawthorn Woods, Arden Shores, Grandwood Park, Forest Lake
- Systems to be tested in 2018: Countryside Lake, Fox
Lake Hills, Highland Lake, Knollwood, Arden Shores, Grandwood Park, Forest
Lake
Watch this video to learn how Lake County Public Works is working to keep
the county’s drinking water safe.
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