2008 Strategic Plan input 
Lake County has announced five community forums to gather input from citizens for the county's 2008 Strategic Plan. Each community forum begins with an Open House from 6:00-7:00 pm where residents can learn about County services and programs. At 7:00 pm, the community forum will begin and citizens can make their voices heard about the direction of Lake County.
Forum Dates:
Central Lake County Community Forum - Monday, March 10
Lake County Division of Transportation
600 W. Winchester Rd., Libertyville
Southeast Lake County Community Forum - Tuesday, March 18
Highland Park Country Club
1201 Park Avenue West, Highland Park
Northwest Lake County Community Forum - Wednesday, March 19
Lake Villa Public Library
1001 E. Grand Ave., Lindenhurst
Southwest Lake County Community Forum - Monday, March 31
Ela Area Public Library, Rooms A & B
275 Mohawk Trail, Lake Zurich
Northeast Lake County Community Forum - Tuesday, April 1
Warren Newport Public Library
224 N. O'Plaine Rd., Gurnee |
| Civic Leadership Academy workshops
A wide range of workshops are available through the Civic Leadership Academy as a collaborative effort with Northern Illinois University's Center for Governmental Studies.
Among the workshops are
- Managing Technology in Government
- Understanding Your Government's Finances
- Fundamentals of Economic Development and Lake Use Planning.
For more information email
or (815) 753-3705 or
or (815) 753-7574. Register online at www.cgsniu.org. |
2007-2008 LCML Board
President
Mayor Tim Perry, Grayslake
Vice President
President Roger Byrne, Vernon Hills
Secretary
President Elliott Hartstein, Buffalo Gr.
Treasurer
Mayor Rich Hill, Round Lake Beach
Sergeant-at-Arms
Mayor Ted Mueller, Hainesville
Directors
Mayor Jeff Harger, Libertyville
Mayor Dick Hyde, Waukegan
Chair Suzi Schmidt, Lake County Board
Jim Hayner, administrator, Gurnee
Executive Director
Chris Gentes
1937 Municipal Way
Round Lake Beach, IL 60073
(847) 270-3126
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| Pension Bills to watch
HB-4991 DROP Legislation Deferred Retirement Option Plan (Rep Hanning)
Allows a firefighter to elect to receive either a lump sum payment or an actuarially equivalent annuity for up to 5 years of service as part of a deferred retirement option plan. This legislation will allow firefighters to begin collecting retirement benefits and continue to work. Unfunded mandate.
HB-4885 Retroactive Retirement Benefit Increase Firefighters (Rep Saviano) Provides that a firefighter age 48 or older with 30 or more years of creditable service who is no longer in service as a firefighter shall receive a monthly pension of 75% of the monthly salary attached to the rank held by him or her in the fire service at the date of retirement. Unfunded mandate.
HB-4644 Increase Retirement Benefit for Retired Firefighters (Rep Moffitt)
Provides that, in January 2009, the monthly pension of a firefighter who retired before July 1, 1971 shall be recalculated and increased to reflect the amount that the firefighter would have received in January 2009 had the firefighter been receiving a 3% increase for each year he or she received pension payments. In each January thereafter, provides that he or she shall receive an additional increase of 3% of the amount of the pension then being paid. Effective immediately. Unfunded mandate.
Pension Reform Bills
SB-2090 & HB-4904, HB-4905 Amends Pension Code articles 38-4 (Senator Garrett)
Amends the Pension Impact Note Act. Requires that a pension impact note for legislation affecting downstate police and downstate firefighter pension funds must demonstrate the fiscal impact of the legislation on at least 25 municipalities with the pension funds. |
| Rain Garden grant applications
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has provided $10,000 to support rain garden projects throughout Illinois, and applications for 2008 Rain Garden Initiative Grants are being accepted. Each grant recipient will receive a $500 grant to plant a rain garden. These grants will assist schools and public organizations across Illinois in learning about the benefits of rain gardens.
See www.raingarden.il.gov for more information, including application instructions, a step-by-step overview of how to create a rain garden, a list of native plant species, and more. The application should be postmarked or faxed by Friday, February 29, 2008, to Jamie Caston, Office of Lt. Governor Pat Quinn, Re: IL Rain Garden Initiative, JRTC - 100 West Randolph St., Ste 15-200, Chicago, IL 60601 (fax: 312-814-4862). Call Ms. Caston at 312-814-6671 with any questions.
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