LF4T
Dedicated to Educating Residents of Lake Forest About How Our Government Works and Advocating for Good Governance.
LF4T
Dedicated to Educating Residents of Lake Forest About How Our Government Works and Advocating for Good Governance.
Frivolous Complaint
Jan 31
Thank you to everyone who came out last Saturday to vote on the Caucus Committee’s proposed Electronic Voting Amendment. As announced by the Committee, the Amendment failed to obtain the required two-thirds majority vote…again.
The Caucus Committee Vote is NOT a State sponsored Election. The Caucus Committee is a PAC (Political Action Committee) and their votes are not governed by the State of Illinois. The Caucus Committee Vote is akin to a country club board vote or a student council vote, hence why the Caucus Committee calls it a VOTE and not an ELECTION.
On Friday, January 23rd, three-year Lake Forest resident Joe Weiss filed a complaint against LF4T with the State Board of Elections, alleging that LF4T “has engaged in activities that constitute a political committee as defined by the Illinois Election Code, including soliciting political contributions, advocating for electoral outcomes, and making political expenditures. Despite these activities, LF4T has failed to register with the Illinois State Board of Elections and has failed to file any required disclosure reports. As a result of LF4T’s failure to register and file required disclosure reports, the public is unable to review information regarding the organization’s political contributions, expenditures, and in-kind support, undermining the disclosure and transparency objectives of the Illinois Election.”
Using what we can only assume was Weiss’s own email list, Weiss simultaneously broadcast his complaint to the community in what appeared to be an effort to discredit LF4T prior to the Caucus Committee’s vote.
The complaint filed by Weiss is frivolous and reflects a complete misunderstanding of Illinois campaign finance law. LF4T is an Illinois not-for-profit that engages in educational and community organizing activities. LF4T does not endorse candidates nor engage in electioneering on behalf of any candidate or ballot initiative in general elections. As such, LF4T is not required to register with the State Board of Elections or file campaign disclosure reports because it does not meet the legal definition of a political action committee.
Further, as a host on The Lake Forest Podcast, Weiss pontificated his allegations and made several statements as fact, that are ‘in fact” purely fiction.
Weiss stated:
“Voters can vote twice is a lie”
It was not until after LF4T posted a video on January 16th, 2026, stating a voter can vote electronically while also standing in line to vote in person, that the Caucus Committee released their proposed process of having the electronic vote take place prior to the walk-in vote. It is also alarming that the Caucus Committee shared no process information until they responded to our video three days prior to the vote, nor was there any mention of the verification process in the proposed bylaw... only that verification MAY occur. Regardless, with the proposed amendment from the Caucus Committee, requiring verification of a voter voting twice was optional. Voting twice COULD have occurred if the amendment had passed. If increasing voter turnout is the goal, shouldn’t voter verification be mandatory?
[View Caucus Process Email From Jan 21]
“Bussing voters in from Lake Forest Place”
LF4T has witnessed first-hand the bussing in of voters at Caucus Committee votes. LF4T has not and will not participate in bussing voters.
"Anybody is welcome to audit [the Caucus Committee’s] votes”
General Membership's right to audit Caucus Committee votes is included nowhere in the current bylaws nor was it included in the proposed Electronic Voting bylaw amendment. In fact, not even the entire Caucus Committee is allowed to audit the votes. Imagine paperless voter ballots and actual walk-in ballots without the requirement to verify.
“A lot of the people on the transparency and that are not have voted absentee[sic]”
While many members of LF4T and our community have exercised their legal right to vote absentee, absentee voting and electronic voting are NOT the same thing, and comparing the two is disingenuous. When voting absentee, voters can request a vote-by-mail ballot through the mail or in person for the impending election, fill out a paper ballot, have their signature verified, and upon verification their paper ballot is submitted for the General Election. With electronic voting, you are not required to make a request prior to every vote, there is no paper ballot trail, and with the proposed amendment, potentially no verification. It’s an apples to oranges comparison.
While Weiss continues to advocate that LF4T and its supporters act in bad faith and are the problem with trust in Lake Forest, the facts spell out a different story. Maybe Weiss’s goal is to discredit LF4T to deflect attention away from the Caucus Committees’ relentless attempts to control voter outcome.
LF4T looks forward to the State Board of Elections hearing.
-LF4T
I Have an Announcement...
Verification is an OPTION in the Proposed Amendment
Jan 23
In the last 3 ½ years, the Caucus Committee has thrown our votes away (twice), tried to eliminate our vote altogether, tried to eliminate walk-in voting, and now chooses to introduce internet voting without the requirement of verification.
- 2026 Proposed Electronic Voting Amendment
- 2025 Proposed Internet Voting Amendment
- 2024 Commitment to Modernize the bylaws
- 2024 Declaration of Non-Binding Vote
- 2023 Caucus Preservation Act (CPA)
- 2022 Declaration of Non-Binding Vote
If the Caucus Committee cannot eliminate your vote altogether, then they will propose an amendment potentially casting doubt on the outcomes of future votes.
Why are they tearing down the signs?
NO VERIFICATION - NO WAY
The proposed Electronic Amendment is up for vote on Saturday, January 24, at Gorton Center from 8 am - 5 pm. The Caucus Committee is touting the amendment for its convenience and for getting more people to participate in Caucus votes.
What’s being overlooked are serious concerns over making sure any walk-in voters don’t also vote online. An audit or cross-reference for each voter is needed after every election, but this amendment does not guarantee that. Also of concern is the security of electronic votes not being tracked back to the voter and the vote expressed by that voter.
The above videos explain why it’s important to vote NO on the proposed Electronic Amendment.
Promises Promises
Jan 21
A promise is not a bylaw. Promising how this and all future Caucus Committees will operate can be done IF it’s in the bylaws. Outside of what the bylaws say, no promises can be made. The Electronic Voting amendment does not prevent the Caucus committee from NOT verifying voter rolls if they choose, despite their promises that they will be.
This is the second attempt at passing Internet voting (the first attempt was rejected by the voters in October) and the second pass at promising something not supported by the language of the bylaw amendment. In the first proposed amendment last October, Caucus President Regina Etherton promised that walk-in voting would always be available in future votes, yet the proposed amendment stated that the Committee had sole discretion to eliminate it.
In the modified amendment up for vote this Saturday, the Caucus Committee promises, in fact "guarantees" a plan on how verification will work with internet voting, yet the proposed amendment states that verification is optional.
The Caucus Committee promised to honor the bylaws when they became a PAC, yet they violated their bylaws when they chose not to honor the results of their own elections. In the last 3 ½ years, the Caucus Committee has thrown our votes away (twice), tried to eliminate our vote altogether, tried to eliminate walk-in voting, and now chooses to introduce internet voting without the requirement of verification.
The Caucus Committee is supposed to be focused on vetting positions for boards and commissions, yet they have not presented a single candidate to City Council in months. Instead, they seem to be spending all their time and effort making promises they cannot keep.
In April, the Caucus Committee will have a new President and several new Executive Members, as they do every year. With their departure goes their promises and it will be left to future Caucus Committees to decide whether or not votes will be verified if this amendment is to pass.
“The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.” - observance of human nature.
VOTE NO on ELECTRONIC VOTING!
-LF4T
Buyer Beware
Jan 20
Did you receive an email or a text from the Lake Forest Caucus Committee asking you to sign a petition for Electronic voting? Sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it? With electronic (Internet) voting, you can vote from your couch, your winter home, or even while standing in line to vote in-person. Oops…they forgot to tell you about that part.
The Caucus Committee has been busy sending emails, texts and putting up yard signs, all with the hopes that you will buy their message without fully understanding what they are selling you. In marketing terms it’s called selling you without telling you!
So, what does the Caucus Committee gain if their proposed amendment passes? Potential control of all future elections.
What are the consequences to the voting public in Lake Forest? No More Input.
This isn’t the first time the Caucus Committee has used this tactic to earn your vote. Three months ago, in their first pass to adopt Internet Voting, the proposed amendment would have allowed the Committee to eliminate walk-in voting altogether. While current Caucus President Regina Etherton pledged they would always have walk-in voting, the amendment stated that the Committee could eliminate it. Selling you without telling you!
In 2011, The Caucus Committee filed as a PAC, eliminating their legally binding bylaws altogether. They told those who knew of this decision that they would still honor the bylaws, and they did, until 2022 when they lost their affirmation vote for their Mayoral nominee and then exercised their position of not having legally binding bylaws to declare the vote NON-Binding. Selling you without telling you!
The Committee then presented the Caucus Preservation Act (CPA) amendment in 2023. Residents were told that to Save Lake Forest from the partisans who were manipulating Caucus members’ votes by…showing up to vote, that the 43-memberCommittee should be the only members allowed to select who Caucus-backed candidates would be. The Caucus Committee claimed those who voted at the 2022 Fall Annual Meeting Vote (see above paragraph) were only a small number of voters in Lake Forest, when the turnout was over four times the regular Caucus Fall Annual Meeting vote tally, and it was only the mayoral nominee who failed to achieve an affirming vote. But the Committee’s position was that The Only Way to Save Lake Forest from those who do not agree with their candidates was for them to eliminate general members’ right to vote altogether. Selling you without telling you!
This is important, because while this current Caucus Committee may verify votes, if this proposed amendment passes, future Caucus Committees have the option to NOT verify votes.
Why are they making verification an option?
It appears that if The Caucus Committee cannot take our vote away, then they will float an amendment that all but guarantees winning every future vote they hold. Prior to 2022, The Caucus Committee listened to residents informally, who shared their opinions on candidates and then selected their nominees through a review of a candidates’ service in public positions, such as city boards and commissions.
When the Caucus works, it works well, but lately, the Committee has lost the idea that public service means serving the public’s interest, not their own, and it feels like the Committee is failing us.
We have been pleading with the Committee for nearly four years to make elections fair, binding, respectful and counted, but they have been denying, dodging, and blaming others for their shortcomings. The Caucus still does not have legally binding bylaws.
The Caucus Committee selects who runs our city. Since the 1950’s we had a say in their decisions with our vote. While the vote has seemingly become inconvenient for the Caucus Committee, it should not become inconvenient for the voters they represent.
This amendment, if passed, gives power to the Caucus Committee to NOT verify a vote and might open the door for residents to vote twice without any other residents ever knowing about it.
There is no doubt why the Caucus Committee is offering this amendment and not addressing fair and legal bylaws that protect and preserve our vote. It’s not about the vote; it’s about the outcome. Selling you without telling you!
If you can believe and trust the outcome of a vote that is not verified by cross-referencing voter rolls between the two systems, electronic (Internet) and in-person, then vote yes for the proposed amendment. If you cannot believe and trust the outcome of an unverified vote, then vote NO on Electronic Voting.
Buyer Beware!
-LF4T
Public Safety Alert
Nov 2
On October 15, 2025, The Lake Forest Professional Firefighters – Local 1898 posted on Facebook a Public Safety Alert stating:
“🆘🚒🚑 🚨 Public Safety Alert 🚨 🆘🚒🚑
Our community’s safety is at risk. Critical understaffing, excessive overtime, and poor retention have pushed our fire department to the breaking point.
Right now, Fire department policy allows just 7 firefighter/paramedics on duty each day — an outdated and dangerous minimum that leads to delayed response times and understaffed apparatus.
For nearly 15 years, we’ve been forced to operate with “jump companies,” where crews must abandon one apparatus to staff another depending on the call. That means when one responds, others sit empty.
City officials are gambling with both citizens’ lives and firefighters’ safety. This isn’t just a staffing issue — it’s a public safety emergency.
It’s time for change. Our community deserves full staffing, faster responses, and safer firefighters. #PublicSafety #FirefighterShortage #SupportYourFirefighters”
As LF4T was looking into the Union’s allegations, local resident Amy Pais-Richer had already been researching the troubles within our Lake Forest Fire Department and uncovered many concerns that directly affect the safety of all residents in Lake Forest and the health of the firefighters and first responders who bravely serve our community.
Pias-Richer, with the assistance of Pete Jansons of The Lake Forest Podcast, interviewed various City of Lake Forest Staff and Firefighters and submitted several FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests with the City of Lake Forest. What they discovered begs many questions regarding the City’s handling of what appears to be an ongoing problem. [Click here to listen to The Lake Forest Podcast with Amy Pais-Richer and Susan Garrett.]
The following is a Perspective written by Amy Pias-Richer outlining her conclusions.
____________________________
Perspective:
The Perfect Storm: Lake Forest’s Firefighters Are Sounding the Alarm
By Amy Pais-Richer
The warning signs have been flashing for years, and now they’re impossible to ignore. Lake Forest’s firefighters—the men and women who answer every 911 call in our community—are working under conditions that no department should have to face. What’s unfolding inside the Lake Forest Fire Department isn’t just a staffing problem or a budget hiccup. It’s a public-safety emergency.
Through a series of Freedom of Information Act requests covering the past two years, a troubling picture has emerged. The city’s own documents reveal a department stretched to its breaking point—exhausted crews, rising response times, high turnover, and a leadership structure that has become top-heavy and disconnected from life on the line, as evidenced by the imbalance between management bonuses—some increasing by as much as 30 percent—compared to firefighters’ contractual raises of just 2 percent. One senior official described it best during a meeting earlier this year: “We’re facing the perfect storm.”
Overworked, Understaffed, and Out of Time
Between September 2024 and September 2025, Lake Forest firefighters logged more than 12,000 hours of overtime. The same handful of people worked most of those hours, often stringing together double, triple, or longer shifts just to keep emergency response vehicles on the street. Fatigue has become standard operating procedure.
Meanwhile, the department has lost at least 13 members since early 2024—including three duty-related disabilities. Resignation letters are polite and professional, but behind the thanks and well-wishes is a common theme: limited progress, overwhelming workload, and better opportunities elsewhere. Each departure leaves a void in experience and knowledge. This also forces those left behind to pick up even more hours, deepening the spiral of burnout—issues the City was clearly aware of, as documented in an Organizational Assessment completed in June 2024 by an independent contractor. That assessment showed Lake Forest’s firefighters carry one of the highest workloads per member among peer communities—information the city declined to release in violation of the Freedom of Information Act.
A City Dependent on Luck and Borrowed Time
Lake Forest’s own response-time data confirms what firefighters already know. The average response is 6.04 minutes, a full minute longer than the national standard of five. More than half of all calls exceed that mark. In an emergency—a heart attack, a house fire, a trapped child—that extra minute can be the difference between life and death.
At the same time, Lake Forest is giving far more mutual-aid assistance to neighboring towns than it receives back—654 calls given vs. 401 received, a 1.63-to-1 imbalance. In other words, our already-thin crews are covering for others while struggling to cover their own city.
Money for Management, Not for Manpower
Budget records tell another part of the story. Administrative salaries have continued to climb, even as line-firefighter pay stagnates. Overtime has become the Band-Aid that hides a chronic staffing shortage. The city’s priorities have tilted toward management layers rather than boots on the ground—a choice that now threatens the safety of both firefighters and residents alike. Public records also show that upper management pay rose nearly 30%, compared to less than 8% for firefighters. The top official received $110,000 in merit bonuses, his deputy $18,000—while most of the men and women risking their lives received nothing—a gap that mirrors the growing imbalance between management pay and front-line reality.
Recruitment efforts have been equally troubled. Candidates face slow testing systems and inconsistent pay ranges, while surrounding departments streamline hiring, offer better compensation, and far less time away from their families. Lake Forest’s process feels reactive, not strategic—as though it’s always trying to catch up rather than plan ahead.
A Culture of Fear
Perhaps most alarming is what can’t be quantified. Several firefighters expressed fear about speaking publicly, worried that doing so could jeopardize their professional futures or livelihood. Leadership has become centralized and opaque; decisions flow down, rarely up. That climate of fear silences the very professionals who best understand the dangers building inside their department.
One Catastrophe Away
Lake Forest has been fortunate so far. But fortune is not a safety plan. The combination of long response times, thin staffing, and chronic fatigue is exactly what experts warn about before tragedy strikes. We are one catastrophe away from the unthinkable—a fire that spreads too fast, a cardiac arrest reached too late, any event that costs a citizen or firefighter their lives.
This isn’t speculation; it’s written in the data. It’s visible in the turnover reports, the resignation letters, and the call logs. It’s echoed in the quiet voices of firefighters who love their city but can no longer carry its burden alone.
A Call to Action
Lake Forest deserves transparency and accountability. The city must conduct another independent staffing audit, publish quarterly response-time data, and prioritize appropriate daily staffing levels and retention over bureaucracy. Firefighters should be able to speak without fear, residents should know the truth about the service levels that protect their families, and be aware of the repeated reductions of those service levels.
The people who are there to respond to all of our emergencies are asking for something simple in return—leadership that listens, resources that protect, and a city willing to act before it’s too late.
This is not just their fight. It’s ours. Because when the alarm sounds, it won’t matter whose budget it was, or which meeting delayed a hire—it will matter only that help gets there in time.
-Amy Pias-Richer
__________________________
LF4T will continue to provide updates on the Health and Safety of our Fire Department.
-LF4T
Walk In Voting Is Not Guaranteed
Oct 12
Residential voting for or against the Caucus’s Alternative Voting Methods Amendment is almost upon us. A major concern still on the minds of many residents is this: Will the Executive Committee make “in person” voting available at all future voting events? The Caucus Committee, led by President Regina Etherton, is saying yes, BUT the amendment itself does not guarantee it.
The Caucus Committee is insisting that “Electronic voting is optional. It will not eliminate “in person” voting.” However, verbal reassurances fail to match what the amendment allows. In fact, the amendment gives the Executive Committee the power to decide, at their sole discretion, how voting will be conducted at each election. This includes the ability to eliminate “in person” voting entirely.
(Click to view October 6 Email from the Caucus Committee)
(Click to view October 12 Email from the Caucus Committee)
Excerpt from proposed amendment:
a) ““the Caucus Committee shall in its sole discretion determine the method(s) of each voting process including, but not limited to, voting by paper ballot (in person or by mail) or by electronic or digital method (in person or remotely), or by any combination thereof;” (Click to view entire amendment)
The highlighted wording in the amendment gives the Caucus the authority to choose any one or a combination of different voting methods. “In person” voting is one such option, but the amendment DOES NOT REQUIRE the Committee to guarantee it. As currently written, the Caucus Committee can decide to have all voting done remotely or by mail and not offer in person voting at all.
Simply put, you could lose the ability to vote in person—and the proposed amendment legally allows that.
Residents should ask if they trust the Caucus President and Executive Committee to honor their written commitment to in person voting, now and in the future, when the amendment does not obligate them to do so.
Please vote on Tuesday, October 14, 2025 from 2:00 – 8:00 pm at the Gorton Center.
-LF4T
Fate of Legal Committee on City Council’s Agenda - Tonight
July 21
Tonight at 6:30 PM – Lake Forest City Hall
Lake Forest City Council members are again considering disbanding the Legal Committee. If tonight’s motion is passed, it will be the second reading of the ordinance and the end of the group.
The Committee has provided legal oversight on City contracts and other legal actions for the last 20 years. Committee member Paul Sundberg has been on the Committee for three years and says that, by and large, Committee members agree with the council the City is given, but they provide an important objective check and balance, since they operate independently from anyone hired by City Council and/or the City Manager. Sundburg also estimates that there’s a combined one hundred years of legal experience on many wide-ranging sophisticated issues, experience that benefits the City in many ways.
City Council meets at 6:30 tonight in Council Chambers at City Hall in downtown Lake Forest. Residents may also watch the proceedings through the City’s website and on Channel 17.
-LF4T
Legal Committee: Second reading at CC Meeting Monday 7-21-25
July 19
It’s the dog days of summer but Mayor Randy Tack isn’t letting them sleep. Monday’s City Council Agenda includes the second reading of the movement to disband the Legal Committee. If the Mayor gets the votes to do so on Monday, this will officially end the Committee.
In April, the City Council voted to disband the Parks and Recreation Board as well as the Legal Committee. To make it binding, the City Council must vote a second time to disband the Committees. In May, the Council voted a second time to dissolve Parks and Rec, but residents spoke strongly against dissolving Legal. One of the Committee’s members, Art Mertes, said that they offer “a useful check and balance…adding rigor and inquiry” to managing the City’s legal affairs. Former State Senator Susan Garrett and the League of Women Voters also spoke out against the action. Following that testimony, Council members voted unanimously to keep it.
Now the motion is before them again, just twelve weeks later. If some Aldermen vote differently this time, it would take only a five-to-three split to dissolve the Committee, since this would be the second reading and the second time the motion was passed.
Illinois State Law requires a 48 hour public notice window. The City posted the agenda near the end of day on Friday, July 18, so they met the State’s minimum requirement. With this item on the docket, Lake Forest residents may not want to drowse in the sun. Instead, they may be putting this meeting on their calendars for Monday and expressing their opinions to their respective Aldermen.
-LF4T
WEST SIDE CELL TOWER UPDATE
July 13
At Monday’s City Council meeting, residents felt like they were left hanging upside down as two agenda items related to wireless service on the west side of town were acted on and approved.
First, a Wireless Coverage Report was presented to the Council, which showed various signal strengths throughout the City. Several areas stood out as deficient, including the east side along the beach, along 41, and the west side in the Settler’s Square area. However, the meeting focused on the west side coverage area.
The consultant identified a Search Ring where a new cell tower could be erected on the west side, which included the West Lake Forest Train Station parking lot, where the cell tower had originally been proposed last fall.
Some residents spoke up in support of better cell service but stopped short of endorsing a specific location, while other residents stated their support of better cell service but strenuously objected to placing a cell tower at the train station lot.
City Council then voted to accept the Wireless Service Coverage Report, acknowledged the deficiency in service, and directed that the Plan Commission find someplace within the Search Ring specified in the report in which to put a new cell tower.
Next, the City Council voted to approve and accept the Plan Commission’s recommendation to add a small Overlay District at the Compost Recycling Center. Their approval provided for an immediate addition to the District without a second reading on the matter and opened the door for a cell tower to be built there.
Many residents left the meeting wondering why the agenda items seemed reversed. The consultant was clear that any changes to cellular infrastructure would very likely change cell coverage, having firmly stated that in the earlier agenda item. Residents were puzzled as to why City Council would need to direct the Plan Commission to continue seeking an expansion of the overlay district before the Commission’s recommended, approved and far less controversial location at the Compost Recycling Center had had a chance to be utilized.
Friday, many Lake Foresters breathed a sigh of relief as the City announced that they would concentrate on the Compost site and pause any action on the west train station lot. Hanging upside down may be a summer thrill at Six Flags, but most residents prefer not to experience that at home.
Click to Enlarge
City Council Report on Wireless Service - Tonight at 6:30 PM
July 7
Today the Lake Forest City Council reviews the report on wireless service coverage. It provides information on the adequacy of coverage and possible options for enhancing wireless service for residents, businesses, schools, and public safety personnel.
Last fall, the Plan Commission listened to the original proposal of a cell phone tower at the West Lake Forest Train Station. It was met with pushback by many members of the community and has raised many questions regarding recent, current, and future development in Lake Forest.
A recap:
On August 15, 2024, Mayor Randy Tack sent an email to Lake Forest City Manager Jason Wicha and City Development Director Cathy Czerniak expressing his desire for a “renewed push” to improve cell service on the west side. [Click to view email]
Tack’s request resulted in City staff introducing their telecommunications proposal to the Plan Commission at the Commission’s October 9, 2024 meeting. The Commissioners were told that construction of a cell tower in the West Lake Forest Train Station parking lot first required an amendment to the City Code. Per City Ordinance, cell towers only can be erected in certain overlay districts. At that meeting, the Commission approved a continuance on the amendment to ad an overlay district. *
On November 13, 2024, the Commission resumed deliberating the City staff’s proposal of erecting a 150-160 foot tall tower (roughly 15 stories) with a 132 foot by 18 foot base enclosure in the southeast corner of the West Train Station parking lot, near the corner of Everett and Waukegan Roads. The Commission also recommended “that the City engage an independent consultant to conduct a review of telecommunications issues in the community.” **
Today, the City Council has two agenda items it could act on. First, they could accept the report by the consultant Kimley-Horn, acknowledging “the deficiency in wireless service coverage in the 4th Ward, specifically in the vicinity of Waukegan and Everett Roads,” AND direct the Plan Commission to reconsider a Code amendment that would identify a location for a monopole or stealth tower “within the search ring identified in the report."
Secondly, City Council could also accept the Plan Commission’s recommendation to make part of the Compost and Recycling Center available for a “cell tower or monopole, antennas, and related ground equipment.” This option would waive the first reading and make the change effective immediately. [Page 5 Old Business Agenda], [Complete City Council Agenda]
Many who attended both Plan Commission meetings last fall are concerned about potential negative impacts of a cell tower so close to homes and businesses. They question why other sites were dismissed as unsuitable until residents banded together and organized a Petition to Stop the Construction of Cell Tower in Our Community. To date, the petition has received nearly 1000 signatures. [Click to View Petition]
Lake Forest has historically followed strict guidelines regarding development, and for good reason: to preserve the unique aesthetic that persuaded most residents to call Lake Forest their home. Staying informed of the next steps of a looming cell tower is important to future development in Lake Forest.
If you have questions or concerns, we encourage you to attend Monday’s City Council Meeting tonight, at 6:30 PM, either in person at City Hall, at home via cable Channel 17 or via the City’s website via YouTube [Click to Livestream]. Please note, only those in attendance at the meeting will be allowed to make public comments. You may also contact your City Council Representatives via phone or email. (Click for Contact Information)
-LF4T
* *PLAN COMMISSION Meeting Minutes, November 13, 2024, p. 16, last paragraph under “3.”
City Council Report on Wireless Service in the Community
July 3
On Monday, July 7th, The Lake Forest City Council will meet at 6:30 pm at City Hall. A report on wireless service coverage is expected to be presented and City staff will have up to 48 hours before the meeting to post the agenda and corresponding information on the City’s website.
The wireless report is anticipated to be on the agenda and contained in the packet. It will provide information on the adequacy of coverage and, if needed, present options for enhancing wireless service for residents, businesses, schools, and public safety personnel, with particular focus on cell coverage in the Fourth Ward.
Many residents pushed back on the original proposal of a 150–160 foot tall cell tower (roughly 15 stories) at the West Lake Forest Train Station and have started a petition against it (Petition to Stop the Construction of Cell Tower in Our Community). Monday’s report may point to other options…or it may not.
Lake Forest has historically followed strict guidelines regarding development, and for good reason: to preserve the unique aesthetic that persuaded most residents to call Lake Forest their home. While we are uncertain exactly what the Mayor and City Council Members will be presented with at the July 7th meeting, staying informed of the next steps is important to future development in Lake Forest.
If you have questions or concerns, we encourage you to attend Monday’s City Council Meeting either in person or at home via cable Channel 17 or YouTube. Please note, only those in attendance at the meeting will be allowed to make public comments.
-LF4T
Lake Forest On Topic Podcast
