Lake County Makes Forbes List of Most Miserable 'Cities'

Forbes Magazine declares Lake County one of America's most miserable places to live. Do you agree?

Hmmm. Lake County isn't a city, yet it still placed No. 9 on Forbes Magazine's 2013 list of America's Most Miserable Cities, according to Forbes. The No. 1 spot belongs to Detroit, followed by Flint, Mich.; Rockford, Ill.; and Chicago. See the complete list here. Of Lake County, Forbes wrote, "The Chicago suburb is one of the richest counties in the U.S., as measured by per capita income. But home prices are down 29% over the past 5 years. Other drawbacks: long commutes and lousy weather." Forbes said it examined nine factors for the 200 largest metro areas in the United States including violent crime, unemployment, foreclosures, taxes, home prices, commute times and weather. Tell us what you think. Is Lake County a miserable place to live?

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Unclaimed Property Event to be Held at Lake County Building Wednesday

Is the state holding any of your money or unclaimed property? Find out at the I-Cash event hosted by State Treasurer Dan Rutherford at the Lake County building in Waukegan Wednesday, Feb. 20.

Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherford is encouraging Lake County residents to attend his I-Cash event from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20 at the Lake County building at 18 N. County St., in Waukegan. Come and find out if the state is holding any money or unclaimed property entitled to them. A reported 319,063 owners in Lake County have $87,270,495 in unclaimed property, according to the January list of unclaimed property holders. I-Cash staff will be on-hand from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. to help reisdents find out if they have unclaimed property. Treasurer Rutherford will provide remarks at 2:30 p.m. "People are thrilled to find out they have money just waiting for them through I-Cash," said Rutherford. "I encourage area residents to…

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Map Just About Anything in Deerfield

Lake County has a cool new interactive mapping tool that allows you to easily look up and view maps of a community's boundaries, attractions, election precincts, park districts and much more.

Lake County has transformed its Online Mapping Application increasing transparency and providing users with easy access to maps, tax and property information, and other interactive features.  Deerfield residents can easily view township boundaries, conservation features, school boundaries, library districts, special service areas, congressional districts and more. Anyone seeking to conduct business, or buy property in Lake County can analyze environmental features, assessment characteristics, transportation availability, or proximity to other services. Users can search and customize maps to include administrative boundaries, cities, water features, parks, landmarks, highways, buildings and more. Some of this information was available in …

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Visit Lake County Calendar of Events

Check out all the cool things to do in October on the Visit Lake County calendar.

Visit Lake County's calendar offers a variety of choices for the fall season.

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Mosquitos Carrying West Nile Virus Found in Highland Park

Mosquitoes testing positive for West Nile Virus have been found in 26 Illinois counties, including Highland Park. Two cases of the disease have been confirmed in northern Cook County.

Mosquitoes testing positive for West Nile virus have have been identified in Highland Park, according to an email from the South Lake Mosquito Abatement District. Earlier: Mosquitos Carrying West Nile virus found in Northbrook Twenty-six Illinois counties have reported mosquitos carrying West Nile virus, including in traps in Highland Park and in Prairie Wolf Slough forest preserve.   As of this week, two cases of West Nile virus have been confirmed, both in northern Cook County.  Clarke Environmental Mosquito Management encourages residents to use repellent when outdoors, especially in the evening. They should also get rid of standing water around their homes, including in their gutters and elephant-trunk downspout extensions.  If someone…

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PHOTO GALLERY: Grainger, Military, Local Law Enforcement Plan for the Worst

Lake Forest-based company hosted an emergency preparedness exercise Saturday in the event of a nuclear detonation.

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Less Than 25 Percent of Lake County Voters go to Polls

Good weather, contested races not enough to stir interest.

  Voter turnout in Tuesday’s primary in Lake County echoed the low turnout throughout Illinois, even on a day when temperatures soared into the 80s. Just 23.46 percent of registered voters exercised their right to vote. Lake County Clerk Willard Helander said voter turnout for primaries is historically lighter than the general election. However, Helander said she was surprised that voters did not turnout for the 10th Congressional district race. The 10th district runs through most of Lake County. “That was surprising. It was a four-way race and well financed. I expected far more people to be out and interested,” she said. Helander was surprised that more people pulled a Republican ballot than Democrat. “My personal opinion is that people …

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District 12, County Candidates Speak on Issues

Missed the March 4 forum? Here is the video for you to view.

  Were you unable to attend the March 4 candidate forum co-sponsored by Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Patch and the League of Women Voters-Lake Forest/Lake Bluff area, Deerfield and Highland Park-Highwood? See and hear the following candidates respond to a variety of questions.

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Live Blog: Lake County Candidate Forum from Lake Forest

Join in, comment and pass on questions we can ask the candidates.

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Patch Co-Sponsors Candidate Forum Sunday with LWV-Lake Forest/Bluff Area

Send us your questions if you can't make it; or join our live blog during the forum.

  Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Patch will join the League of Women Voters - Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Area in offering a candidate forum featuring several from the two communities starting at 1:30 p.m. Sunday (Feb. 19) at Lake Bluff Elementary School, 350 W. Washington. The list of candidates includes: The public is encouraged to attend and ask questions. Many of the candidates have roots in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff, including Sumption (Lake Bluff), Neerhof (Lake Forest), Turelli (Lake Forest), Hart (Lake Bluff), Barkhausen (Lake Bluff) and Lesser (Lake Bluff). Morrison is from Deerfield. Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Patch will be blogging live during the debate, allowing readers to participate remotely from their computers by asking questions that we …

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