The year in preview: What will make news in Lake Co. in 2008
A new year doesn't always mean a fresh start. Several ongoing issues, events and projects in Lake County will carry over into 2008. Here are capsules, in no particular order, of some of the more prominent ones.
Tollway toils: Motorists already are accustomed to lane reductions and shifts on the Tri-State Tollway in advance of a deluge of construction.
In 2007, work began on the southbound lanes from Grand Avenue to the state line. Work is ongoing on the Route 120 and Willow Road bridges over the tollway. So is advance work to rebuild and widen southbound lanes from Lake-Cook Road to Dempster Street and from Half Day Road to Grand Avenue.
The Waukegan Toll Plaza has been removed and work on the southbound section between Grand Avenue and Russell Road is near an end.
Construction crews are just warming up, however, and major reconstruction begins in 2008, according to the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority. Travelers can look forward to three years of work to add a lane in each direction 32 miles from Dempster Street to Route 173. The remaining distance north to Wisconsin will be rebuilt.
It will feature widening 15 bridges over the tollway, including Grand Avenue and Half Day Road in mid-2008. Work is being staggered to minimize impact on local roads, and coordinated with officials from the Illinois Department of Transportation and Lake and Cook counties
Early in 2008, work will begin to rebuild and widen: the northbound lanes from Grand Avenue to Route 173; rebuild the lanes from Route 173 to Russell Road; and, resurface lanes from Russell Road to the Wisconsin border.
Expect delays.
Ashes to ashes? Last week, the Illinois Department of Agriculture reminded public works officials and tree trimming contractors to be careful disposing of debris from ice storms. Special procedures are in place because of the threat of the emerald ash borer, an invasive pest that has killed tens of millions of trees in Michigan and other Midwest states.
It has not been encountered in Lake County, though forestry professionals believe it's just a matter of time. Already, many municipalities prohibit planting new ash trees.
Boone, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, LaSalle, McHenry, Putnam, Will, Winnebago and portions of four other counties are under quarantine for the beetle, which was first discovered in Illinois in June 2006. It has been confirmed in communities within Kane, Cook, LaSalle and DuPage counties.
"We definitely will have our eyes wide open. We know it's around -- it's not far to the south," said Chuck Myers, assistant superintendent of natural resource operations for the Lake County Forest Preserve District.
Future farmers: The long and well chronicled history of the Lake County Fair is set to enter a new era at a new location and with new facilities.
Earthmoving equipment is sculpting the former Titus Farm on Peterson Road near Midlothian Road, and engineers are working on plans for roadway improvements to accommodate the new fairgrounds.
Whether it will be ready for the July 22 opening day is the multi-million dollar question. It's possible, if everything goes perfectly, but fair association officials are not hanging their baseball caps on it.
The sale of the current fairgrounds at routes 45 and 120 included a provision the property and buildings could be used to host one last fair if the new version isn't ready.
With that, however, a 50-plus year tradition would be ending. Either way, the show will go on. The theme for 2008 is "Tropical Nights and Midway Lights."
Hospital-go-round: Will a hospital be built in Lindenhurst and/or Round Lake? At some point, the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, which determines the need for and oversees construction of new hospitals and expansion will make a decision.
Vista Health System proposed a 140-bed, $100 million hospital in Lindenhurst. Advocate Health Care wants a 144-bed, $251 million facility in Round Lake.
The state board in December deferred discussion to its January meeting. But new rules governing the way need for patient beds is calculated are in the process of becoming law. That means the hospital plans will be deferred until April or later.
Vista has a backup plan to establish a freestanding emergency center on land it owns on Grand Avenue if its hospital bid is rejected. Advocate previously filed a similar letter of intent for an emergency facility at Route 120 and Wilson Road in Round Lake.
Both say they are committed to whatever it takes to build in the respective communities.
Summer in winter: Leap year in Gurnee is expected to come with a healthy helping of development.
Feb. 29 is the scheduled opening date for KeyLime Cove Water Resort, a concept pushed by "Famous" Dave Anderson, the nationally known barbecue entrepreneur.
The $135 million project will feature 414 suites, a 64,500-square-foot indoor water park, conference center, restaurants and a spa northeast of the Tri-State Tollway and Grand Avenue.
It will have taken a year of construction to create what was described as a cruise ship experience on land. The target audience is residents from the Chicago area and Midwest, who want to duplicate the experience of a tropical resort close to home.
Air temperature will be 82 degrees at all times in the common areas, developers say.
Death penalty cases: Lake County prosecutors will seek the death penalty in two murder cases.
Jerry Hobbs III is accused of murdering his daughter, Laura, 8, and her friend, Krystal Tobias, 9, in a Zion park on Mothers Day 2005. He has been in custody since the morning after the murders, when he confessed to killing the girls, according to detectives in the case.
He is expected to go to trial in 2008.
Detectives said Hobbs admitted killing the girls when he flew into a rage because his daughter refused to return home with him.
A second pending capital case involves James Ealy, who is charged in the November 2006 murder of Mary Hutchison during a robbery of the former Burger King restaurant in Lindenhurst.
Hutchison, 45, a restaurant employee, was strangled with the bow tie from her uniform. About $1,000 was taken from the restaurant and some of the money was found in Ealy's Lake Villa apartment, authorities said.
Ealy is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 15.
Homes for the holidays? Hundreds of homeowners in Lake County will await the resolution of a bankruptcy proceeding against Neumann Homes, which is seeking protection from its creditors.
The Chicago area's fourth largest homebuilder cited inadequate funding and drops in building activity in Chicago, Denver and Detroit in filing a petition Nov. 1 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
Neumann had two large subdivisions with about 700 homes built and 50 under construction in Antioch. The village has hired an attorney to assess what homeowners, home buyers and the village are entitled to.
Jumping in the lake? Water will become a bigger issue in 2008 on different fronts.
Studies will continue regarding the possibility of tapping Lake Michigan as a future water source to replace dwindling supplies in several Lake County communities.
While more than a dozen communities have received Lake Michigan water for more than 15 years, no new members are allowed.
So, Antioch, Fox Lake, Lake Villa, Lindenhurst, Old Mill Creek, Wauconda and portions of the Lake County system united as the Northern Lake County Lake Michigan Water Planning Group.
A report issued last fall showed getting Lake Michigan water was feasible, but at an estimated cost of more than $178 million. The members accepted those reports and have agreed to proceed to the next step -- a detailed analysis and eventual application to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
More communities could get involved in the effort, and documents showing the need for the lake water allocation are expected to be submitted in late fall 2008.
In a separate matter, Lake County is expected in spring to release a report regarding the status of the county's drinking water. That would act as a base for a push for water preservation and conservation.
Checking out a new library: After years of what-ifs, Libertyville-based Cook Memorial Public Library finally could get a new full service library in Vernon Hills.
District officials last week decided to accept free use of land from the village to build a minimum 20,000-square-foot building on Aspen Drive south of Route 60. That will replace a branch that has been operating in the basement of village hall.
The new building is part of a $12 million plan for improvements for all facilities, including expanding the main library in downtown Libertyville.
In Vernon Hills, the long-sought library could be part of a bigger complex that could include new facilities for the Vernon Hills Park District.
The library will borrow the money to fund the work, and use annual budget surpluses to pay it back.
Shopping spree? While new stores and shopping areas continue to spring up around Lake County, Vernon Hills officials hope a resurgence is coming for one of the granddaddies of regional malls.
Australia-based Westfield bought Hawthorn mall in 2002 and within two years, publicly unveiled an ambitious plan to update and transform the venerable 1970s-era center by a third of its size. It would include an outdoor lifestyle center, 14-screen theater and other amenities.
The promised expansion remained in neutral. That prompted village leaders to write to upper management of the company, saying area shoppers wanted more upscale offerings and that Hawthorn was losing ground to other concerns in neighboring communities.
In a rare move, the village even offered to raise the sales tax for mall purchases and refund the proceeds.
Meetings have been ongoing and the village is confident an expansion plan -- likely scaled down from the original -- will be forthcoming in early 2008.
Save that space: As two redevelopment projects nearly next door to each other in downtown Libertyville move steadily ahead, the question for village officials is whether there will be enough parking in an already congested area.
With as many as four new restaurants coming, contingency plans are in progress to clear some space so would-be visitors are not scared off.
Besides shuffling business employees, village leaders are nearing a final decision on a parking deck. At the moment, the option is for a three-story, 365-space facility at the southeast corner of Lake Street and Brainerd Avenue.
The goal is to begin construction next summer. While it will ultimately provide relief, the deck construction will take even more spaces out of commission temporarily.
Specific plans are tentatively scheduled for a public hearing in spring.