Lake County's new brochure to be revamped

A brochure promoting Lake County's newly approved strategic plan will be reworked to include photographs of local residents rather than purchased photos, officials said Wednesday.

"We think it's a good idea to have Lake County residents in our strategic plan," said county communications manager Jennie Khoen, whose staff designed the eight-page report.

A preliminary version of the brochure was made public last week.

It included dozens of photographs of smiling adults and children next to a logo that says, in part, "Listen to citizens."

Most of the photos were stock images acquired through the years for other projects, Khoen said.

A few, including shots of a sheriff's deputy and a child's hand, depicted local residents.

It's common for publications to feature stock photos, Khoen said. The county did not buy any of the photographs specifically for this project, she said.

During a committee-of-the-whole meeting last week, a few county commissioners asked about the photos' origins. The relative shortage of local residents irked some board members.

"I would prefer that they were all Lake County residents," county board member Melinda Bush, a Grayslake Democrat, said this week. "I was kind of surprised that they weren't."

County board Chairwoman Suzi Schmidt and other commissioners didn't mind.

"I'm more worried about balancing budgets and not raising taxes," said Schmidt, a Lake Villa Republican.

Commissioner Aaron Lawlor wasn't fazed by the photos, either.

Using professional-quality stock photographs likely costs less than setting up live photo shoots of local residents, he said, and it looks better than using amateur shots.

"Sure, you could send anybody out with a digital camera... but it's important that it looks like a professional publication," said Lawlor, a Vernon Hills Republican.

Still, because of the questions raised, the communications staff will replace the stock photos in the promotional material with new shots of Lake County residents, Khoen said.

"That is a good idea," she said.

The change also will let Khoen's staff build a larger library of locally produced photos.

The brochure will be available next week at the Lake County government center in Waukegan and at the county's transportation headquarters in Libertyville.

A version will be viewable online at lakecountyil.gov.