Mundelein closing in on new logo

Mundelein's residents and businesses may soon find themselves the star of Lake County - at least as far as the town's logo goes.

After a presentation by marketing consultants Monday night, village trustees closed in on a possible new logo for the century-old town, one that could feature a multicolored star next to the village's name.

And the five-pointed star isn't just a star - it's composed of capital M's to reflect Mundelein's most prominent consonant.

Trustee Ray Semple dug the design.

"I think that looks like a great corporate logo," Semple said.

Dawn Jenich, Mundelein's communications director, was a fan of the design, too.

"We are a rising star in Lake County," she said. "You could have some fun with that."

Bridget Lane of Business Districts Inc. led the hourlong discussion in a conference room at the town's main fire station.

The logo development is part of Mundelein's yearlong effort to rebrand and promote itself.

Officials hope the public-relations project, which has included the recent redesign of the village's website and other efforts, will attract new businesses, residents and shoppers.

Lane showed off several early logo options before giving the panel two choices: one with the star and one with a guitar pick-shaped design that had an odd-shaped star at its center.

After some occasionally spirited discussion, Lentz and three trustees said they wanted to move forward with the M-star design.

Three other trustees - Robin Meier, Dawn Abernathy and Terri Voss - said they didn't care for either design.

"Neither one makes me jump for joy," Meier said.

"I'm just not getting 'vibrant,'" Abernathy said, referring to one of the key adjectives Lane wanted the logo to reflect.

But the M-star won out unofficially, thanks to support from Lentz, Semple and Trustees Ed Sullivan and Holly Kim.

Now it'll be up to Lane and other consultants to come up with variations of the design for the board to consider.