Fort Sheridan cemetery expansion proposal calls for land transfer from Lake County forest preserves
Public input is being sought on the proposed expansion of the Fort Sheridan National Cemetery near Lake Forest.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking 4.7 adjoining acres from the Lake County Forest Preserve District to expand the existing 7-acre site and increase burial capacity with columbaria structures to hold cremated remains.
The two agencies and the National Cemetery Administration will discuss the plan during at an open house from 5 to 7 p.m. April 26 at Midwest Young Artists Conservatory, 878 Lyster Road, Highwood.
Participants can view the plan presentation, review display boards, ask questions and submit written comments. Comments and feedback also will be accepted through May 6 at lcfpd.org/fort-sheridan-national-cemetery/.
"They need more grave space," said Andrew Tangen, superintendent of the Veterans Assistance Commission of Lake County.
"It's probably another 18 months to two years from being offered. This meeting is one of the first steps" in the process, he added.
The cemetery was established in 1889, two years after Fort Sheridan was founded, and includes remains of veterans beginning with the Civil War. The Army base, which stretched east to Lake Michigan, closed in 1993. Two years later, about 250 acres were transferred to the Lake County Forest Preserve District.
A master plan for the preserve was approved in November 2015 after a three-year process involving extensive public input. It reopened in 2018 after a $1.9 million renovation including a new entrance drive, scenic overlooks, and trails.
The cemetery is on the northwest portion of the site east of Sheridan Road and abuts forest preserve property. It's owned and operated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs but the forest preserve must maintain it in perpetuity as a condition of the land transfer from the federal government.
Transferring maintenance would be part of the change if the cemetery expansion proceeds. The General Assembly must approve an amendment to the Downstate Forest Preserve Act and the governor must sign off to transfer 4.7 acres.
Cemetery capacity is expected to be depleted within 15 years. The expansion would extend that for 50 years.
A columbarium is an above-grade structure with niches designed for the interment of the cremated remains of a veteran and a dependent.
"Right now, the plan is it would be just for columbaria," Tangen said. "Every person interred there would have to be cremated."
The plan is a revival of one proposed in South Barrington in late 2018 for 15 acres at Mundhank and Freeman roads as an extension of the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood.
"South Barrington fell through (and) they've refocused the efforts on Fort Sheridan cemetery," Tangen said.
Veterans support the proposal, Tangen said, and are being urged to attend the open house.
Public comments are critical in the forest preserves' determination of how to proceed, said board President Angelo Kyle.