Covering Lake Forest and the North Shore.
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Covering Lake Forest and the North Shore.
74°F
Sports
IHSA releases Scouts' 2026 football schedule: nine games, home opener Aug. 21
The IHSA released the Lake Forest Scouts' full 2026 football schedule on Wednesday, July 22, featuring a home opener against Deerfield on Aug. 21 and seven North Suburban Conference games, with key returners including WR Jack Burger and a wide-open QB competition.
Sports
IHSA releases Scouts' 2026 football schedule: nine games, home opener Aug. 21
The IHSA released the Lake Forest Scouts' full 2026 football schedule on Wednesday, July 22, featuring a home opener against Deerfield on Aug. 21 and seven North Suburban Conference games, with key returners including WR Jack Burger and a wide-open QB competition.
Sports
IHSA releases Scouts' 2026 football schedule: nine games, home opener Aug. 21
The IHSA released the Lake Forest Scouts' full 2026 football schedule on Wednesday, July 22, featuring a home opener against Deerfield on Aug. 21 and seven North Suburban Conference games, with key returners including WR Jack Burger and a wide-open QB competition.
Evenings on the North Shore, summarized.
Evenings on the North Shore, summarized.
Evenings on the North Shore, summarized.
Editor's Picks
Editor's Picks
Editor's Picks
Sports
Lake County Rep Introduces $2.5 Billion Bill to Keep Bears in Illinois as Team Eyes Indiana
State Rep. Martin McLaughlin (R-Lake Barrington) introduced legislation on June 16 offering $2.5 billion in private investment and $1.2 billion in state infrastructure to keep the Bears at Arlington Park, as the team advances stadium plans in Hammond, Indiana — 40 miles from its Halas Hall headquarters in Lake Forest.
Sports
The Bears are getting a Hallmark Christmas movie — and it could film in Lake Forest
The Chicago Bears will star in "Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story," the third Hallmark Channel holiday movie featuring an NFL team, with filming planned in and around Chicago this summer.
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Local Government
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See AllLocal Government
Lake Forest Library among 18 county libraries sharing $1.28 million in state grants
The Lake Forest Library is among 18 Lake County libraries scheduled to share $1.28 million in state per capita grants from Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, though the library's specific allocation has not been disclosed.
Local Government
Lake County unveils $948 million road and bike path plan, up $83 million from last year
Lake County's $948 million, five-year Transportation Improvement Program includes $153 million for bike paths and pedestrian projects, 11 roundabouts already open with three more under construction, and a $39 million funding gap on major projects.
Business
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Lake County's new assessor targets golf course land assessed at $4,000 an acre for revaluation
Lake County's new chief assessor Nathan Herbst plans to revalue open-space parcels, including golf courses, during the 2027 quadrennial reassessment after a decade at roughly $4,000 per acre — a change that could raise assessments on hundreds of acres of Lake Forest and Lake Bluff land.
Business
Illinois small business optimism trails nation by 1.2 points; tax burden tops owners' concerns
A new NFIB state-level report released July 9 shows Illinois small business optimism at 97.3, 1.2 points below the national average, with 23.2% of owners naming taxes as their top problem — a finding with particular relevance in Lake County, where property tax rates run 2.1%–2.3%.
Sports
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IHSA releases Scouts' 2026 football schedule: nine games, home opener Aug. 21
The IHSA released the Lake Forest Scouts' full 2026 football schedule on Wednesday, July 22, featuring a home opener against Deerfield on Aug. 21 and seven North Suburban Conference games, with key returners including WR Jack Burger and a wide-open QB competition.
Sports
Bears bringing free training camp walk-through to Lincolnshire on Aug. 10
The Chicago Bears will hold a free training camp walk-through practice at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire on Monday, August 10, with free ticket registration opening Thursday, July 16, at 10 a.m. CT via Ticketmaster.
Community
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17 Lake Michigan drownings this summer as NWS flags rip currents along local shore
Seventeen people have drowned in Lake Michigan in 2026, including a 22-year-old Gary man on July 19, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a beach hazards statement this week covering the Lake County shoreline that includes Lake Forest and Lake Bluff.
Community
Lake Forest College grad restores native habitats at Chicago Botanic Garden
Will Cleveland, a Lake Forest College Class of 2026 environmental studies graduate, is working as a paid ecological restoration technician at the Chicago Botanic Garden's SENA program, restoring prairies, woodlands, and aquatic habitats just miles from campus.
Education
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Helicopter lifts HVAC units onto Lake Forest High School as summer renovation accelerates
District 115 released Episode 16 of its "Under the Hard Hat" video series on July 13, documenting extensive summer construction at Lake Forest High School, where a helicopter assisted with rooftop HVAC installation as part of the $105.7 million Phase 1 renovation.
Education
Deer Path Middle School students pitch LED light swap to school board, backed by their own energy audit
Deer Path Middle School's Green Team presented their "Operation Light Swap" LED retrofit project to the District 67 Board of Education at the June meeting, proposing to replace nine always-on fluorescent emergency lights using a $1,000 grant as a proof of concept for broader campus upgrades.
About the Editor
About the Editor
About the Editor
Ellie Nevel
Ellie Nevel has experience covering communities across the Chicago, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake City areas. She earned her marketing degree from Illinois State University and is committed to delivering accurate, community-focused reporting on the issues that matter most to local readers.
Ellie Nevel
Ellie Nevel has experience covering communities across the Chicago, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake City areas. She earned her marketing degree from Illinois State University and is committed to delivering accurate, community-focused reporting on the issues that matter most to local readers.
Ellie Nevel
Ellie Nevel has experience covering communities across the Chicago, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake City areas. She earned her marketing degree from Illinois State University and is committed to delivering accurate, community-focused reporting on the issues that matter most to local readers.
Evenings on the North Shore, summarized.
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Evenings on the North Shore, summarized.
Your newsletter subscriptions are subject to our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.
Evenings on the North Shore, summarized.
Your newsletter subscriptions are subject to our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.
©2026 Lake Forest Journal
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©2026 Lake Forest Journal
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©2026 Lake Forest Journal
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