The elected leaders of Lake Forest and Lake Bluff have much in common today. They are both closing out their first terms and ran in uncontested re-elections on April 1. Now days ahead of their respective inauguration ceremonies, they are both reminiscing and previewing what they see lies ahead.
Stanford “Randy” Tack was elected Lake Forest’s mayor in 2023, building on his previous city service highlighted by six years on the City Council.
Set to be sworn on May 5 for a second two-year term as mayor, Tack said in an interview that the city’s infrastructure and planning for large capital projects played a large role in his first two years.
A large chapter of Tack’s initial term was the city’s purchase of the vacant 1925 Field Court building in the Conway Park office complex. The intention is to convert the structure into the city’s new police headquarters. Tack advocated for the purchase, believing the city’s current public safety building on Deerpath Road (home to both the police and fire departments) is outdated and inefficient.
Tack thought the city had a stroke of good fortune in terms of real estate with the vacant nature of the Field Court, setting a path toward a $3.5 million acquisition. Now the focus is on a retrofit of the building, estimated to cost around $25 million.
The city will also face costs of converting the existing Deerpath Road headquarters for exclusive use fire department plus capital asset management and operational costs at the building.
To finance the endeavor, Tack said city officials anticipate borrowing just under $20 million to pay for the project, with the rest of the money coming from existing reserves and surpluses. Yet he maintains a renovation will save Lake Forest taxpayers anywhere between $20 million to $25 million as opposed to constructing a new building, an idea under consideration in other Chicago suburbs.
He predicts construction will start later this year, with police taking occupancy next year.
Away from the envisioned police station, Tack mentioned a series of other infrastructure projects as accomplishments in his first term.
He said the new pump station at the viaduct on Deerpath Road under Route 41 has been a success. The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) finished installation of the new station in 2023 and then handed it over to the city.
Tack conceded completion on most of the work on the pump station occurred before he was mayor, but he is happy with the improvements at what had been an area prone to flooding.
“It’s been spectacular,” he said. “We haven’t had a single flood event there since that has come online.”
Another chapter of Tack’s first term was a $16 million city facelift of Deerpath Community Park, creating better playing areas and more amenities.
“It’s really performed exactly as it was supposed to,” he said.
He is also pleased with the new winding boardwalk at Forest Park Beach.
“This summer people will really get a chance to enjoy that,” he said.
While some projects have finished, the city is in the middle of a two-phase renovation of Deerpath Road that started in January and is set to run through the end of October. While crews have worked on Deerpath, vehicular traffic has been limited, and a section from Oakwood to Western is now closed until the project is complete.
That has been a source of frustration for some local business owners. While not offering a specific plan, Tack said the city is considering some way to assist the affected businesses.
“We can’t shorten the process,” he said. “It is going to take the amount of time that it takes. We are trying to maintain access to those businesses but we know if we do all of that, there is still going to be negative consequences, and we can’t eliminate all of that. We are looking at ways to mitigate that.”
Tack noted that a big construction project on the horizon is a renovation of Bank Lane from Deerpath north to South Gate.
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Overall, Tack does not cite any disappointments in his first term, but there was a feeling of melancholy with the retirements of several senior staff members, including the police chief, fire department chief, finance director, and director of parks and recreation.
“I was sorry to see them leave,” Tack said. “But that’s just the way it goes.”
Tack is happy with the efforts of the current City Council and the city staff.
“My day-to-day role has been somewhat less than I anticipated. It might be and probably less than it has been for some other mayors who have insisted on a more hands-on role with things,” he said. “We have so many staff members who have been there for so long that the amount of actual hands-on activity that the mayor has to be involved in with them is pretty small because they just know what they are doing.”
Looking ahead to the next term, Tack said, in addition to the opening of the new police headquarters, the city would focus on improving its wireless capabilities. The City Council authorized hiring an engineering firm to assess the issue at an April meeting.
He said Lake Forest does not control its wireless infrastructure, but it can address the problem.
“We are going to have to create incentives and opportunities for infrastructure companies to come in and provide the services,” he said. “We don’t know currently what that is, that’s why the engineering firm is doing the analysis.”
He said he wants to create uniform high-level cellular service throughout the city.
“By the time I leave, I want to see that happen,” he said.
Up north in Lake Bluff, Village President Regis Charlot, who will be inaugurated for his second four-year term on May 12, starts his recollections of his first term against the backdrop of a massive upcoming infrastructure project.
In 2023, after years of discussion regarding the village’s persistent flooding issues, Lake Bluff trustees approved a $25 million stormwater mitigation plan. Charlot said construction is likely to start in September where a large pipe will go underground from the viaduct near Route 176, eventually directing excess water into Lake Michigan.
The project is set to be paid for through a combination of state, county, and village funding, including the implementation of a new stormwater fee, estimated to cost residents about $200 per year.
“It’s the largest capital expense project we will ever do in Lake Bluff,” he said.
In an interview, Charlot mentioned that another large upcoming project is the repaving of Sheridan Road, describing the current state of the popular thoroughfare as “terrible.” To address the problem, IDOT is scheduled to start a $2.8 million resurfacing later this year.
Charlot is also excited about a new bridge coming soon on Green Bay Road that will connect Lake Forest and Lake Bluff.
In terms of real estate, Charlot conceded the village needs to continue to work on finding solutions for what he described as a “missing middle” type of housing. He is concerned the village has few options for people who may want to downsize from their current homes, particularly senior citizens, as they may no longer want to maintain a single-family residence.
He believes the scheduled June start of construction of a new condominium building on a portion of the downtown site known as “Block 3” at 120 E Scranton Avenue is a step in the right direction.
“The building will be expensive but it will be the first of its kind in Lake Bluff,” he said. “I hope it’s the start of something different.”
On another part of the “Block 3” site, Charlot is optimistic about the prospect for a mixed-use development that received a favorable recommendation at the April Joint Plan Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals meeting. The proposal will now have to be approved by village trustees.
“I think there is an 80 % chance that this concept is going to go forward,” he said.
Charlot added the village is close to finalizing a new comprehensive plan, allowing a template on how to move forward on zoning issues.
Charlot also looked back on the unusual dispute with the Lake Bluff Park District over the use of the pickleball courts at Blair Park, following noise complaints from some neighbors. Eventually, a plan was worked out to move pickleball play to Artesian Park, but after a drawn-out process.
“We were friends all along, but it was hard,” he acknowledged. “I think we will have a great solution that will not project noise towards residents like it did before.”
Charlot, who previously had been a village trustee, noted he was surprised by the amount of “horsetrading” required in the role of village president, particularly with local legislators and other governments, to get things done for Lake Bluff.
Yet he believes overall the residents are happy and that has made his work easier.
“People are here because they want to be here,” he said. “You don’t deal with conflict and concerns, you deal with smiles and people want to work together. That makes my life so much fun.”
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.