Lake County (IL) Board Regular Meeting – September 8, 2026

The Lake County Board met in regular session on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, at 9 a.m. in Waukegan, Illinois. The meeting was recorded and live-streamed, with remote public participation via Zoom. No agenda or minutes were provided, so this summary is based solely on the transcript. The board opened with a moment of silence and the Pledge of Allegiance, then heard employee recognitions, public comment, and action items.

Presentations & Recognitions

• Janine Richards was honored for 40 years of service in the Lake County Recorder’s/County Clerk’s Office, where she served as deputy recorder and land record coordinator. Richards said she was honored and planned to continue working.
• Christy Dareux was honored for 30 years and 63 elections with the County Clerk’s Office, with roles ranging from absentee voting clerk to storeroom coordinator. Her grandchildren were present.
• The board recognized September 2026 as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. The proclamation cited more than 48,000 U.S. suicide deaths annually, or one every 11 minutes; 14.3 million adults contemplating suicide each year, 4.6 million planning an attempt, and 2.2 million attempting; firearms as the most common method; and suicide as the second leading cause of death for ages 10-14. Deputy Coroner Steve Newton, chair of the Lake County Suicide Prevention Task Force, thanked the board and noted the task force works year-round.
• The board recognized September 2026 as Workforce Development Month. Jennifer Serena accepted on behalf of the Lake County Workforce Development team and noted that team member Jeffrey Hubert was named a national workforce development hero.
• The board recognized September 2026 as Safe Gun Storage Month. The proclamation cited 10,383 firearms reported missing, lost, or stolen in 2025; 80% of K-12 mass shooters using a firearm stolen from a family member; firearm injuries as the leading cause of death for ages 1-19 since 2020; guns used in about 55% of U.S. suicides in 2022; 79% of youth firearm suicides involving a family member’s gun; and unintentional child firearm deaths involving guns stored loaded in 74% of cases and stored unlocked in 76% of cases. The proclamation also noted the Illinois Safe Gun Storage Act took effect January 1, 2026. Several board members shared personal stories and urged safe storage; the State’s Attorney’s Office provides free firearm locks.

Consent Calendar

• The consent calendar, agenda items 5 through 30, was approved by roll call vote with no items pulled. There were no addenda to the agenda.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Linda Green, speaking on a matter not on the agenda, alleged that a Lake County contract with True Role (spelling as transcribed) placed every homeowner under real-time data surveillance under the guise of streamlining the homestead exemption. She claimed data were collected from public, private, purchased, and scraped sources; that an algorithmic black-box system could strip exemptions; and that the contract violated the Fourth Amendment. She asked the county to void the contract and reimburse residents.
• For the Midlothian Manor items, Liz Nelson of Joining Forces for Affordable Housing/Connections for the Homeless expressed support for the project on behalf of seven residents and nine organizations. She cited a Lake County Partners analysis showing the need for 17,700 market-rate and 7,900 affordable housing units, and said 28% or 73,000 Lake County households are cost-burdened.
• Reverend Daniel Morris, pastor of Peace Lutheran Church in Lake Zurich and a neighbor of the proposed site, said he was initially concerned but, after meeting the developer, supported the 24-unit development as needed housing security.
• Steve Dubretto of Lake County Partners said housing affordability directly affects economic competitiveness. He said the county is building only about 1,000-1,200 units per year, that a local company paused expansion because it could not attract workers, and that a Wisconsin company reversed a move to Lake County due to housing costs.
• For the data center moratorium, speakers overwhelmingly supported the moratorium. A Grayslake-area resident described a T5 data center mailer and asked for stronger protections, including notification, baseline measurements, and no hyperscale centers within three miles of communities. Susan Henning, a 30-year Gurnee resident, urged an eight-month pause, saying data center impacts are unknown. Alyssa Vincy cited T5 and Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin examples, including a proposed class action from residents 1.5 miles away, and urged baseline measurements before construction. Kira Lane of Clean Power Lake County strongly supported the moratorium and asked the board to go further and strengthen community engagement. Maida Mendis, executive director of Clean Power Lake County and a Zion resident, also supported the moratorium and asked for strong protections for water, air, and energy systems. Another resident said that if affordable housing efforts took 14 years to reach a good start, the board needed at least that much time to study data centers.

Discussion Items

• Member Park delivered the Board of Health report: the first human West Nile virus case in Lake County in 2026 was reported, mosquitoes remain active until the first hard frost, and Lake County has reported nine rabies-positive bats in 2026, six in August. The health department maintains a communicable disease data hub and a West Nile hotline.
• Item 32: A joint resolution reallocating opioid settlement funds within the Lake County Health Department to stabilize A-Way Out funding by $247,732.74 passed by voice vote.
• Item 33: A joint resolution accepting the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Program Year 2026 formula grant and authorizing an emergency appropriation of approximately $6.86 million passed by roll call vote.
• Item 34: A joint resolution authorizing renewal of the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center program grant from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, including an emergency appropriation of approximately $693,003.75, passed by roll call vote.
• Item 35: A joint resolution appropriating $1,785,000 in motor fuel tax funds for traffic signal and street light maintenance and authorizing a one-year renewal with Mead Inc. of Willowbrook, Illinois, for $1,487,143.71 passed by roll call vote.
• Items 36 and 37: The board considered together the Midlothian Manor project in Lake Zurich, consisting of a rezoning of two parcels from R-1 to R-6 and a conditional use permit for a planned unit development with a 24-unit apartment building described as affordable housing. Board members spoke in support, citing the need for affordable and attainable housing. Both items passed by roll call vote; Member Kanisnik was excluded from that vote.
• Item 38: The board adopted an ordinance amending the Unified Development Ordinance to define data centers and impose a temporary moratorium on data center uses in unincorporated Lake County. In discussion, members framed it as an eight-month moratorium on top of a four-month administrative deferral, with the chair saying it could run until May 2027 unless new regulations are adopted earlier. The chair also said the State’s Attorney’s Office advised that a one-year total moratorium was the maximum likely to be legally defensible, and that Lake County could be the first county in Illinois to approve a valid one-year data center moratorium. Member Wasick noted more than 1,200 public comments and about 1,500 data center proposals nationwide. Member Maine cautioned that the county only controls unincorporated territory and urged state-level action, noting Illinois had provided more than $660 million in data center tax incentives since 2019. The ordinance passed by voice vote.
• Item 39: A resolution accepting and placing on file the estimated aggregate tax levy of $191,311,274 for fiscal year 2027 passed. Members noted this was a statutory estimate, not the final levy, and that final levy discussions would occur in October.
• Appointments: Item 40 appointed Tina Commissioning, Sean Fitzgerald, and Kristen Jones to the Lake County Workforce Development Board. Items 41-43 appointed Robert Holbach to the Grub School Drainage District, Mara Altenberg to the Lake County Board of Health, and Sriya Alex, a registered nurse, to the Tuberculosis Sanatorium Board. All appointments passed.

Key Outcomes

• The consent calendar and all listed action items were approved; no failed votes or roll-call defeats were reported.
• The board adopted the data center moratorium and directed staff to research best practices and draft data center regulations, with the moratorium intended to remain in place until regulations are adopted or May 2027.
• The board approved the Midlothian Manor rezoning and conditional use permit, advancing a 24-unit apartment building described as affordable housing in Lake Zurich.
• The estimated FY2027 tax levy was placed on file; final budget and levy decisions were scheduled for October.
• The board adjourned the regular September session until October 13, 2026.