By Adrienne Fawcett

Police continue to advise Lake County residents to be careful about allowing strangers into their homes due to an increase of “ruse burglaries” in the area. One took place in Lake Zurich and while another ruse burglary was attempted in Vernon Hills on Nov. 28.

“Ruse burglary” is a term used by police to describe burglaries that occur when criminals attempt to distract a person or people from their home so that an accomplice can enter from another door and steal cash, jewelry and other items.

Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran said in September that such crimes usually take place in the late mornings up until about 5 p.m. and are targeted to elderly people who live alone. They are on the rise in Lake County. Click here for other ruse burglary stories that GazeboNews has posted in recent months.

The Lake Zurich ruse burglary occurred in a single-family residential area near U.S. Route 12 and Rand Road on Nov. 28. An elderly male homeowner received a knock on his front door. The suspect said his father purchased the home behind his, and that he had questions about property lines, etc. The homeowner brought the suspect through the house and into the back yard.

The suspect kept the homeowner talking for 15 to 20 minutes, asking numerous questions about digging holes along the fence line, bringing equipment into the yard, etc. The suspect told the homeowner he would go get a business card from his truck, and then he never returned. The homeowner found his house had been ransacked and burglarized.

He did not see a vehicle or other suspects. He described the man who rang his bell as about 35 years old, 5’8” stocky build, little to no facial hair, no glasses. The suspect was wearing a multi-colored winter jacket and a black knit hat. When they were in the back yard, he received three calls on his cell phone and spoke on the phone in a foreign language, possibly Spanish.

Numerous items were taken, including:

–Framed $500 and $1,000 bills
–Westpoint Academy ring w/Masonic emblem on black onyx, and a man’s name inscribed in script writing inside the band;
–18K gold Shriner’s emblem ring with Mason symbol on one side and red cross on the other side
–18K gold Mercedes Benz emblem ring with MB logo circled by [...]

With décor ranging from traditional to contemporary with a dash of whimsy mixed in, participants on the historic Christmas Home Tour may well find the inspiration needed to elevate holiday decorating to a new level. These photos offer a sneak preview of the experience that awaits participants this Friday and Saturday, December 2-3, from 11-3 on the tour sponsored by the Lake Bluff History Museum.

Click here to read more about the Christmas Home Tour. Or visit ChristmasLakeBluff.com

Here are some additional photos to get you in the holiday spirit:

By Joanna Rolek, executive director of the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Chamber of Commerce

On Saturday, Dec. 3, please join in a day-long celebration in the traditional holiday spirit brought to you by the Lake Bluff Downtown Merchants, Village of Lake Bluff, and the Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Chamber of Commerce. The Village’s charming downtown will come alive with the sights, sounds and tastes of the season along with in-store promotions and gift ideas for all ages … so, stop by and make a day of it with food, fun and shopping!

SCHEDULE:
10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Businesses open for holiday shopping
10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Art show & sale at the Lake Bluff train station
10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Enter to win Sophia Forero necklace at Voila
10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Visit the Holiday Snow Village in the lower level of the Lake Bluff Library
10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Story time with the Library Elf & drop in craft fun at the Lake Bluff Library
11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Horse-drawn carriage rides courtesy of Lake Forest Bank & Trust
12 – 2 p.m. Visit with Santa at the Lake Bluff History Museum
12 – 5 p.m. Complimentary hot chocolate served at Inovasi
2 – 3 p.m. Girl Scout carolers from troops 456 & 41710
3 – 5 p.m. Live reindeer with their elves visit downtown Lake Bluff
3 – 5 p.m. Strolling carolers from Lake Forest High School
4 – 5 p.m. The Buckthorns perform seasonal favorites at Inovasi
5 p.m.- on Gazebo lighting celebration on the Green sponsored by Kinnucan Co.
[...]

District 67 Board member John Julian takes questions from the media

By Paige Wagenknecht

Lake Forest District 67 Board of Education announced Ronald Safer as the independent counsel hired to investigate the Deer Path Middle School principal incident at Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting.

Ronald Safer

Safer is a managing partner for law firm Schiff Hardin, LLP and previously worked as an assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois. Board Vice-President John Julian said Safer has experience in dealing with these types of incidents.

Julian said Safer will be charged with three points:

1. Determine whether the district’s policies and procedures were followed.

2. Determine if the policies and procedures need to be revised, and recommendations made in that regard.

3. Determine whether there was any wrongdoing of the district’s handing of the John Steinert matter in 2009.

A subcommittee made up of board members who were not on the board when decisions about Mr. Steinert were made three years ago made the decision during a closed meeting after an earlier public forum and before the regularly scheduled 7 p.m. meeting. Those board members are Lesley Fisher, Bill Anderson, John Julian, and Rick Schuler.

The board first had to make a motion to undertake an independent review of the matter with DPM principal John Steinert. All board members voted in favor of the motion and the hiring of Safer.

At the end of the meeting, the board also voted to remove an item from the consent agenda to destroy audio recordings from Jan. 27, 2010. Those recordings will not be destroyed for 30 to 60 days.

On Friday, Dec. 2, musicians from Lake Forest High School will “Rock The Red” to raise money for HIV/AIDs. The concert honors the 30th anniversary of the first publication of AIDS in a medical journal and takes place the day after World Aids Day.

Sponsored by The Church of the Holy Spirit and open to the public, “Rock The Red” will feature a presentation by Courtney Bingham, a 14-year-old boy who has lived in Chicago House for most of his life.

Courtney has written and spoken to local, state and even national audiences about his experiences with HIV/AIDS. He is HIV negative, but he knows well the effects of HIV from watching both his mother’s and younger brother’s ongoing challenges. Courtney’s mom, Cheresse, is on the Chicago House Board of Trustees and is also an HIV/AIDS advocate.

Courtney has spoken before President Bill Clinton and earned a full scholarship to Loyola Academy in Wilmette, where he’s a freshman.

Ten bands from Lake Forest High School and CHS will perform at Rock The Red, which begins at 7 p.m. in the church’s parish hall.

The event will be facilitated by David Creech, PhD, Director of Hunger Education for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Donations will support Chicago House. Jewelry from Siempre Unidos will also be featured and on sale during the show (as well as the Kindle Market). Siempre Unidos employs women with HIV & AIDS to make bags and jewelry in Hondorus which are sold at the church’s Missions Possible book and gift store.

Julia Wold, Harry Griffith and John Julian at District 67's Public Forum

By Paige Wagenknecht

The Tuesday evening public forum to address the Lake Forest School District 67’s handling of the Deer Path Middle School scandal had a large turnout with around 130 community members in attendance, but only four people addressed the board, many of whom spoke at the other forums. The forum lasted about 17 minutes before board members went into a closed session until the 7 p.m. regularly scheduled meeting.

Here are notes from the meeting:

4:59 p.m.–The board room is starting to fill up. Camera crews are beginning to set up. CBS, ABC and other media companies are here.

5:02 p.m. — Board members are getting ready to start.

5:03 p.m. — Board called to order.

5:06 p.m. — The meeting room is filled. There is now standing room only.

5:06 p.m. — Community members start to speak to the board. Michael is the first community member to speak. Here is a paraphrased version of what he said to the board:

Many in our community are simply appalled, deeply upset. This situation should have been handled with immediate termination. Dr. Griffith and our board should be responsible for that. Your actions in 2009 and today are causing this upset. Your decision should have been the same no matter what was in the police report. Five months later you knew he pleaded guilty. Dr. Griffith you watched as the police officer questioned your employee. Beacham called for resignation of the board members.

5:10 p.m. — The second community member to address the board is Eric Herman. He does not think the current board should be able to influence who the next superintendent will be. He said the next superintendent might want to have experience with “rebuilding,” since Lake Forest will need to do so after this scandal.

5:13 p.m. — Third community member, Walt Nielsen, starts to address the board. He requests that the Board of Education engage a third party to investigate the district’s handling of John Steinert in 2009.

5:15 p.m.– Community member Bobby said that the district’s negligence has brought shame and embarrassment to the community. People who do bring shame and negligence to the community should resign. “Why, won’t you do that?” he asked the board.

5:17 p.m. Board president Julia [...]

The Lake Forest School District 67 Board of Education is hosting a community forum at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 29, at Lake Forest High School-West Campus. The forum will be in Seminar Rooms A & B and the agenda has just one item: “Deer Path Middle School Principal Matter.”

If you can’t attend the public forum but want to know what’s going on, stick with GazeboNews, as I’ll be there and will post live updates to gazebonews.com (barring unforseen technological glitches). Also–there are two places where you can watch an LFTV video of the meeting as soon as Wednesdsay morning. It will air in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff at 8 a.m. Wednesday on Comcast Channel 17, and it also will be on the city’s YouTube channel — here’s the address: youtube.com/enjoylakeforest. LFTV’s Ed Johnson said the YouTube video will also be up on Wednesday morning.

Just to be sure the meeting info is A-OK—here are links to the District 67 website for the agendas:

Public Forum at 5 p.m.

Executive Session at 6 p.m.

Regular Board Meeting at 7 p.m.

Daun Roth carryies a bundle of evergreens for Lake Bluff business district planters

By Veva Schreiber of the Lake Bluff Garden Club

For more than 40 years Lake Bluff Garden Club members have been decorating Lake Bluff for the Holiday season ahead, but who’s counting?

Everything is now in place for the 2011 season. The tree in the gazebo sparkles on the Village Green. All 33 Central Business District containers and planters are filled with “naturals” assorted evergreens, red berry branches, silver pine cones and boxwood. Street Lamps have been wrapped in garland and twinkling lights, and topped with red velvet bows. Sixteen signs at village entrances and other public places are readied to welcome visitors.

Even Mother Nature cooperated when the Club went out to decorate on Nov. 20. It was cold and blustery, but no freezing rain or snow as sometimes experienced in the past.

In addition, there was a surprise element. An oversized (5-foot) “Friendship” Ball appeared at the entrance to Scranton Alley in the downtown. Inspired by the Victorian Kissing Ball, it was constructed of evergreen on a grapevine base, then decorated with bows, ornaments, and YES even a sprig or two of mistletoe tucked into place. Residents are invited to snap pictures underneath it if they wish!

Hanging the Holly-day ball

Margaret Tomaselli is Village Planters chairman. Carol Peckham served again as Greening chairman. Club members worked on four days preparing the materials, planting and decorating. Village Manager Drew Irwin lent a helpful hand Saturday morning. The Scranton Alley owner gave permission to display the Ball, and the Alley business owner has provided the electricity to light up the ball. We thank them all.

A bit of history. It is believed that the Kissing Ball was an offspring of ancient times as a symbol of peace. Combatants who discovered themselves facing each other under tree boughs laden with mistletoe threw down their weapons hugged, and declared peace for the day.

Decorating the Village is but one of the Club’s holiday events. Earlier this month a “hands on” workshop [...]

Submitted by the Lake County Clerk’s Office

WAUKEGAN – Lake County Clerk Willard Helander announced that established political party candidates filing at the local level for the March 20, 2012, General Primary Election may now file their petition packets at the County Clerk’s office, 18 N. County Street, Waukegan. The start date for filing was Monday, Nov. 28.

Offices to be nominated at the primary election include Circuit Court Clerk, Coroner, Recorder of Deeds, State’s Attorney, County Board Members Districts 1-21, and North Shore Sanitary Trustees Districts 1-5. Precinct Committeemen for the two major political parties will be elected at the March election.

LakeCandidatePower.info offers online resources to candidates including an informational video on filing petition papers and a Condensed 2012 Candidate’s Guide. The guide, a synopsis of the State Board of Elections Candidate’s Guide, includes a legal calendar, petition requirements, and general filing information. Candidates may also obtain petition packets and the Condensed 2012 Candidate’s Guide in-person at the Clerk’s office.

Candidates may circulate petitions until 5:00 p.m. on Monday, December 5, 2011, the last day to file. For more information, contact Cindy Pagano at 847.377.2309.