Lake County is situated in the northeastern corner of the U.S. state of Illinois, along the shores of Lake Michigan. As of the 2020 census, it has a population of 714,342, making it the third-most populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Waukegan, the tenth-largest city in Illinois. The county is primarily suburban, with some urban areas and some rural areas. Due to its location, immediately north of Cook County, Lake County is one of the collar counties of the Chicago metropolitan area. Its northern boundary is the Wisconsin state line.
According to the 2010 census, Lake County is the second wealthiest county in the state by per capita income, after DuPage County. Additionally, Lake County ranks as the 27th wealthiest county in the nation. The county includes the affluent North Shore communities of Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, and Highland Park, and much of the county's wealth is concentrated in this area, as well as in communities bordering Cook County to the South and McHenry County to the West. The north and northwest areas of the county, though historically rural and exurban, have experienced rapid suburbanization in the past three decades. While the lakefront communities of Waukegan, North Chicago, and Zion are post-industrial and majority non-white.
Naval Station Great Lakes is located in the city of North Chicago. It is the United States Navy's Headquarters Command for training, and the Navy's only recruit training center.
History
The county, which was primarily unsettled prairie and was still home to its native Potawatomi Indians, was created by the Illinois State Legislature in 1839. At that time, Libertyville, then known as Independence Grove, was the first county seat. In 1841, however, the county's residents voted to move the county government to Little Fort, now Waukegan, where the commissioners had purchased a section of land from the state. Lake County's first courthouse was built on part of that land in 1844 and the remainder was sold to pay for the $4,000 construction cost.
The county's first courthouse was used solely for court sessions and the jail, but in 1853, commissioners constructed a building to accommodate county administration offices and house records. When fire damaged the courthouse on October 19, 1875, the county records were saved because they were in the adjacent building.
After the fire, proposals were made to move the county seat to Highland Park, Libertyville or another site in central Lake County. The county commissioners, however, decided to rebuild in Waukegan. The east half of the building was reconstructed at a cost of $45,000. In 1895, the first jail building was added to the government complex and a west addition was added to the courthouse in 1922. By 1938, county commissioners saw a need for additional space and approved the addition of a 5th Floor. This courthouse, however, was demolished in 1967 to make room for a new high-rise administration building, which was completed with the addition of the jail in 1969 and courts in 1970.
Shortly thereafter, the Lake County Board commissioned the construction of a multi-faceted justice facility and ground was broken in 1986 for the Robert H. Babcox Justice Center, named in memory of Sheriff Babcox, who served as Lake County Sheriff from 1982 to 1988. The justice center, which houses the county jail, work release program, sheriff's administration offices and three courtrooms, was finished in 1989 at a cost of $29.6 million.
Additional county government facilities have been built or expanded throughout Lake County, including the Coroner's Office, Health Department/Community Health Center facilities, Division of Transportation, Public Works and Winchester House. Lake County government services extend throughout the county's .
The historic Half Day Inn, a tavern/restaurant, was constructed in 1843. This structure, once located at the corner of Milwaukee Avenue and Rte. 45/Old Half Day Road, was one of the oldest structures in Lake County until it was demolished in 2007 to make way for retail space, condominiums, and a retention pond.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (67.6%) is water. It is the second-largest county in Illinois by total area and the only one that has more water area than land area. Most of the water is in Lake Michigan.
State parks
Illinois Beach State Park
North Point Marina
Volo Bog State Natural Area
Chain O'Lakes State Park
Lakes
Besides Lake Michigan, lakes in the county include:
Bangs Lake
Bluff Lake
Butler Lake
Channel Lake
Lake Charles
Countryside Lake
Diamond Lake
Druce Lake
Dunns Lake
East Loon Lake
Fox Lake
Gages Lake
Grays Lake
Highland Lake
Island Lake
Lake Linden
Loch Lomond
Loon Lake
Lake Naomi
Sterling Lake
Valley Lake
Wooster Lake
Lake Zurich
Natural areas
Lake County's forest preserves and natural areas are administered by the Lake County Forest Preserves district. These facilities include traditional nature preserves, such as the Ryerson Conservation Area, as well as golf courses and historic homes, such as the Adlai Stevenson historic home. A long north–south string of the preserves in Lake County, including Half Day Woods, Old School Forest Preserve, Independence Grove, and Van Patten Woods, form the Des Plaines River Greenway, which contains the Des Plaines River Trail, a popular place for walking, running, and biking. Lake County is also home to Illinois Beach State Park, featuring over six miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, as well as dune areas, wetlands, prairie, and black oak savanna. Several local environmental groups operate in Lake County, such as Conserve Lake County and Citizens for Conservation, working to improve habitat. Volunteer opportunities also exist with the Lake County Forest Preserve District.
Adjacent counties
Kenosha County, Wisconsin - north
Cook County - south
McHenry County - west
Major highways
Demographics
2020 census
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.
2010 Census
As of the 2010 Census, there were 703,462 people, 241,712 households, and 179,428 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 260,310 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 75.1% white, 7.0% black or African American, 6.3% Asian, 0.5% American Indian, 8.5% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 19.9% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 20.5% were German, 12.9% were Irish, 9.4% were Polish, 6.9% were Italian, 6.5% were English, and 4.0% were American.
Of the 241,712 households, 40.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.6% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 25.8% were non-families, and 21.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.31. The median age was 36.7 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $78,948 and the median income for a family was $91,693. Males had a median income of $62,042 versus $44,200 for females. The per capita income for the county was $38,120. About 4.8% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.6% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.
2019 United States Census Bureau American Community Survey estimates
According to 2019 US Census Bureau American Community Survey one-year estimates (which is conducted annually for cities over 65,000 via sampling), the population of Lake County, Illinois was 74.2% White (60.3% Non-Hispanic White and 13.9% Hispanic White), 6.8% Black or African American, 8.0% Asian, 0.3% Native American and Alaskan Native, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 7.4% Some Other Race, and 3.3% from two or more races. The White population continues to remain the largest racial category as Hispanics in Lake County primarily identify as White (62.1%) with others identifying as Some Other Race (31.7%), Multiracial (3.7%), Black (1.1%), American Indian and Alaskan Native (1.2%), Asian (0.2%), and Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (0.1%). By ethnicity, 22.4% of the total population is Hispanic-Latino (of any race) and 77.6% is Non-Hispanic (of any race). If treated as a separate category, Hispanics are the largest minority group in Lake County, Illinois.Majority of Hispanic/ Latino residents in Lake County, Illinois are of Mexican descent. Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Central Americans, and South Americans also reside in Lake County, Illinois.
Sports
The following sports teams play in Lake County:
Lake County Fielders baseball (defunct)
Lake County Coyotes baseball
Sites of interest
Amusement parks
right|thumb|Six Flags Great America
Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois
Lambs Farm in Libertyville, Illinois
Museums
Volo Auto Museum in Volo, Illinois
Lake County Discovery Museum in Libertyville, Illinois
Warbird Heritage Foundation in Waukegan, Illinois
Waukegan History Museum in Waukegan, Illinois
Raupp Museum in Buffalo Grove, IL
Shiloh House in Zion, IL
Fort Hill Memorial Museum in Mundelein, IL
Dunn Museum in Libertyville, IL
Performing arts
Adler Arts Center in Libertyville, Illinois
ArtWauk in Waukegan, Illinois
Clockwise Theatre in Waukegan, Illinois
Genesee Theatre in Waukegan, Illinois
Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Illinois
Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois
Other
Naval Station Great Lakes
Gurnee Mills shopping mall
Lake Michigan
Communities
Cities
Highland Park
Highwood
Lake Forest
McHenry (unincorporated part)
North Chicago
Park City
Waukegan
Zion
Villages
Antioch
Bannockburn
Barrington (part)
Barrington Hills (part)
Beach Park
Buffalo Grove (part)
Deerfield
Deer Park (part)
Fox Lake (part)
Fox River Grove (part)
Grayslake
Green Oaks
Gurnee
Hainesville
Hawthorn Woods
Indian Creek
Island Lake (part)
Kildeer
Lake Barrington
Lake Bluff
Lake Villa
Lake Zurich
Lakemoor (mostly)
Libertyville
Lincolnshire
Lindenhurst
Long Grove
Mettawa
Mundelein
North Barrington
Old Mill Creek
Palatine (unincorporated part)
Port Barrington (part)
Riverwoods
Round Lake
Round Lake Beach
Round Lake Heights
Round Lake Park
Spring Grove (unincorporated part)
Third Lake
Tower Lakes
Vernon Hills
Volo
Wadsworth
Wauconda
Wheeling (part)
Winthrop Harbor
Census-designated places
Channel Lake
Forest Lake
Fox Lake Hills
Gages Lake
Grandwood Park
Knollwood
Lake Catherine
Long Lake
Venetian Village
Unincorporated communities
Aptakisic
Diamond Lake
Eddy
Fort Sheridan
Fremont Center
Gilmer
Grange Hall
Grass Lake
Ingleside
Ivanhoe
Kennedy
Loon Lake
Millburn
Monaville
Palm Beach
Prairie View
Rondout (Part of Lake Bluff)
Rosecrans
Russell
Sylvan Lake
West Miltmore
Wildwood
Wilson
Townships
The county is divided into eighteen townships.
Image:Map of Lake County Illinois showing townships.png|Lake County townships (clickable)|thumb|right|350px
poly 115 99 421 102 420 209 236 207 236 239 205 239 205 264 111 264 Antioch Township
poly 610 113 619 111 621 117 641 116 642 125 632 128 635 134 642 136 632 138 634 141 644 142 641 148 655 148 657 159 674 162 695 167 697 170 707 166 715 163 716 151 746 150 743 165 717 167 714 189 742 188 738 209 718 209 713 234 701 236 698 230 691 227 671 230 670 225 656 226 656 213 650 216 647 205 645 198 640 197 636 205 625 203 632 185 631 180 619 181 616 170 626 157 613 156 595 157 595 150 611 149 619 149 618 134 609 135 Zion Township
poly 621 108 739 108 747 145 745 171 739 232 735 274 608 272 609 158 620 157 618 162 616 173 616 180 631 181 624 202 637 203 638 210 643 210 650 210 650 217 657 226 672 233 691 228 700 236 712 237 720 213 738 213 742 190 716 190 717 168 745 168 746 149 717 149 714 164 705 165 698 169 698 164 681 165 678 162 657 159 657 148 645 149 645 144 633 141 634 138 645 138 646 134 634 133 634 131 641 126 643 118 621 116 Benton Township
poly 425 103 610 104 610 147 593 148 592 158 608 159 607 273 421 271 Newport Township
poly 420 330 420 210 239 210 238 240 207 240 206 301 237 300 238 330 Lake Villa Township
poly 114 266 204 266 205 303 235 304 235 453 114 452 Grant Township
poly 238 333 420 332 420 455 237 455 Avon Township
poly 422 273 422 458 609 456 607 274 Warren Township
poly 611 275 736 275 735 327 732 341 725 361 715 379 708 393 700 425 693 457 609 458 Waukegan Township
poly 114 454 236 456 236 640 115 638 Wauconda Township
poly 238 456 417 459 419 641 237 640 Fremont Township
poly 420 458 607 459 605 640 421 642 Libertyville Township
poly 610 460 691 460 687 506 693 552 705 604 720 641 608 641 Shields Township
poly 115 641 236 642 233 825 112 826 Cuba Township
poly 237 643 419 643 419 825 236 823 Ela Township
poly 422 644 606 644 605 826 421 826 Vernon Township
poly 608 643 677 644 684 660 696 660 697 828 605 828 West Deerfield Township
poly 681 644 720 644 750 720 774 770 807 826 699 829 700 659 686 658 Moraine Township
Antioch
Avon
Benton
Cuba
Ela
Fremont
Grant
Lake Villa
Libertyville
Moraine
Newport
Shields
Vernon
Warren
Wauconda
Waukegan
West Deerfield
Zion
Government
Politics
As a historic Yankee settlement, Lake County was initially a stronghold of the Free Soil Party. In the 1848 presidential election, it was Free Soil nominee and former President Martin van Buren’s strongest county, giving him over 58 percent of the vote.
Consequently, Lake County would turn rock-solid Republican for most of the next century and a half. After narrowly supporting Democrat Franklin Pierce in 1852, it voted Republican at all but one presidential election from 1856 to 1960. This tradition was only broken in 1912, when the GOP was mortally divided and Lake County voted for Progressive Party nominee and former President Theodore Roosevelt over conservative incumbent William Howard Taft.
In 1964 the Republican Party nominated Barry Goldwater, whose hostility to the Yankee establishment and strongly conservative platform were sufficient to leave many traditional Republicans to stay home or even to vote for Lyndon Johnson, who narrowly became the first Democrat to win an absolute majority in the county since James K. Polk in 1844, and the first to win it at all since Pierce in 1852. Between 1968 and 1988, however, Lake County became powerfully Republican once more, with no Democrat cracking forty percent of the vote.
However, as in the other collar counties, the Republican edge narrowed considerably in the 1990s, and Bill Clinton actually won it with a 166-vote plurality in 1996–the only time that Clinton won any of the collar counties besides Will County during his two campaigns for president. After narrowly voting for George W. Bush twice, in 2008 it swung over dramatically to support Democrat and then-Illinois Senator Barack Obama, who carried it by almost 20 points. Obama won it but by a slimmer margin in 2012. Hillary Clinton won it handily in 2016, tallying her second-best margin in the state. At 36%, Donald Trump's performance in the county was the worst of any Republican presidential nominee since 1912. In 2020, Joe Biden won 61% of the vote, the highest percentage of the vote for any candidate since 1988 and the highest ever attained by a Democrat.
Lake County has the highest payout for wrongful conviction in the United States. Juan Rivera was awarded $20 million, the largest wrongful conviction settlement in United States history, including $2 million from John E. Reid & Associates, who were known for the Reid technique of questioning suspects. This technique has been widely criticized for its history of eliciting confessions that were later determined to be false. Rivera was questioned twice at Reid headquarters by an employee of the company during his interrogation, which lasted for several days. Another payout was made to Jerry Hobbs. Kathleen Zellner settled Jerry Hobbs' civil rights case for $7.75 million. Hobbs was incarcerated for 66 months. This was the largest pre-trial detainee settlement in the United States.
Media
Lake County is covered in the Chicago media market and the county relies on Chicago television stations, radio stations, and newspapers for the source of its news and information.
The county has multiple radio stations, including 102.3 FM XLC and 98.3 FM WRLR.
The Lake County News-Sun, owned by Tribune Publishing, is the county's main print newspaper. It is printed and published in Gurnee.
Lake and McHenry County Scanner, launched in 2012 by Sam Borcia, is the county's biggest digital newspaper which covers Lake County as well as nearby McHenry County, Illinois. The publication's work has been quoted in top news outlets such as Fox News and Yahoo! News.
The county is also covered by the Chicago Sun-Times and The Daily Herald.
Notable people
Jack Benny (February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) – entertainer, comedian, actor and musician, Benny was one of America's greatest stars of radio and television, and also appeared in many films; he was raised in Waukegan, Illinois.
Charles Boyce (September 21, 1949) – cartoonist, creator of syndicated comic panel Compu-toon and the telecommunication public affairs image The KeyPad Kid.
Ray Bradbury (August 22, 1920 – June 5, 2012) – fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles, Bradbury is widely considered one of the greatest and most popular American writers of speculative fiction of the twentieth century. Bradbury was born in Waukegan.
Marlon Brando (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) actor; as a young sex symbol, he is best known for his roles in A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront and Guys and Dolls. Brando and his family moved to Libertyville, Illinois where he lived from 1937 until 1942.
Gary Coleman (February 8, 1968 – May 28, 2010) – actor, known for his role as Arnold Jackson in the American sitcom Diff'rent Strokes (1978–1986). Coleman was born in Zion, Illinois.
Ron Goldman (July 2, 1968 – June 12, 1994), who was killed along with Nicole Brown Simpson grew up in Buffalo Grove.
Michael Jordan (born February 17, 1963) – retired professional basketball player and active businessman, widely considered one of the greatest players of all time; as of 2015, Jordan had a residence in Highland Park, Illinois.
Vince Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) – actor, known for his roles in Swingers and Wedding Crashers; grew up in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, then moved to Lake Forest, Illinois, where he graduated from Lake Forest High School in 1988.
Pete Wilson (born August 23, 1933), Mayor of San Diego (1971-1983); United States Senator from California (1983-1991); and Governor of California (1991-1999), born in Lake Forest.
Thomas E. Wilson (1868-1958), businessman and founder of 'Wilson Sporting Goods', resident and buried in Lake County.
