A dozen local governments in Lake County will receive nearly $6.8 million in park grants from state program

A dozen units of local government around Lake County are set to receive approximately $6.8 million in grants this year as part of a nearly $60 million round of Open Space Land Acquisition and Development awarded by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

The park districts of Mundelein, Highland Park, Wauconda, Deerfield, Vernon Hills and Buffalo Grove, as well as the municipal governments of Round Lake Beach, Zion and Libertyville will all be able to allocate grants ranging between $400,000 and $600,000 to park and recreational projects.

Additionally, the Lake County Forest Preserve District, the Township of Antioch and the Grant Township Highway each were awarded grants of roughly $600,000.

The program, OSLAD for short, generally provides grants funding up to 50% of a project. Some governments operations operating in “economically distressed communities” are eligible to have projects funded 100% through an OSLAD grant, but none of the Lake County applicants which won grants held that designation.

Officials in Round Lake Beach plan to use a $580,915 grant to cover expenses in a project to update the village’s “beloved” Lakefront Park at 1019 Lake Shore Drive, with plans to construct a new fishing pier and kayak launch, a picnic shelter offering concessions, a performance stage, new playground amenities.

Mayor Scott Nickles gave “huge credit” to village staff, who he said in a village statement went “above and beyond to secure this funding.”

Round Lake Beach officials are still planning the project, which they hope to complete by summer of 2024, but Nickles said the money “will go a long way” to cover costs of improvements residents have expressed interest in.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the grants alongside officials from the Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois Association of Park Districts last week, saying the “health and well-being of Illinoisans sits at the heart” of the program, which is distributing its largest round of grants in its 36-year existence.

The Park District of Highland Park will use its $600,000 grant to fund a portion of a project revitalizing Sunset Woods Park.

That project, which targets nine acres of the 34-acre park, will feature the installation of a rain garden with native plants, the replacement of and relocation of a basketball court to create a multiuse court, a new game area and the relocation and replacement of the skate park installed in the early 2000s.

Park District of Highland Park executive director Brian Romes called Sunset Woods Park the “community’s central downtown park” and said the Park District is looking forward to engaging the community during the project’s design process.

“The Park District heard from many residents through the Sunset Woods Master Planning effort,” Romes said, “and we are grateful for the support from the OSLAD grant program to be able to act on initiatives from that plan.”

According to an announcement on Vernon Hills Park District’s Facebook page, officials there plan to use their $566,465 for a project slated for 2024 that will make improvements at Hartmann Park. That project is expected to include an ADA-accessible playground, a half basketball court, a pollinator garden and repaved parking lots and a renovated walking path.

Only Cook County, which will see two dozen projects net more than $12 million in grant funds, and DuPage County, which will receive nearly $7.5 million for 14 projects, drew more in grants than Lake County.

State Sen. Adriane Johnson, a Democrat who represents the 30th District which stretches north through Lake County from Buffalo Grove and Vernon Hills to include Waukegan, Gurnee and other municipalities, applauded Lake County’s grant haul in a statement Friday.

“The benefits of our local park districts and recreational centers go beyond the beauty of its structural design,” Johnson said. “Parks embody the opportunity for people to have a safe place to destress and improve their physical and mental well-being.”