The Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to announce the official opening of the Zion Health Center, a newly renovated facility located at 1911 27th Street, in Zion.

Lake County

Health Dept. opens renovated Zion Health Center

The Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to announce the official opening of the Zion Health Center, a newly renovated facility located at 1911 27th Street, in Zion. The Health Department acquired the facility through a generous donation from Cancer Treatment Centers of America, in 2017. Grants from the Health Resources and Services Administration and the Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation partially funded the renovation of the new facility, which expanded from 2,500 to nearly 13,000 square feet. The site was fully renovated to provide integrated health services — including primary care, dental care, behavioral health, women’s health, nutrition services, case management and more — and patient-centered care under one roof. Previously known as the Zion Community Health Center, the facility served 4,000 Zion residents in 2017, though nearly 1,700 traveled to other Health Department locations to receive medical, dental and mental health services. The new Zion Health Center opened to serve patients on June 14. For more information, call 847-377-8000 or visit www.lakecountyil.gov.

LCCF approves slew of grants for nonprofit partners

A report stated that the Lake County Community Foundation Board of Directors recently approved $254,000 in grants to nonprofit partners as part of an effort to improve the quality of life for all Lake County residents. In partnership with LCCF fund holders, a total of $393,000 in grants has been made in fiscal year 2018. Collaborative Grants of $55,000 each were awarded to Liberty Prairie Foundation and the Northern Illinois Food Bank for their collaborative effort to increase access to affordable, nutritious food and to coordinate Lake County’s food access system. In celebration of its 15 years of service, LCCF awarded Basic Human Needs Anniversary Grants to a mix of new and previous grantees, including $10,000 each to Alexian Brothers Housing and Health Alliance, Nicasa Behavioral Health Services, Partnerships for a Safer Lake County (A Safe Place), Kohl Children’s Museum, Curt’s Cafe, Ragdale Foundation and Twice As Nice Mother & Child.  Other grantees include College Bound Opportunities, Erie Family Health Center, Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project, Fat Cat Rescue, Foglia YMCA, Highland Park-Highwood Legal Aid Clinic, Mother’s Trust Foundation, Spay & Stay, Youth Build Lake County, YWCA Lake County and Words on Wheels. For more information, call 847-377-0520 or visit www.lakecountycf.org.

Barrington

Park Dist. to host family friendly Big Trucks event   

The village announced that the Barrington Park District will host Big Trucks, an event featuring a variety of village vehicles and family friendly activities, from 9-11:30 a.m. Aug. 4 in the parking lot at Ron Beese Park, 50 Rotary Drive. Children and families are invited to climb aboard fire engines, garbage trucks, tow trucks and more. The event also includes Big Wheel races, a trackless train and an inflatable slide. Admission is free. Drinks and frozen treats will be available for purchase. In addition, attendees are encouraged to bring a food donation to benefit the Northern Illinois Food Bank. Items needed include cereal, canned chicken and tuna, peanut butter, pasta and pasta sauce, rice, dried beans, canned fruit, canned vegetables and reduced-sodium soup (no glass containers). Attendees donating food items will be entered into a prize basket raffle. For more information, call 847-381-0687 or visit www.barringtonparkdistrict.org.

Buffalo Grove

Village earns state’s lone Most Educated Cities Award

The village announced that Buffalo Grove recently received a Most Educated Cities Award from online platform Insurify. Just one community in each of the country’s 50 states receives the award, which recognizes the town whose residents have the highest-rated educational achievements. Insurify provides car insurance comparisons at no cost to its users. More than 1.4 million auto insurance applications submitted through the online platform provided the educational history of each applicant. Individuals were then given a score based on the level of education they had attained — or the grade-point average for those still attending a post-secondary school. Results were then grouped by community, and the top scorer was identified in each state. For more information, call 847-459-2500 or visit www.vbg.org.

Wheeling

School supply drive for needy families scheduled

The village announced that it is conducting a school supply drive to help needy families in Wheeling and throughout Wheeling Township. Items needed include highlighters, colored pencils, markers and pencil cases. Donations of the supplies can be dropped off at the Wheeling Police Department, 1 Community Blvd., through Aug. 10. Donated items also will be collected at Wheeling Night Out: 35th Anniversary, to be held from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Aug. 7 at Heritage Park, 100 Community Blvd. The event, in conjunction with National Night Out, includes live music, food, giveaways, free pool admission and more. For more information, call 847-459-2606 or visit www.wheelingil.gov.

Fox River Grove

Village seeks downtown properties for redevelopment

As part of the village’s effort to implement a downtown redevelopment project — evident in the adopted Comprehensive Plan of 2007, the Downtown Redevelopment Implementation Plan of 2010 and approval of the downtown tax increment financing (TIF) district in both 2012 and 2015 — Fox River Grove officials have taken steps to acquire downtown properties for future development. The village is initially concentrating its land assembly efforts on the block bordered by Northwest Highway, Illinois Street, Lincoln Avenue and Opatrny Drive (across from the train station). Once the properties are acquired by the village, a new development project will be feasible and the properties will be made available to the development community. Currently, there is no timetable as to when the land acquisition process will be complete. For more information, call 847-639-3170 or visit www.foxrivergrove.org.    

–Lake County News Briefs–