Lake County, Illinois

Lake County is situated in the northeastern corner of the U.S. state of Illinois along the shores of Lake Michigan. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 703,462,[1] making it the third-most populous county in Illinois after nearby Cook and DuPage Counties. Its county seat is Waukegan, the tenth-largest city in Illinois.[2] Due to its location, immediately north of Cook County, Lake County is one of the collar counties of the Chicago metropolitan area.

According to the 2010 census, Lake County is the second most wealthy county in Illinois by per capita income, after DuPage County. Additionally, Lake County ranks as the 27th wealthiest county in the nation. The lakefront communities of Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, and Highland Park are part of the affluent North Shore area.

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.

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.