BULLETIN – April 22, 2026

By Tim Dempsey

President Tom Gore rang the bell and called on Kim Smith to give the Pledge. Greeter Jim Laverdiere led us in prayer and Tom Gore announced that Song Meister Dennis Kratohwil is returning from his winter hibernation in Florida on May 6^th. Two more weeks of song silence!

-Charles Lesser had two brags. His daughter celebrated her first birthday, and he was named as one of the top advisors in Illinois by Forbes magazine.

-There will be no morning meeting next week as it is the fifth Wednesday of the month. Instead, we will meet at Coppolillo’s on Cook Avenue at 5:30 pm for an evening of fun and frolics!

-The Four Way Testers golf league starts next Monday at Countryside.

-Due to scheduling, the Installation Dinner will be in mid-July this year.

-Tom Miller informed us that today is Earth Day. He also told us that today is many more national days!

Today’s program featured Shane Schneider, Lake County Engineer and Director of the Lake County Department of Transportation. He has been a civil engineer for 30 years and he is a fourth generation Lake County resident. He gave us a bit of history: Route 66 is 100 years old, and this is the 70^th anniversary of the interstate highway system. Roads in Illinois were the responsibility of individual townships prior to 1913. The Tice Act created county highway departments to insure modern consistent roadways. Hard roads were built under the slogan: “Get Illinois out of the Mud”. The Tice Act was part of the national good roads’ movement. Lake County does 3.5 million vehicle miles daily. We have 915 lane miles of county roads and 65 miles of bike paths.

The Department of Transportation is responsible for road construction, maintenance, design, oversite and permits. They also maintain 700 County vehicles. They operate the Passage Transportation System which controls traffic operations in the county. They have a staff of 130, with half maintenance and half engineering and support staff. They will replace about 200 miles of sewer lines and culverts this year. Passage has smart signals and cameras with video feeds to keep traffic flowing efficiently. Snowplows have cameras that are part of a county wide system. Their website can tell where each plow is in real time. Their mission is to preserve, improve, modernize and expand the road system and the technology associated with the system.

Funding is planned with a 5-year horizon, from 2025 to 2030. 45 % of funds come from RTA taxes, 32% from fuel taxes and the rest from Federal grants. One third goes to construction, one third to modernization and one third to expansion. They drive the roads each year to determine if resurfacing is needed. Early repairs are most cost effective. They repair 3 to 4 times before resurfacing. The 2026 budget is $100 million which is up 70% in the last 5 years. They plan 14 new roundabouts. They represent a 90% reduction in serious accidents. They are also considering several CN grade separations. They are installing rumble strips on new roads and audible crossings as part of the US DOT Safe System. They are working on a 20-year plan that can be accessed at lakecounty2050.org. 

-Daily: $36 won by Jim Laverdiere.

-Progressive: $1,175 (19 cards). Tom Gore drew the 2 of hearts. ROLLOVER!

NEXT WEEK IS IN 2 WEEKS – MAY 6^th

-Greeter & Prayer: Jeff Harger.

-Fun & Frolics: Rick Mittelman.

-Program: Mike Zafirovski, the Zaf Group.

WHEEL:                                                                      

-Today is the 26^th anniversary of the wheel. Tom Miller was wheeled for leaving his glasses on the Sergeant at Arms table. Pretty lame to wheel for such a minor offense!

Glenn Garlick led us in the Four Way Test. 

“Ya wanna have a catch” – Field of Dreams – Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner), to John Kinsella (Dwier Brown).