Lake County Gazette

Protect the Lake Bluff Golf Course is backing the slate of Paul Greenfield, Jennifer Beeler, and Emily Lane for Lake Bluff Park District. 

Early in-person voting begins on March 20. The slate Greenfield, Beeler, and Lane – all incumbents – are facing a group of challengers in Rich Martin, Constance McCabe, and Don Fawcett.

“In the April 4th Election, please vote to re-elect the three Park District Commissioners who are experienced, committed and proven successful," group administrator Deborah Fischer said in a Facebook post. "They will continue to Preserve, Protect & Grow the LB Park District in everyone's best interest.”  

The Lake Bluff Park District recently noted that Greenfield, Beeler, and Lane were able to broker a deal to license the golf course to save the community money on golf course operations instead of turning the golf club into wetlands. The public-private partnership, according to Lake Bluff Park District, "benefits the community because the Park District will save a projected $2.1 million of taxpayer money.” It also "meets a significant Strategic Goal, Financial Sustainability, while keeping golf in Lake Bluff.” 

“The Board of Commissioners is excited to announce that the Park District has approved a five-year license agreement with GolfVisions Management, Inc. for full-service golf operations and maintenance," an announcement on the Lake Bluff Park District website reads. “This is a victory for the community, which resulted from significant efforts of residents to raise private funds, and the Park District’s extensive due diligence to find a fiscally responsible option.”

After the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission came out with the plan to convert the land to wetlands Beeler wrote a letter to the community on the issue, noting the plan was not legally viable as the commission could not sell environmental credits for the project.

“The Board dedicated a substantial amount of time analyzing and considering this request — holding 35 meetings with discussion and public engagement on the project, a significant commitment of time and research from the Task Force, and hundreds of hours spent in research, consultation with SMC, and legal consultation over the course of more than a year,” Beeler wrote.

The Protect the Lake Bluff Golf Course popped up after a group of environmentalists sought to turn the 95-acre golf course into wetlands. It noted an Open Meetings Act complaint filed against Greenfield, Beeler, and Lane was meant to disrupt the deal they made with the golf course’s operator.

“The Open Meetings Act complaint was made against the LBPD Board in the attempt to void the "final action" of a passing vote on the Golf Visions contract,” Fischer posted on the Protect the Lake Bluff Golf Course Facebook page. “The final opinion of the Attorney General's office cites no actual evidence of any. violation, but presumes an OMA violation based on the lack of formality of a golf committee formed during COVID. The AG took no action against the Board because of remedial measures, and the matter was CLOSED.”

The golf course has a long history in the community. Established in 1968, the Lake Bluff Golf Club “has become a 'must-play' destination for golfers, according to its website. 

To date, "It is one of only a few public facilities offering private-club caliber amenities, "which is located on the scenic North Shore of Chicago." 

The golf course 45 minutes north of downtown Chicago and only a five-minute walk west from the Lake Bluff Metra Train station, "boasts of its ease for golfers traveling to the community from Chicago," the website added.