Lake County Gazette

Jennifer Beeler, Paul Greenfield and Emily Lane have been elected as Lake Bluff Park District commissioners.

According to the official results, Beeler ended up with 18.62% of the vote, Greenfield with 16.94% and Lane with 18.47%.

Beeler is the longest-serving board member and is now in her second term as a commissioner.

“Jennifer Beeler has been an active volunteer for the Lake Bluff Park District for over a decade," according to her bio on the Vote Lake Bluff website. "She served her first term as a Park District commissioner, chairing the Parks and Beach Committee and then moving from vice president to president of the board. Prior to that, Jennifer spent over six years as a trustee of the Friends of Lake Bluff Parks, raising funds for Sunrise Beach and other Park District assets."

Greenfield is also on his second term as a commissioner. He previously served as treasurer and Finance Committee chairman.

“Paul believes his experience and thorough knowledge of the Park District finances, as well as programming and facilities, is a major asset in performing the primary role of being a responsible steward of Park District resources,” Greenfield's bio reads.

Lane was an incumbent seeking a second term on the park board. She is a registered nurse and serves as the treasurer and Finance Committee chair.

“As a registered nurse, Emily sees the Park District as a vital part of a community’s public health infrastructure,” Lane’s bio on the Vote Lake Bluff website reads. “She believes that engagement in our parks, in recreation and sports programs leads to healthier individuals and therefore healthier communities. During the COVID pandemic, she joined board votes to keep Sunrise Beach and Blair pool open while also expanding programs, like the outdoor pickleball courts and additional preschool classrooms.”

The slate of Greenfield, Beeler and Lane faced a group of challengers in Rich Martin, Constance McCabe and Don Fawcett, according to the Lake County Gazette.

The seven-member Park District board of commissioners oversees the Lake Bluff beach, golf course, a leisure facility and fitness center, a winter ice rink and shelter, numerous racquet sports courts, ballfields and playgrounds, according to The Chicago Tribune. The park board in August 2022 negotiated a five-year deal with GolfVisions Management. The same firm has managed the club since 2017. Opponents to the continuation of the golf course had sought to turn the area into a nature preserve. Commissioners Greenfield, Lane, Beeler, Niki Walsh and Scott Weber all voted to execute the deal, while Susan Raymoure was the only one to vote against it.

That vote came after a land-use study that sought to resolve pending drainage issues impacting local roadways. The 40-acre site was first developed as a golf course in the 1960s. In 2017, GolfVisions took over management of the club, slashing an annual loss for the park district. The land-use study offered a path that offered an alternative to turn the site into wetlands to house runoff waters.