Lake County Gazette

Chief Judge Daniel B. Shanes announced that the 19th Judicial Circuit will again participate in the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project with the Lake County legal community partners and with Lake County. Registration is open until Oct. 25.

According to a Lake County 19th Judicial Circuit news release, the project's mission is to collect, preserve, and make accessible personal accounts of American war veterans so future generations can hear directly from veterans to better understand the realities of war. The project will take place at the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan on Monday, Nov. 11.

The news release said that a limited number of spaces are available and encouraged early registration. Two forms need to be filled out for inclusion in the project: Biographical Data Form and Veteran's Release Form. These forms can be mailed or hand-delivered to Ashleigh Carrera at the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, Lake County Courthouse, 1st Floor Court Administration Office, 18 North County St., Waukegan, IL 60085. Alternatively, completed forms can be scanned and emailed to courtsoutreach@lakecountyil.gov.

The event starts with check-in, breakfast, and a brief program following, according to the news release. Registered veterans will be asked to pose for a group photograph before being taken to assigned rooms to give their oral histories with the assistance of volunteer attorney interviewers. A volunteer court reporter will record each interview to be transcribed and archived at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The courthouse has hosted this program since 2012.