The Lake Forest Podcast

⚡ Pete rode out the storm glamping in his own driveway—Starlink dish up, house running off his truck—while much of Lake Forest sat in the dark with no power, internet, or reliable cell service. He could communicate. The City couldn't.

Rick Lesser joins from his office (Comcast's out at the condo) to work through what happened Monday night—and what didn't. One City advisory went out at 3:03 PM, before the worst hit. Then silence, as limbs came down and live wires hit residential streets.

The morning after, Pete goes to the Chamber's mayor's breakfast looking for one thing: a straight answer. Is there a disaster plan? "We don't like to call it a plan. We like to call it a playbook." Yes or no—do you have one? "We got a draft."

From there it opens up: the council-manager form of government and who's actually accountable when the lights go out. Smart911—which the City's own website says sends emergency texts, emails, and phone calls—and which, when Pete asked a few thousand local Facebook followers whether anyone got one during the storm, produced a simple answer: no one reported getting one. The episode also digs into cell coverage, the City apps rolled out with fanfare that went quiet the one night they were needed, and whether something as simple as a group text could have made the difference.

Public Works and the first responders worked through the night, and they get their due here. This was never about the crews clearing the roads. It's about who's standing at the front of the room when it matters.

The mayor? The city manager? The communications director? Or is nobody in charge?

We document. You decide.

🎙 Pete Jansons — with Rick Lesser & Jeff Urso

Recorded during the outage, before the City released its Storm Response Survey. The survey is discussed here because it directly addresses the issues raised during the recording.

⏱ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 — "Is there a disaster plan?" … "We got a draft."
0:53 — Glamping in Lake Forest: Starlink up, City dark
2:00 — "A pretty smart Elon fan"
5:00 — Who's in charge? The council-manager form explained
6:30 — Apps rolled out with fanfare, zero alerts
8:00 — The mayor's breakfast: no mayor, no leader in the room
9:44 — "Playbook, not a plan… we got a draft"
15:24 — "It looked like Baghdad"
24:48 — Live wires, a downed line, and calling 911
27:16 — Sputnik, Starlink, and 50-up/200-down
42:04 — Smart911: the alert that never came
44:14 — "Zero. Is that good enough for you?"
51:00 — Crews pulled in from all over the country
1:10:30 — The boil-order flashback: "you were 100% right"
1:13:00 — "I demand better leadership"
1:15:00 — What has to change before the next storm
1:17:29 — "We document. You decide."

🎵 Companion songs: "We Got a Draft" / "Hand Me a Spark"

📋 The City's Storm Response Survey is in this week's eNews. The scored questions cover cleanup and restoration—not the Monday timeline, the cell blackout, or whether any alert reached you. Put that in the write-in boxes, Questions 6–8.
Survey: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=b4l7fqOCKkSMFS3VLLa6pKbAueDiTqNCjxwBS9OcpLlUOFM2U1dERkpTWUJOSjdDSzVSSzkzMU9MSy4u

🔗 Support: patreon.com/lakeforestpodcast | Substack (Rawthentic): petejansons.substack.com | Tips/press: [email protected] | Lake Forest, IL 60045

🎪 Art Miller says move Lake Forest Day to the weekend. Within about a minute of hearing that, Skoo Walker — thirty-plus years on the Lake Forest PA, grew up hanging around the Legion — is explaining who drags the flags up at 5:30 on every national holiday, and why you don't touch the carnival calendar. Because Lake Forest Day isn't the city's event. It's the McKinlock Legion's fundraiser — the one that pays for the scholarships, Boys State, Girls State, all of it. Moving it for convenience is like asking a nonprofit to reschedule its gala for you. Then the caucus comes up, and the real question lands: the town elects 40 people to make one hard choice — and this year they picked two mayoral finalists and want a special election to break the tie. If the group we elect to decide can't decide, what exactly is it for? From there it's everywhere: Monday's finance-meeting pension TLDR, the head shop that used to sell flavored rolling papers out of what is now Skoo's office, the Burger King parking lot economy and the landlord who chased everyone out, cut-through traffic on Oakwood, fireworks nobody could see through the mist, red air over town, rain insurance for canceled events, football starting early, the White Sox actually winning, and a supper-club steak in Racine. Move the carnival? Keep the flags? Let the public pick the caucus's candidate for them? Comments-section problem? Caucus problem? Or a Lake Forest problem? We document. You decide. 🎙 Pete Jansons — with Skoo Walker ⏱ TIMESTAMPS🍦 0:00 — Cold open: the leadership advice🎪 0:08 — Art Miller says move Lake Forest Day🎖️ 0:30 — The Legion runs that day: scholarships, Boys State🇺🇸 2:33 — Flags at 5:30 AM — and Legions shrinking everywhere🎤 3:50 — Skoo returns: "the fact checkers are now ready"🏬 5:27 — Skoo's office used to be a head shop🍔 6:48 — The Burger King parking lot economy🏢 7:30 — Why Burger King (and King Ma) really left town🏛️ 8:16 — Monday's finance meeting: the pension TLDR🚸 9:15 — Lake Forest Day's new route + Oakwood cut-through traffic🚶 12:20 — Phones, bikes, and the oblivious sidewalk🏪 13:45 — The Deer Path enhancement (and the puddle outside Sweets)🎆 14:55 — Fourth of July fireworks in the mist🌫️ 16:30 — Red air over Lake Forest📋 17:50 — Event insurance: rain clauses and cancellations🏈 20:50 — Football starts early — playoffs expanded🎙️ 21:55 — 30+ years on the PA: longest-running announcer in town?⚾ 22:50 — The Sox are winning: pitching, defense, the Banana Baller🌟 25:20 — All-Star weekend + Wrigley gets 2027🗳️ 27:40 — The caucus picks two — then a special election?🏫 29:30 — "Like the movie Election": junior-high democracy⚖️ 34:30 — Abstaining aldermen and the hard decisions🍨 36:20 — The leadership advice, in context👑 37:30 — Mayor vs. city manager: who actually runs things👋 39:30 — "This is the year, ladies" — and wrapping up🥂 44:40 — Hobnob Supper Club shout-out (old fashioned, easy on the rind)🚴 45:45 — See you at the Criterium — Sayonara, Pam 🔗 LINKS & MORE▶ This episode is supported by The Hobnob Supper Club: https://www.thehobnob.com/▶ Support the show: patreon.com/lakeforestpodcast▶ Newsletter: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/s...▶ Substack (Rawthentic): https://petejansons.substack.com▶ Tips / press: [email protected]▶ Lake Forest, IL (60045) 📝 CORRECTIONS & CONTEXT (we fix our record)

• The "'83 series" at Comiskey was the American League Championship Series — the White Sox fell to the Orioles, who went on to win the World Series. Still hurts.
• Lake Forest Day is run by the American Legion McKinlock Post 264 — it's their fundraiser, as Skoo said, not a city event.

#LakeForestPodcast #LakeForestIL #LakeBluffIL#LakeForestDay #AmericanLegion #Caucus #BurgerKing #WhiteSox#NorthShore #WeekendBonus #SkooWalker #NotNewsJustNeighbors #60045

👗 A teen girl in foster care wants to go to prom. There's no dress, no money for one — and no parent to call. Someone makes a phone call anyway, and a dress shows up. That someone is a trained volunteer from down the street.

Shannon McBride-Bromberg helps run that operation. She's Program Counsel and Program Manager at CASA Lake County — the outfit that puts everyday people next to abused and neglected kids in a Lake County courtroom. Rick Lesser pulls up a chair for the lawyer half; Skoo Walker's on the mics.

A DCFS caseworker might carry 100 cases. A CASA volunteer carries one. That's the whole idea — and it's why the judge asks the volunteer what's really going on.

Then the number lands: 240 volunteers, roughly 400 kids served — and 25 children on a waiting list, waiting for one adult to raise a hand. The question isn't whether the program works. It's whether a county full of capable adults can produce 25 more of them by the August 30 training class.

From there it's everywhere: the hotline call that starts a case, 40 hours of training with no law degree required, teens allowed to stay in the system until 21 with nobody in the stands, bank accounts and driver's licenses, a coats closet in the Vernon Hills office, gift-card trees that lost their Starbucks spots, and a gala at Ravinia on October 30 that pays for the training.

A kid ages toward 21 in a group home.

Who teaches them to open a bank account?

Who drives them to the DMV?

State problem?

System problem?

Or a Lake County problem — with a Lake County answer?

We document. You decide.

🎙 Pete Jansons — with Shannon McBride-Bromberg (CASA Lake County) · Rick Lesser & Skoo Walker on the mics

⏱ TIMESTAMPS

👤 0:00 — A kid with no one in the stands (cold open)

🎧 0:20 — "Tripped over the algorithm": meet Shannon

⚖️ 1:00 — Court Appointed Special Advocate: the judge in Seattle

🧭 3:01 — What an advocate actually does, month to month

📞 4:30 — The hotline call that starts a case

💯 5:45 — 100 cases vs. one: why the judge listens

🎓 6:50 — 40 hours of training, no law degree

🎬 7:50 — "Be the someone" — the CASA video

🔢 10:55 — The numbers: 240 volunteers, 25 kids waiting

🗓️ 11:30 — Next class starts August 30 — $1,200 trains a volunteer

🤝 11:55 — CASA vs. NICASA: two different outfits

💸 12:40 — Did the feds cut CASA's funding? What got restored

🏛️ 14:11 — Where the money really comes from: the DCFS line item

📊 15:10 — What the research shows: faster to permanency

👨‍⚖️ 16:45 — In the courtroom: the judge questions the volunteer

🧒 18:30 — Who stands with the child: caseworker, GAL, CASA

🕰️ 19:58 — Teens who stay in the system until 21

🪪 20:40 — Bank accounts, state IDs — "things your parents did for you"

📜 21:05 — Guardian ad litem, explained (Rick Lesser)

✍️ 22:40 — How to sign up: the application and the interview

🧥 23:30 — The coats closet and the giving trees

🎻 25:00 — October 30 at Ravinia: the gala that funds the training

👗 25:45 — Mothers Trust and the prom dress

👋 26:30 — Thanks, Shannon

📣 27:01 — A word from our sponsors

🙏 28:50 — Our Patreon supporters — thank you

🎵 COMPANION ALBUM — "Things Your Parents Did For You"

Original songs inspired by today's conversation — "One Kid, One Voice" and the title track play right here in the episode.

🔗 LINKS & MORE

▶ Become a CASA volunteer / donate: https://casalakecounty.com

▶ CASA gala — Oct 30 at Ravinia, tickets: https://e.givesmart.com/events/Pv8/

▶ Support the show: patreon.com/lakeforestpodcast

▶ Newsletter: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/s...

▶ Substack (Rawthentic): https://petejansons.substack.com

▶ Tips / press: [email protected]

▶ Lake Forest, IL (60045)

Jeff Urso slides back into the chair at Duffer’s fresh off opening Hatricks in Mundelein right as the insane July heatwave hit. Half the AC working, belts snapping, fresh air intake fighting for its life — and he still got the place dialed in while running the kitchen and learning new wing tricks from his own chef.From bar ownership war stories (400-degree pizza ovens in 2010, ice makers holding up, bodies pumping out more heat than the equipment) the conversation rolls into what’s actually happening in Lake Forest right now: the caucus interviewing mayoral hopefuls, the Block the Box fallout still costing the city, Jed Morris recusal drama, and whether anyone can run without splitting the vote.From there it’s everywhere: Lake Forest Day parade route changes, the American Legion endowment debate, craft beer dying while big boys and infusions take over, fantasy football drafts on slow nights, Vegas stadium vibes, and why politicians sound different depending on who’s in the room.So is the mayoral field already locked in with two caucus candidates?Will Lake Forest Day finally move to the weekend or stay mid-week for the bars?And who’s actually paying attention to the charter, the pensions, and the block parties?We document. You decide.🎙 Pete Jansons — with Jeff Urso⏱ TIMESTAMPS🍺 0:00 — HVAC guy via ChatGPT on the roof🏠 0:43 — Opening Hattricks July 1st in the heatwave❄️ 0:52 — Half the AC down, new HVAC, belts & blowers🔥 1:41 — 400-degree ovens and 115-degree kitchens back in 2010🧊 2:17 — Ice makers holding up (thank you Jewel)🌡️ 3:19 — Bodies + equipment = turn the AC down five hours early👨‍🍳 4:15 — Ricardo killing it with fish & chips, Reubens & better wings⚾ 5:17 — Sox games, full stadiums, $300 Cubs tickets🌍 6:53 — World Cup, English fans, Oasis, and culture shock for the Polish in-laws🍺 9:19 — Craft beer crash, infusions, and the big boys dominating🏪 10:28 — Breweries for sale on LoopNet, restaurant-breweries surviving📰 12:06 — Dan Dorfman the real reporter vs. the hair-bun Patch guy🏛️ 14:01 — Caucus interviewing mayoral hopefuls (Luby, Jed Morris, Era Goshgarian)📋 15:12 — Block the Box, McKinley development, variances & lawsuits🗳️ 17:53 — Jed Morris recusal drama and city lawyer opinion🤝 19:12 — Era as middle-of-the-road, fiscally conservative🕒 21:28 — The L42 transparency clock still running🎪 42:56 — Lake Forest Day parade changes and Legion endowment debate💰 46:06 — Should Lake Forest Day evolve for more charities?🏈 54:26 — Hattricks & Brodsky’s football season prep, fantasy drafts🎰 56:55 — Vegas stadiums, Allegiant, T-Mobile, and White Sox to the Loop talk🚨 58:13 — Chicago crime stats reality check🇫🇷 58:28 — Rick Lesser in Paris (warm beer, no AC)🙏 1:00:02 — Sponsors & Patreon thanks.🔗 LINKS & MORE▶ Support the show: patreon.com/lakeforestpodcast▶ Newsletter: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/jmul1Df/lakeforestpodcastsignup▶ Substack (Rawthentic): https://petejansons.substack.com▶ Tips / press: [email protected]▶ Lake Forest, IL (60045)#LakeForestPodcast #LakeForestIL #JeffUrso #Hattricks #Duffers #LakeForestDay #MayoralRace #LakeBluff #NorthShore #60045 #LocalGovernment

🏈 1998. Dan Dorfman needs quotes on the Sanctuary annexation before deadline, so he drives into the complex and knocks on the first door with somebody home. Erik Kramer — the Bears' starting quarterback — answers. That's the job: knock on doors, get it right, file on time. Dan Dorfman has done it in three stretches going back to June 1998 — Pioneer Press, the Tribune, the New York Times' Chicago desk — from Jordan's comeback at the United Center to the Lake Forest Party insurgency to the Kiely years at City Hall. And this is his last week doing it. He's leaving journalism for the Water Reclamation District. Which is the question the whole hour circles: when the last reporter leaves the council chamber, who keeps the record? Dan says there "have been some discussions" about a successor. That's as far as he'll go. From there it's everywhere: a sitting mayor learning he'd been challenged when a reporter called his Arizona hotel, McGwire's 62nd home run announced from the back row of a council meeting off a transistor radio, the police station slipping from August to December, the Bears weighing Arlington Heights against Hammond — a dollar against five bucks — and a hedge fund buying the Daily Herald. Another reporter? A podcast? Or does the record just stop? We document. You decide. 🎙 Pete Jansons & Rick Lesser — with Dan Dorfman ⏱ TIMESTAMPS🎬 0:00 — "The last journalist in Lake County": the cold open🚨 0:29 — "I think we just got hacked": Dan arrives & "The Last Journalist in Lake County" kicks in (0:31)📰 1:10 — "We got the Dan Dorfman": Pioneer Press, the Tribune & how one byline runs in three papers🏢 2:25 — Tim Landon, David Hiller & the old Tribune days🎒 2:41 — South Side kid: Kenwood Academy to stringing for the New York Times🏀 5:25 — March '95: Jordan comes back & Dan talks his way into the United Center💻 7:13 — 1995: the internet cracks print📉 9:00 — Classifieds die & a hedge fund buys the Daily Herald🤖 10:51 — Rick retired to dodge AI; Dan on jobs & driverless trucks📱 12:02 — Headline readers & confirmation bias🗣️ 14:29 — Why good people won't run for office🧭 15:36 — Who's left covering local news?📺 17:01 — Fox, the Times, the BBC: looking for "down the middle"💸 19:29 — The original sin: giving the news away free🗳️ 20:43 — Nobody's covering the next mayor's race🏛️ 21:28 — 2023 echoes 1999: Tack, Beidler & the Lake Forest Party🏗️ 22:14 — The Municipal Services fight: Laurel & Western to Fort Sheridan☎️ 24:03 — Calling the mayor's Arizona hotel: "What's the emergency?"🚓 26:28 — The police station slips to December🏈 27:11 — Knock on a random door — Erik Kramer answers🏟️ 30:02 — Bears: Arlington Heights or Hammond? A dollar vs. five🏙️ 33:08 — Bob Kiely: three decades & a hard ending✍️ 36:51 — The one story he never got to write🎙️ 38:53 — Dan's advice to the podcast: do the pre-interviews⚾ 42:31 — Transistor radio at City Council: McGwire hits 62💧 44:15 — The pivot to water: MWRD & the deep tunnel🔮 47:20 — A successor on the beat? "There have been discussions"🎭 50:27 — Kenwood classmate: Brendan Hunt of Ted Lasso🏆 50:52 — The Caleb Durbin profile & an Illinois Press Association award🕯️ 51:57 — A year of goodbyes: Sandberg, Lovell, Redford & Ordinary People👋 52:35 — "We've got to do this again"🎵 53:09 — "Follow the Water (Dorfman's Last Byline)" (album track)📣 57:05 — A word from our sponsors🙏 59:19 — Our Patreon supporters — thank you 🎵 COMPANION ALBUM — "The Last Journalist"Original songs inspired by today's conversation. Two of them play right here in the episode:🎵 "The Last Journalist in Lake County" (0:31 — loud, then under the open)🎶 "Follow the Water (Dorfman's Last Byline)" (53:09) 🔗 LINKS & MORE▶ Support the show: patreon.com/lakeforestpodcast▶ Newsletter: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/s...▶ Substack (Rawthentic): https://petejansons.substack.com▶ Tips / press: [email protected]▶ Lake Forest, IL (60045)

🎆 Pete opens with a question nobody at city hall seems able to answer: who is the guy with the beard at the city council table? "That's the city attorney." What's he do? "He charges by the hour." Wait — get out of here.Rick Lesser pulls up for a Fourth of July special — on his way OUT of the country. That's right: America turns 250 and Rick's celebrating with our oldest ally, at Bastille Day, where all the cool kids hang out.Before he goes: everything happening this weekend in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff — the fireworks, the parade, movie night on the brand-new turf, and the mowers threatening to march in Taylor Swift wedding dresses.Plus: after all those years of cars underwater, is the viaduct flooding actually fixed?Has the pickleball bubble officially burst?And who IS Lake Forest's city attorney? Rick searches live on air. It does not go smoothly.A fond farewell to Dan Dorfman — and a 250th birthday song you will not hear anywhere else.We document. You decide.🎙 Pete Jansons — with Rick Lesser⏱ TIMESTAMPS🧔 0:00 — "He charges by the hour": the guy with the beard🇫🇷 0:28 — Rick's going to France: Bastille Day with our oldest ally🚂 1:31 — De Gaulle, the Chunnel, and Normandy🎆 2:31 — The Fourth in Lake Forest: 250 and counting🚜 3:48 — What will the mowers do? Taylor Swift wedding dresses🎬 4:13 — Movie night on the brand-new turf (and the end of beer jail)🌊 6:58 — Is the viaduct flooding finally FIXED?🎨 9:20 — The 250 mural over the Croyer✍️ 11:40 — Paris survival tips: don't sign the petitions⛪ 11:52 — Avignon: the time there were two popes🥒 14:54 — The pickleball bubble has burst (tulips, Apollo, and Achilles)🥐 18:42 — French food vs. London taste buds🛂 19:09 — Customs, TSA touchless, and "a GDP and a work ethic"🎇 21:39 — Fireworks advice from a Lake Bluff veteran🍽️ 23:56 — "Hey Rick, are you going to France?"📋 24:49 — Vendor scorecards and the Ansel Glink question🧔 25:38 — The beard guy, revisited🔎 28:00 — Rick searches for the city attorney, live ("wait, WHAT?")📰 29:30 — Farewell, Dan Dorfman — last journalist in Lake County🗽 33:30 — Happy 250th, America (semi-what-now?)🎵 33:52 — "Rick's in France (Happy 250)"🎵 COMPANION TRACK — "Rick's in France (Happy 250)"An original 250th birthday song for America — and a bon voyage for Rick. Plays right in the episode (33:52).🔗 LINKS & MORE▶ Support the show: patreon.com/lakeforestpodcast▶ The viaduct flooding episode from a few years back (cars up to their windows):    • Who didn't Flip the Switch? - Check Yo' Tr...  ▶ Substack (Rawthentic): https://petejansons.substack.com▶ Tips / press: [email protected]▶ Lake Forest, IL (60045)

🚲 Pete's just trying to drive home when a guy on a ten-speed leans into the truck window and unloads — Elon, Trump, the tariffs, the war, inflation. Pete rolls down the window figuring he must've cut the guy off. Nope. Just another Tuesday on McKinley. Rick Lesser pulls up a few minutes later, and that run-in becomes the thread running through the whole show. What happened to civility? Why does nobody say "on your left" anymore? Are e-bikes really e-bikes — or are they motorcycles? And when did consequences quietly disappear? Then the conversation moves from bike paths to something bigger: whether the rules apply equally to everyone. The same meeting packet that re-adopts the rule limiting how much you can build also approves a variance for a lakefront estate to build beyond those limits — with a private tram to the beach. So are there limits? Or are there limits... unless you've got the right address? From there it's everywhere: Ragdale and Howard Van Doren Shaw, the Lake Forest zoo that somehow wound up in Tennessee, why two of downtown's biggest storefronts have sat empty for years, and why Lake Bluff keeps eating Lake Forest's lunch on sales tax. Retailer problem? Landlord problem? Or a Lake Forest problem? We document. You decide. 🎙 Pete Jansons — with Rick Lesser IN THIS EPISODE0:00 "You must be from Lake Bluff": the roadside run-in2:58 "Civility's been outlawed" — and the no-honk code3:40 "Those aren't e-bikes. Those are motorcycles."4:12 The Market Square squad car8:44 The 1912 mansion that wants a tram to its beach12:08 Same packet: the limits, the variance, "the right address"13:31 Ragdale, the artist colony, and the Prevailing Wage Act20:04 Lake Forest had a zoo — then it moved to Tennessee26:04 Two big downtown storefronts, empty for years34:00 Restaurant math, The Bear, and the Libertyville consultant43:01 Lake Bluff eats our lunch: sales tax vs. property tax46:11 "On Your Left" (album track)51:30 "The Right Address" (album closer) 🎵 Companion album: "Ten Speeds and Sailboats" — eight original songs inspired by today's conversation. 📝 We fix our record: Ragdale was designed and built (1896–97) by Howard Van Doren Shaw — who also designed Market Square — not the name guessed on air. The City of Lake Forest owns it; the Ragdale Foundation runs it. Support the show: patreon.com/lakeforestpodcastNewsletter: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/jmul1Df/lakeforestpodcastsignupSubstack (Rawthentic): https://petejansons.substack.comTips / press: [email protected] Forest, IL (60045)

🍺 Rick Lesser pulls up a chair at Duffer's with Pete and Jeff for the most Lake Bluff conversation we've ever recorded. Rick was on the village board when Lake Bluff went from a dry town in the '90s — no bars, no restaurants, nothing — to a place where you walk the block party with a beer in a red wagon. From there it's everywhere: the Route 60 dead zone that ate everyone's phone in the storm, the craft beer crash from twelve taps down to three, Illinois pensions and who's actually stuck paying, "Winter Club Jeff," and what's being floated for Bank Lane this summer. We document. You decide. 🎙️ Pete Jansons & Jeff Urso — with Rick Lesser ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS🍺 0:00 — The only place you could drink in Lake Forest was Burger King🏖️ 0:34 — "Deli Belly" + the beach concession question⛈️ 2:23 — The Wednesday storms and the 12-hour blackout🚗 4:34 — Teslas, range anxiety & "No, officer"🏛️ 7:31 — City Council + the Route 60 / Waukegan dead zone🍻 9:34 — Rick Lesser pulls up a chair at Duffer's📉 12:08 — The craft beer crash: twelve taps down to three💉 14:43 — Light beers, Ozempic & Modelo passes Corona🗳️ 18:15 — Rick in Springfield: 37,000 signatures, 25,000 good ones🪧 19:50 — How petitions protect the incumbents🏗️ 21:02 — "Deli Belly," the Cotton Duck DBA & a real beach bar?🛶 22:57 — Lake bars: Blarney Island & the sheriff's speedboat🎾 25:08 — Mayor Tack, the Deer Path car & the West Park screens🚶 27:01 — Bank Lane goes pedestrian + the red wagon🚫 29:17 — Lake Bluff was a dry town in the '90s🎨 30:20 — How Rick brought open carry to downtown Lake Bluff🌳 34:08 — Shout-out to the streets & tree crews🗣️ 35:45 — The Chicago accent & "Winter Club Jeff"🏖️ 37:33 — Waukegan's Greentown on the Rocks💸 39:41 — Illinois pensions: the hole and who pays⚖️ 41:53 — The only fix: amend Article XIII, Section 5🔁 43:17 — Tier 2 and pension buyouts🚲 46:56 — Bikes on Bank: open container comes to Bank Lane🎪 51:16 — Who should run the town's music & events🍔 54:04 — Drinking in Lake Forest, then and now🎵 55:46 — "Twenty-Five Thousand Good Ones" (album track)🎶 57:45 — "SOS at Waukegan and Sixty" (album track)🙏 59:21 — Our supporters + thank-you to our Patreon crew 🎵 NEW ALBUM — "Open Container" (8 tracks) on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/6BN8V... 🔗 LINKS & MORE▶ Support the show: patreon.com/lakeforestpodcast▶ Newsletter (weekly recap + clips): https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/s...▶ Rawthentic (Pete's Substack): https://petejansons.substack.com▶ Tips / press: [email protected]▶ Lake Forest, IL (60045) 📝 CORRECTIONS & CONTEXT (we fix our record)

• "Deli Belly" appears to be a DBA/brand tied to The Cotton Duck (the beach concession operator) — a name, not necessarily a new vendor.
• Modelo Especial passed Corona and, in 2023, became the top-selling beer in the U.S. by retail dollar sales.
• Illinois' pension-protection clause is Article XIII, Section 5 of the 1970 state constitution. The state reports roughly $145B unfunded; some analysts estimate higher. Chicago has cited about $37B.
• Illinois "Tier 2" pensions apply to employees who first started on or after January 1, 2011 (referred to on the show as 2013).

#LakeForestPodcast #LakeForestIL #LakeBluffIL #RickLesser #OpenContainer #LocalGovernment #60045

For 20 years, Collin Corbett helped get Republicans elected in Illinois. This spring he walked away from his party, took a leave from his firm, shut down his own political podcast, filed 37,000 signatures — and now he's running for Governor as an Independent while Darren Bailey's campaign tries to knock him off the ballot. Pete and Rick Lesser put your questions to him — the ones from the Lake Forest Lake Bluff News group: the pension crisis (yes, Squeezy the Python makes an appearance), property taxes, mental health, abortion, the Bears, and why Illinois keeps losing people, jobs, and businesses to neighboring states. He answered almost everything — and when the spoiler question came, he answered it directly. We document. You decide. 🎙️ Pete Jansons & Rick Lesser — with Collin Corbett, Independent candidate for Governor of Illinois ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS🗳️ 0:00 — "Illinois is primed for a takeoff" (cold open)🍺 1:06 — April 10: the post that ended his podcast — and started his campaign⚖️ 1:53 — "My party left me": why 45% of voters are now independents💰 5:34 — The $145 billion problem nobody connects to their own life🚫 7:51 — Why Illinois can't declare bankruptcy (Article 13, Section 5)🐍 9:17 — The pension plan: buyouts, a spending freeze & the 2030/2033 bonds🚀 11:44 — Companies leaving, the Bears — "Illinois is primed for a takeoff"🏈 14:33 — "Stop losing to friggin' Indiana"🥊 15:40 — The rigged ballot: third independent in 86 years🏥 18:57 — Jails as asylums: Illinois among the worst in mental health🏢 21:57 — Core Strategies: 16 years, and the clients he refused🎙️ 23:32 — Smoke-Filled Room ended at episode 148. This is our episode 148.✍️ 28:28 — 37,000 signatures: "850 candidates on the ballot, zero knocked off"🎯 29:37 — The spoiler question: "He's stealing my votes, not the other way around"👶 32:53 — "Is there a future in Illinois for Teddy?"🐍 36:06 — Squeezy the Python returns⚓ 36:14 — Anchor at Reasonable: the plan to build the middle🩺 39:43 — A woman's right to choose4️⃣ 41:35 — The Four Percent quiz (Pete takes his turn)🤖 42:47 — "The evil of two lessers" + AI and Flintstone-era government🏛️ 45:53 — Cook County, Tyler Technologies & the procurement mess📋 48:36 — Final exam: affordability, growth, reform💔 49:47 — DCFS and Illinois' most vulnerable kids🏚️ 54:22 — Empty storefronts, 282,000 regulations & getting Illinois growing👋 55:45 — "On behalf of the exhausted majority"🎵 59:12 — "Anchor At Reasonable" (from the episode album) 🎵 THE ALBUMAnchor At Reasonable — 8 original songs built from this episode, on Lake Forest Records. "Stop Losing To Indiana" opens the show. The title track closes it. Yes, there's a song called "Squeezy The Python." Yes, there's one called "Thirty-Seven Thousand."👉 https://open.spotify.com/album/7zNfM8... 🔗 LINKS🗳️ Collin's campaign: https://collinforil.com❤️ Support the show:   / lakeforestpodcast  ✍️ Pete's Rawthentic on Substack: https://petejansons.substack.com📧 Contact: [email protected] We document. You decide. Not news. Just neighbors. #LakeForestPodcast #PeteJansons #CollinCorbett #IllinoisGovernor #IllinoisPolitics #Pensions #LakeForestIL #LakeBluffIL #60045 #WeDocumentYouDecide

Rick Lesser is back at the bar — snowbird tan and all — and this one runs from a 2012 trash-can fire to a city-manager form of government nobody fully understands. Under all of it sits one question: who actually runs this town — the mayor or the city manager? Along the way we get into the windscreens that turned West Park into a wall, a $170K no-bid tech contract, and the beach concession scorecard the city still won't release.We document. You decide.🎙️ Pete, Jeff Urso & Skoo Walker — with Rick Lesser⏱️ TIMESTAMPS🏛️ 0:00 — "Where does the buck stop?" (the question)🍺 0:23 — Rick Lesser returns to the bar🔥 1:28 — The 2012 West Park trash-can fire (Rick's commendation)🎾 4:04 — The tennis courts & the windscreen "wall"🏖️ 15:11 — The beach concession FOIA & the missing scorecard💻 16:58 — A $170K no-bid tech contract📋 36:24 — The fight for the beach scorecard🗳️ 36:35 — The caucus & why turnout is so small🍸 47:59 — Highwood, liquor licenses & treating businesses equally🏛️ 56:32 — Who actually runs City Hall? (mayor vs. city manager)🎓 59:18 — Education, the trades & Rawthentic🏫 1:01:36 — The Committee of Ten (1892)📵 1:01:57 — Banning cell phones in schools🌭 1:04:30 — Bar talk: the best hot dog in town📋 1:06:11 — D115 board: a 7-0 closed-session personnel vote (public record)🏘️ 1:06:21 — Shields Township & spending power🎬 ~1:23 — Wrap🔗 LINKS & MORE▶ Support the show: patreon.com/lakeforestpodcast▶ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6BN8V...▶ Rawthentic (Pete's Substack): petejansons.substack.com▶ Tips / press: [email protected]▶ Lake Forest, IL (60045)📝 CORRECTIONS & CONTEXT (we fix our record)

• Lake Forest High School graduation is Saturday, June 6, 2026.
• The city's tech migration (BS&A, cloud) was $169,785, approved sole-source 8-0 on May 18, 2026 — referred to on the show as "$180K."
• SB 2427 (school cell-phone restrictions) passed the Illinois General Assembly in May 2026 and is not yet in effect — it phases in a future school year and includes exceptions (medical, IEP, English-learner, caregivers).
• The Committee of Ten was formed by the National Education Association in 1892 and chaired by Harvard president Charles W. Eliot.