Lake

Formed March 1, 1839 (87^th county)

Lake County (714,351), Waukegan (89,313)

The large, Modern style government building was constructed of brown brick in 1968.  It is on County Street between Washington and Madison streets.  Illinois State Highway 137 is three blocks east of the site.  Daniel & Robinson provided the designs for the courthouse.  There was a classic 1878 courthouse also in Waukegan.  An Administrative Center was added in 1970.  The county was created on March 1, 1839 from McHenry County as the 87^th county.  Libertyville was the first county seat until 1841.  The county is named for its location on Lake Michigan.  Waukegan is the Native American name for “trading post.”  Lake County was the birthplace of 1 Illinois Governor, William G. Stratton. 

Lake County government consists of a sheriff, an attorney, a coroner, a clerk, a treasurer, and an assessor (executive).  It has 19 Board Members (legislative.)  Thirty-eight Circuit Court Judges and a court clerk serve Lake County (judicial.) The county is in the northeast corner of the state on the border with Wisconsin.  Lake Michigan is its eastern border.  Chicago, Illinois is directly south and Milwaukee, Wisconsin is north of the county.  The county center is 9.3 miles Southwest of Waukegan nearer Libertyville.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Wisconsin and Michigan and Cook and McHenry counties. 

The area of the county is 443 square miles.  It is 62 out of 102 in the state.  It ranks 3 out of 102 in population in the state.  It has a density of 1612.5 persons per square mile making it 3 out of 102 in the state.  Lake County has 88.4% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 94 crosses north to south through the county from Wisconsin to Cook County.  United States Highway 12 goes northwest to south from McHenry County to Cook County.  United States Highway 14 cuts the southwest corner from McHenry to Cook counties.  United States Highway 41 parallels Interstate Highway 94 from Wisconsin to Cook County.  United States Highway 45 travels slightly west of United States Highway 41 from Wisconsin to Cook County.  The county is a rectangle with its eastern border notched out by Lake Michigan.  Waukegan is located on the eastern border lake.  Waukegan is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 12.5% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced WA-KEE-GAN.  This county is in the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet Metropolitan Statistical Area.

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