Lake Forest Caucus Vote Exposes Complacency | Are We Becoming Highland Park?

Lake Forest just had its annual Caucus vote.
671 ballots cast — 427 Yes (64%) for remote voting — 244 No.
The amendment failed by 21 votes because bylaws demand a two-thirds majority.

That means most residents want expanded voting access — yet turnout was under 5% of the city.
When civic silence beats civic engagement, Lake Forest starts looking less like a self-governing town and more like Highland Park — where procedure and partisanship replaced participation.

Results:

Amendment: 427 Yes / 244 No (needed 448 to pass)

Ward 1 – Nancy Novit 473 Yes / 61 No
Ward 2 – Rosemary Kehr 454 Yes / 55 No
Ward 3 – Alice LeVert 503 Yes / 67 No
Ward 4 – Lloyd Culbertson 485 Yes / 65 No
Next step: Caucus petitions filed Oct 27 for the March 17 2026 ballot.