By David A. F. Sweet As a girl, Samantha Hiller loved playing hockey. At age 12, her mother said she could earn extra money by being a referee. More time on the ice sounded better to Hiller than being a babysitter. After officiating many youth games in Boulder, Colo., four years later Hiller departed her home state for a refereeing camp in Utah, where she could learn how to administer high-level games. “It’s something I’ve been dreaming of since I was 18," says Samantha Hill

In the earliest days of Lake Forest, clothes shopping meant buying bolts of cloth at James Anderson’s general store on Deerpath or stocking up on dry goods down in Chicago. Outfits were handsewn at home or designed by a custom dressmaker or tailor. 

By Kayden Prieto Returning to Lake Forest High School as a class of 2007 alumnus, CBS Chicago reporter and 13-time Emmy Award winner Noel Brennan spoke recently with students about the winding, unexpected path that led him from theater at LFHS to telling stories on the national stage. Brennan’s message was clear: careers don’t always start where you expect them to, but passion and persistence can take you farther than a perfectly planned path could ever. During his first y

By David A. F. Sweet Club cars flourished on the rails in the middle of the 20 th  century. Sometimes featuring wood paneling and nearly always boasting a bar, the private havens provided a civilized way to commute to and from work in Chicago and on the East Coast. Briefcases were shut and work was forgotten as bridge games, rather than a quest for profit, engrossed members. Alas, the cars have vanished. The last one rolled on the rails between Lake Bluff and Ogilvie Statio

By Caleb Pope   Innovations in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) are not restricted to large companies and foundations. One student at Lake Forest High School has developed two AI programs that aim to supplement the education he and his peers receive at school.   Vedh Krishnan, a junior who created both programs alongside his teacher, Steve Aronson, developed the first program, titled Gigiano AI, which aimed to replicate the way his AP World History teacher Thomas Gig

By Mia Morse For bestselling author and Lake Forest High School alumna Jenny Smith, writing is more than telling stories. What started as using her imagination as a kid has now become a reality: she is able to do something she loves every single day. With 14 published books, ranging from Young Adult Women’s Fiction to Picture Books, she’s written it all with passion and intent.  Writing has always been an interest of hers.  "I feel really, really lucky to be where I am and do

By Liz Weithas I grew up in Lake Forest and benefited from many Spirit of 67 Foundation grants. I have vivid memories of the inflatable planetarium dome appearing in the school library, crawling in and feeling amazed by the night sky while learning about constellations and the rotation of the earth. Now, as a parent raising two children in District 67, I see the joy on my daughter’s face as she experiences the visiting scientist and excavates dinosaur bones and learns about

By Caleb Pope   The newly formed Community Fund of Lake Forest awarded its first grants to six nonprofits that support residents in need, including Fill a Heart 4 Kids. The Lake Forest organization supports children living in foster facilities and youth who are at-risk or homeless with food, critical necessities, life skills and educational support.   According to founder Annie McAveeney, children across Lake County, including at-risk youth from Lake Forest and Lake Bluff, re

By David A. F. Sweet Back in 2017, Haley Bhardwaj launched Simantikos  Dance Studio in Chicago. She emphasized social-emotional learning among her students while also teaching technical dance skills. In her spare time, she served as a dance instructor at the Chicago Public Schools. So what brought a young mother who has performed on international stages north this fall to become Program Supervisor at the Lake Forest Dance Academy (LFDA)? “I think we have a really healthy m

By David A. F. Sweet Erin Ammer, education director for Citadel Theatre in Lake Forest, shared a story about an 8-year-old girl. She always smiled during Citadel Theatre Education camp , but didn’t really speak. The next year, she joined Citadel’s Broadway Bootcamp Summer program. Kian Van Gerven (center) performs with other Citadel Theatre Education students in Newsies Jr. “She was singing loud and confidently, and we gave her a solo that we weren’t intending to use in a

By Judy Carmack Bross Out this month , Elawa Farm: A Timesless Treasure by author, sportswriter and Lake Forest Love Executive Editor David A. F. Sweet tells of a farm purchased in Lake Forest in 1917 by A. Watson Armour from the family of Scottish settlers who settled the verdant acres on the Illinois frontier west of what is now Waukegan Road.  Filled with history and marvelous photographs, it describes the meatpacker’s weekend home and gentleman’s farm, which now feature

By Spencer Trees Tom Johnson is humbled to have been chosen to head a venerable preparatory school. “I am honored to lead the school into its next phase as a hallmark of global education and extremely grateful for this opportunity,” said Johnson, newly appointed head of school at Lake Forest Academy. "Our job is to support our colleagues and make their lives as easy as possible, because our teachers and coaches and dorm parents are the ones doing the really important work w

By David A. F. Sweet Less than a month after assuming the presidency of Lake Forest College, Dr. Mike Sosulski was asked why he displayed a book about an architect on a shelf in his office. He explained that all the books present had been there when he arrived. " I have 10,000 volumes that have to be unpacked,” said Sosulski, who is an aficionado of German literature. “I have to be near my books. There will be a wall of them here in the spring.” Mike Sosulski chats with a g

By Carol Summerfield If you haven’t been by the corner of Deerpath and Washington Road lately, you might have missed the transformation...

By Jenny Liang Two years ago, Lake Forest’s Compost & Recycling Center launched a new Battery Recycling Program aimed at helping...

By David A. F. Sweet When plans were under review for the new Lake Forest Police Station, one key observation helped improve the design:...

By David A. F. Sweet Ethan Holmes is the Veteran of the Year for Lake Forest. In November, he’ll have completed four years of service...

By Jenny Liang When William Elliott, then a seventh-grader, walked into the CROYA Student Union, he had no idea how transformative the...

By Jenny Liang Around Lake Forest, business owner and mom Gina Dardi gets asked a common question: “What does your license plate mean?”...

While a senior at Lake Forest High School, Michaela Barry wrote a piece about Committee Representing Our Young Adults (CROYA) following...