The Lake County residents below signed respectfully request that Independence Grove Forest Preserve retain its Libertyville address.

Opened in 2001, Independence Grove has been a vibrant part of Libertyville for nearly 18 years.  Recently Mr. Dan Traynoff started a petition to change the address of Independence Grove to Waukegan (Chicago Tribune, 8/6/18: Petition seeks to change Independence Grove preserve address to Waukegan instead of Libertyville)

 While we appreciate Mr. Traynoff's position, we agree with Lake County Forest Preserves spokeswoman Susan Hawkins and Board Of Commissioners President Ann Maine that:

- addressing Independence Grove per the county assessor's mapping follows precedent of other forest preserve properties falling within unincorporated areas
- reduces confusion not only for visitors but emergency responders
- an address change would incur costly edits of signage and marketing materials, the burden of which would likely fall on taxpayers
- would establish precedent for other costly and confusing address change requests.

Additionally, Independence Grove was named after Libertyville, which once bore the name of Independence Grove.  The name is a nod to our common history!

Independence Grove has become part of the fabric of life in our village.  It makes sense for Independence Grove Forest Preserve to remain addressed in Libertyville. We ask the Lake County Forest Preserve to keep Independence Grove's Libertyville address!