Public Health Responsibilities

A Brief Overview

The Health Department was established by referendum in 1956, as a state-certified public health department. At that time, the staff consisted of a handful of people. Today, we are a public health accredited department with a budget of approximately $70 million that supports 52 separately funded programs. Approximately 1000 professionals assist our daily mission of health promotion, illness prevention and protection of the environment.

Mission Statement

Our mission statement is: Promoting the health and well-being of all who live, work, and play in Lake County.

As the largest human service provider in Lake County, we believe that services must be available without barriers. No residents are turned away due to an inability to pay. We also believe in providing services in an environment of mutual respect, free of discrimination or bias.

The Health Department is governed by a 12-member Board of Health. Members are appointed by the Lake County Board, and are Lake County residents of various backgrounds.

A Top Department

We are proud to be among the top 6 percent of 2,864 local health departments nationwide by population serviced, financing and workforce. We thank the organizations we partner with to achieve our goals, as well as the Board of Health, our Governing Council and Lake County Board members for their direction and leadership.

Northern Illinois Public Health Consortium

In addition, we are a member of the Northern Illinois Public Health Consortium, a 501 (c)(4) membership organization of the public health departments that serve the City of Chicago and the Counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, Will, and Winnebago. The mission of NIPHC is to promote and protect the health of the region though networking and collaborative action that raises public awareness, builds constituency, and influences legislation and policies concerning public health issues affecting northern Illinois.