Photo: Teemu08 · CC BY-SA 3.0Living in Lake Forest, IL: what to set up and who to call
The latest lead test reported by the Lake Forest water system, which supplies Lake Forest, came in at 21.0 ppb (Jan–Jun 2026), above the 15 ppb action level. Two school districts split the grades in Lake Forest: Lake Forest Community High School District 115 and Lake Forest School District 67.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Lake Forest, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.
Power, water and internet
Who to call to start service at a new address in Lake Forest.
Power comes from Commonwealth Edison
Commonwealth Edison (Commonwealth Edison Co), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Lake Forest. Its homes paid an average of 17.7¢ per kWh in 2025, about $107 a month (its average across Illinois, for customers on its standard service). Illinois lets you buy power from another supplier; 20% of Commonwealth Edison’s home customers do, and Commonwealth Edison still delivers it.
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Lake Forest water system
The Lake Forest water system supplies almost all of Lake Forest. It draws surface water (EPA lists Highland Park as seller) and serves 19,642 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 83% of the 3,525 systems serving 10,001–50,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan–Jun 2026, was 21.0 ppb, above the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 28.0 ppb. That’s higher than 100% of similar systems’ latest results.
The system’s full record: EPA ECHO report
EPA SDWIS via Envirofacts (violations pulled Oct 9, 2026) and ECHO (lead samples, 2026Q3); service area: EPA Community Water System Service Area Boundaries v3.0. Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. IL0970800.
4 home internet providers serve Lake Forest
100% of 6,616 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 10% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | Cable | 100% | 2,000/250 |
| AT&T | DSL, Fixed wireless, Fiber | 79% | 1,000/1,000 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 87% | 100/20 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 73% | 300/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Trash day in Lake Forest is Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday, depending on your street
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Lake Forest, from the town’s own site.
Your pickup week
- TrashEvery week, on your street’s day (Mon, Tue, Thu or Fri)Find your street’s day on cityoflakeforest.com →
- RecyclingEvery week
Lake Forest Compost & Recycling Center
1381 W. Kennedy Road, Lake Forest, IL 60045
- Sat8 am–5 pm
- Sun9 am–5 pm
- Sat8 am–3 pm
From cityoflakeforest.com, cms9files.revize.com, the town’s official site, checked Oct 21, 2026. Rules change: the town’s page is the last word. .
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Lake Forest is in two districts that split the grades: Lake Forest Community High School District 115 and Lake Forest School District 67.
ASchool gradeSee Schools →U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.
Town hall and registering to vote
Who to call, and how to register.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Jul 2024; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Lake Forest is in ZIP code 60045
ZIP codes where Lake Forest residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Lake Forest | ZIP’s residents in Lake Forest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60045 | Lake Forest, IL | 100% | 92% |
A few homes fall in 60035.
Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.
Getting around, the ER and the library
One line each; the subject pages have the rest.
Train: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors). ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Lake Forest
Who supplies Lake Forest’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
The Lake Forest water system (EPA ID IL0970800). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 83% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 21.0 ppb (Jan–Jun 2026), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Lake Forest?
Commonwealth Edison (Commonwealth Edison Co), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 17.7¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Lake Forest?
Xfinity, AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Lake Forest?
60045. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Lake Forest in?
Lake Forest Community High School District 115 and Lake Forest School District 67. Parts of the city are in Rondout School District 72 and Libertyville Community High School District 128.
How do I register to vote in Lake Forest?
In Illinois you can register online until 16 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 28 days before). Elections here are run by the Lake County Clerk. Check your registration at ova.elections.il.gov.
Sources & dates
Every answer above names its source. Here they are with their dates.
- Water: EPA SDWIS (Envirofacts, pulled Oct 9, 2026), ECHO SDWA 2026Q3, EPA CWS Service Area Boundaries v3.0.
- Power: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map Aug 2023); EIA-861 final 2025.
- Trash: Lake Forest’s own website (cityoflakeforest.com, cms9files.revize.com), read Oct 21, 2026, pickup and drop-off facts extracted and checked against the page they came from.
- ZIP codes: Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files; GeoNames postal codes (CC BY 4.0).
- Schools: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25.
- Registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025 (read Oct 10, 2026). Official sites and area codes: Wikidata.
- Election office: FVAP local election office directory (fetched Oct 10, 2026; each record dated), EAC EAVS 2024 jurisdictions; registration and lookup links from vote.gov’s state data, checked Oct 10, 2026.
- Internet: FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025.