It was quick the gentleman who took care of me very helpful, I'm applying for retirement he gave me…read morean appointment. We're doing it on the phone. He's helping me to fill out the application. Very helpful.

Walked in and the security guard immediately pointed me to the kiosk to register. My reason for…read morevisit wasn't listed (handling business for my incapacitated father) so I just clicked "other" several times and then was given a number. I came prepared for the long game, especially since I didn't have an appointment. I had my iPad, fully charged phone, and Kindle. I take my seat and start going thru some mail that I brought along and I hear my number called less than a minute after sitting down (!). I assumed it was just to clarify why I was there since I want specific at the registration kiosk. But I was helped by the sweetest lady in the world Vanessa (?). She actually handled my situation and I was out of there in 15 minutes. I would say it's a fluke or just due to the fact that the lady who helped me was super efficient but this is my 2nd time there and the first time was quick too considering I didn't have an appointment. Hats off to these guys. It's hard enough when you become the parent to your parents. Helping me navigate this process so easily is much appreciated.

These offices are the least efficient, non staffed, slowest process, longest wait time. It's 2pm on…read morea Monday and every single window is closed. Meanwhile in the waiting area it's full of elderly, blind, disabled people waiting for hours. Update an hour later and windows still closed. The window open and close often. When first open it takes them 10 min to even call some one up. I bet every window will open now that it's closer to 4pm. This is worse than the dmv. I didn't think it could get worse.

Today I had to go to the social security office in North Riverside concerning my benefits, (never…read moreanything I want to do). I had the pleasure of being helped by Maria Ledesma who understood my problem and took great efforts to fix my dilemma, she was quick, and easy to talk to, and was able to set me on the right track for resolution. The receptionist was also helpful as well. I was in and out in 30 minutes.

The Cook County Clerk's office in Maywood has instituted a new policy - you MUST have an…read moreappointment if you intend to acquire birth or death certificates or marriage licenses. This is a very new, and little known new rule. There is no sign prior to entry that indicates you MUST have an appointment. That means that members of the uniformed public arrive, with the expectation to wait in line for an available clerk, obtain the certificates needed, pay and leave, as has been the customary ritual. But NOW - if you don't have an appointment, you are either turned away or told to go outside, make a call to the clerk's office - in the moment - and request an appointment. That appointment however may not be an IMMEDIATE appointment. You may receive an appointment that requires you to WAIT - possibly an hour, before you can acquire the certificates you need. If that happens, you are told to SIT AND WAIT IN YOUR CAR - until your allotted time! Really? Having a appointment, however, is still not enough - you need to also have a CONFIRMATION NUMBER for that appointment. If you happen to be a representative from a funeral home that has been sent to pick up death certificates for upcoming services - the confirmation number was likely emailed to the office manager - but not the representative that has driven some distance to the clerk's office. The confirmation number is emailed to the office manager. Whether as a representative of a funeral home - or as a member of the general public - you do not expect to be turned away, told to hang out in the parking lot for how ever long it may be, or have to make a second trip, if your wait time is too long. This is not efficient, friendly, or helpful to the public. Hire more staff to accommodate the needs of the public, as you are there to serve the public.

Stopped by here to drop off my mail in voting ballot. The parking lot was well mapped out and easy…read moreto navigate through. The parking lot was also huge and had plenty of spaces to choose from. They had large signage outside to notify people which building the drop off box was and they were easy to read. There were a few friendly police offers outside the door directing people where to go. Since I was dropping off the ballot my process was super quick and simple. I literally walked into the building and put my ballot in the box. They had another officer inside and what looked like a few volunteers helping direct people also. Everyone inside was wearing masks and there was even a large touch-free hand sanitizer to use at the door. People were respectfully social distancing as well. A woman was holding some stickers by the box to have after dropping off your ballot which was appreciated. Who doesn't love stickers!? They make for the best post-voting photos too also.. everyone know that;) Anyway, super easy voting experience and it felt good to drop off that ballot!

Why is it that Law and Justice are two different things and its as if they aren't associated…read more There are services that landowners need the help of Cook County Sheriff's to help enforce which come with a cost.. a fee which has to be paid. But when the County can't commit or delay for months at a time, your monies are lost! Why T.F. do we pay taxes? I needed work done by the Sheriff's office which they were to act on a court ruling. Since all the legwork is done through lawyers, at first, they said the Sheriff's could only go out when the weather got better! Why?? They aren't doing any manual labor.. And at the time they were quoting an estimated time of 6-8 weeks! 6-8 Weeks later, nothing has been done. So I had the work done on my own. Now I'm told the fee is non-refundable! I wish they would remember these "lost fee's" when they call your house looking for a donation! Or when they ask the public to pay more money for taxes to help support them. How about supporting us?? the good guys, the ones you don't have to go and arrest. The ones that smile at you on the street or waive hello. The ones that defend you and think that you stand for........... something?

Went here to get my substitute teacher certification and registration for the west burbs. The…read morewoman who helped me gave me a lot of good information and helpful tips, which I need because I'm new to all this educational bureaucracy stuff. I know you don't have a choice, other than by mail or something, but I'd say it's worth a drive.

West 40 employee Sharon Balderas was extremely helpful guiding me through the Teaching Certificate…read morereinstatement process after mine lapsed. She was very patient with me as I fumbled logging into the ELIS website and directed me to tech support for help with my password problem. She also gave me her direct phone number so I could call her back once I was logged in. I was grateful to her for this because I wouldn't have to explain my situation again to someone new. Once I was into the system, Sharon walked me through the procedure to reinstate my certificates. Note: ELIS is not very user friendly, especially to this user. She told me it could take up to two weeks for the system to update my status. And, I could call her back if it didn't because my grace period was about to expire. Today (two days later), Sharon calls me to let me know that the system updated my teaching status and talks me through the renewal process. Ms. Balderas is a Five-Star employee and a credit to the organization. I can't say enough about her kindness and helpfulness to me!

Beautiful library. The lower level just underwent an extensive renovation and has many study and…read moreconference rooms. The staff is friendly and goes out of the way to provide excellent service. They regularly have fantastic events and seem to genuinely care about engaging the community. Thanks for all you do!

We came here to copy my husband's aunt's obituary. The staff is very helpful, copies are very…read moreinexpensive, $.10/page for black and white and $.25/page for color.

As far as post offices go this is a pretty good one. It's usually not very busy and when I lived in…read moreBrookfield and needed to ship something I'd usually go here because the Brookfield location has a crowded lobby area and is busier and slower. This one I pretty much always walked in and was helped immediately because it just doesn't have heavy traffic.

This is the headquarters of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. We are so lucky to have…read morethis institution here as well as sister agencies in the suburbs and other areas of Illinois. I'm from Oregon which has lots hiking, state parks, and so on, but the forest preserves are special. They provide a lot of great programming and the agency maintains over 70,000 acres of woodlands, wetlands, trails, and other outdoor spaces in Cook County. My experience with the FPDCC has been to attend various programs they're hosting. Usually those are some sort of hike or trail walk with a naturalist providing context and education along the way. Whilst there's several nature centers (kind of akin to the field houses at parks in the Chicago Park District) in the FPDCC system with different amenities, there are picnic groves, walking/hiking trails, camp sites, aquatic centers, and places for folks to have events, etc. I've been to the more "typical" events you'd expect of a forestry agency, such as a night hike at Sand Ridge Nature Center; hike learning about and looking for beaver activity at Trailside; owl education at River Trail Nature Center; and so on. An event about nature journaling held by a FPDCC volunteer piqued my interest in learning more about and doing some nature journaling, and led me to join the Chicago Nature Journaling Club. But they also have tried to expand to include some cultural programming and that's totally my bag. One of the signature programs supported by the department of Conservation & Experiential Programming is the American Indian Center's annual pow wow at Schiller Woods. I haven't been to that yet but it's on my list! Today I went to one of the Black History Month programs they're hosting, which was a lecture-style program with an indoor poetry trail and a discussion and introduction to Black naturalists and environmentalists from the Chicago area and beyond. It was a really interesting presentation and I'm only sad that I was the only person besides the employees who showed up! But we did have some good conversation about trying to reconnect Black folks to nature, environmental racism, how the issues early Black activists were concerned about are still germane today, and what folks are doing in the present to ensure these concerns remain part of the conversation. I really appreciate the discussion I had with Art, Bill, and Will. I'll be attending the BHM program at Sand Ridge that is a self-guided tour through trails that connected to the Underground Railroad. The forest preserves are fascinating, y'all!

Thank you for having an employee that offers excellent customer service at Sullivan Camp. Thank you…read moreRod for your assistance with my family trip.