Rick Lesser is back at the bar — snowbird tan and all — and this one runs from a 2012 trash-can fire to a city-manager form of government nobody fully understands. Under all of it sits one question: who actually runs this town — the mayor or the city manager? Along the way we get into the windscreens that turned West Park into a wall, a $170K no-bid tech contract, and the beach concession scorecard the city still won't release.We document. You decide.🎙️ Pete, Jeff Urso & Skoo Walker — with Rick Lesser⏱️ TIMESTAMPS🏛️ 0:00 — "Where does the buck stop?" (the question)🍺 0:23 — Rick Lesser returns to the bar🔥 1:28 — The 2012 West Park trash-can fire (Rick's commendation)🎾 4:04 — The tennis courts & the windscreen "wall"🏖️ 15:11 — The beach concession FOIA & the missing scorecard💻 16:58 — A $170K no-bid tech contract📋 36:24 — The fight for the beach scorecard🗳️ 36:35 — The caucus & why turnout is so small🍸 47:59 — Highwood, liquor licenses & treating businesses equally🏛️ 56:32 — Who actually runs City Hall? (mayor vs. city manager)🎓 59:18 — Education, the trades & Rawthentic🏫 1:01:36 — The Committee of Ten (1892)📵 1:01:57 — Banning cell phones in schools🌭 1:04:30 — Bar talk: the best hot dog in town📋 1:06:11 — D115 board: a 7-0 closed-session personnel vote (public record)🏘️ 1:06:21 — Shields Township & spending power🎬 ~1:23 — Wrap🔗 LINKS & MORE▶ Support the show: patreon.com/lakeforestpodcast▶ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6BN8V...▶ Rawthentic (Pete's Substack): petejansons.substack.com▶ Tips / press: pete@lakeforestpodcast.com▶ Lake Forest, IL (60045)📝 CORRECTIONS & CONTEXT (we fix our record)

• Lake Forest High School graduation is Saturday, June 6, 2026.
• The city's tech migration (BS&A, cloud) was $169,785, approved sole-source 8-0 on May 18, 2026 — referred to on the show as "$180K."
• SB 2427 (school cell-phone restrictions) passed the Illinois General Assembly in May 2026 and is not yet in effect — it phases in a future school year and includes exceptions (medical, IEP, English-learner, caregivers).
• The Committee of Ten was formed by the National Education Association in 1892 and chaired by Harvard president Charles W. Eliot.