Lilac Ledge

Pros

• The staff is wonderful.
• The residents are pleasant.
• It is a very nice place.
• The apartments are very nice.
• The hallways are clean and the elevator is clean.
• The staff are second to none.

Cons

• The office staff is god awful, immature, and unprofessional.
• The air conditioner is not working, and the management is irresponsible and slow to fix it.
• The new office staff are less helpful, and the community is no longer treated as a senior-focused place.
• The restroom changes forced residents to share unisex facilities, which is unpopular.
• Management failed miserably in handling the water main break, delaying notice to residents and lacking relocation plans.
• The city and building managers did not provide timely support; Red Cross involvement came too late; residents had to pay for hotel rooms themselves.
• The outage shows a lack of planning and accountability, with criticism of city planning and leadership.
• The property has become less beautiful; carpet and common areas haven't been updated in years.
• Residents should be treated with respect and not as commodities; leadership should be held accountable and made whole.

Review

Lilac Ledge emerges in these reflections as a place with real positives and equally real tensions, a residence that some residents praise sincerely while others point to ongoing frustrations. For one resident who has called the place home for three years, the experience has been largely favorable: the staff across the board was described as wonderful, and the residents themselves as pleasant. The apartments are characterized as clean, the hallways and the elevator well-kept, and there is a strong sense that this is a place you wouldn't want to leave. In short, it's often framed as a nice, comfortable living environment with a solid sense of community.

Yet the sentiment about the staff is not uniform. One review calls the office staff "God awful," labeling them immature and unprofessional, and recounts a feeling of unreliability in some interactions. In stark contrast, another voice within the same set of remarks praises the staff as remarkably reliable, punctual, and considerate, arguing they are second to none. The discrepancy highlights a genuine tension: some residents feel well cared for and supported, while others feel hindered by personnel conduct and responsiveness. The changes to the building's restrooms - specifically the shift to a unisex arrangement on the main floor - are cited as a broad change that has affected residents' sense of privacy and comfort, with the perception that the staff's assertiveness or decision-making around amenities has not always aligned with residents' expectations.

The physical amenities and the upkeep of the building also generate mixed feedback. One point of contention is the sense that the place is no longer strictly a senior-focused residence; the new staff are perceived as less helpful, and there is a belief among some residents that Lilac Ledge has transitioned away from its former senior-community identity. There is also a direct call for updates to the carpeting in the hallways and the downstairs sitting area, which has reportedly remained unchanged for more than five years. Such notes suggest a wish for modernization to match the homey and orderly vibe that residents still associate with the building.

In the midst of these concerns, there are moments of positive, personal experience that color the overall impression. A resident mentions visiting their uncle at Lilac Ledge and even sharing a sleepover, describing the experience as great. This anecdote serves as a counterweight to the more critical voices and underscores that the living environment can be warm and comfortable, with meaningful human connections flourishing within the community.

The most intense critique comes from a detailed account of a recent crisis: a water main break that reportedly occurred around midnight on October 18. The author insists the management failed to inform residents promptly, only communicating at 4:00 PM the next day that there would be no water for about a week. The review argues that with a building full of seniors, there should have been a proactive plan to relocate or otherwise provide for residents' basic needs far more quickly. The critic is adamant that both the management and the city were complicit in a delayed and insufficient response. Red Cross involvement only appeared after news services highlighted the issue, and residents were left to either secure temporary hotel rooms, stay with family, or endure uncertain arrangements. The contention is that the building has its own transportation and could have secured blocks of rooms at local hotels to house seniors - actions that did not occur. The reviewer, a facility engineer by profession, characterizes the response as bumbling and notes that many residents cannot afford hotels, thereby calling for accountability and a thorough remedy to make those affected whole again.

Taken together, these perspectives sketch a complex portrait of Lilac Ledge: it is a place that can feel warm, caring, and well-suited to its residents' needs, with clean spaces and a sense of community that many people value deeply. At the same time, there are persistent concerns about staff conduct and consistency, shifts in the community's intended audience, and, most urgently, about emergency preparedness and communication during a major service disruption. The overarching message across the reviews is that residents deserve reliable, respectful, and proactive management - especially given the vulnerability and needs of a community that includes many seniors. If Lilac Ledge can align its operations with that expectation - ensuring staff professionalism, maintaining pleasant and updated common areas, and demonstrating clear, prompt crisis management - it could reconcile the strong, favorable impressions with the valid concerns raised by residents.

Pharmacies

• CVS Pharmacy (1 miles)
• Walgreens (2.4 miles)
• Walgreens (2.4 miles)
• Walgreens (4.5 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (4.9 miles)
• Walgreens (5.2 miles)
• Walgreens (5.9 miles)

Physicians

• Vista Physician Group (1.1 miles)
• Family Primary Care Clinic (1.4 miles)
• Hanger Clinic: Prosthetics & Orthotics (3.1 miles)
• North Suburban Dermatology Associates (3.3 miles)
• Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons (3.4 miles)
• Veterans Affairs Medical Center-North Chicago (3.8 miles)
• Meadows Plastic Surgery (4.8 miles)

Hospitals

• Vista Medical Center - East (1.3 miles)
• Waukegan Il Hospital Co. (1.3 miles)
• Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center (3.9 miles)
• Cancer Treatment Centers of America - Gastroenterology (6.2 miles)
• Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital (7.3 miles)
• Lake Forest Hospital (7.6 miles)
• Advocate Condell Medical Center Heart Scan (8.6 miles)

Parks

• Waukegan Park District (2 miles)
• Illinois Beach State Park (4.7 miles)
• Butler Lake Park (8.3 miles)
• Millenium Park of Lindenhurst (9.6 miles)
• Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve (9.6 miles)
• Century Park (10.2 miles)

Restaurants

• Shirl's Drive In (2.4 miles)
• McDonald's (3.2 miles)
• Culver's (3.2 miles)
• Chipotle Mexican Grill (3.3 miles)
• Taco Bell (3.6 miles)
• Superman: Ultimate Flight (5 miles)
• McDonald's (5.4 miles)

Cafes

• Starbucks (2.5 miles)
• Starbucks (3.2 miles)
• Panera Bread (6 miles)
• Panera Bread (6.7 miles)
• Hansa Coffee Roasters (7.7 miles)
• Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters (7.9 miles)
• Starbucks (10 miles)

Theaters

• Gurnee Mills Cinema Gurnee, Il (6.7 miles)
• AMC Hawthorn 12 (9.9 miles)

Transportation

• Metra (7.8 miles)
• Metra (9.6 miles)

Places of Worship

• United Methodist Church of Libertyville (7.9 miles)
• St Gilbert Parish (10.6 miles)