Lakewood seeks ZIP code

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LAKEWOOD – Johnsburg wanted one for years. Ringwood, with fewer than 500 residents, has one all to itself. And now Lakewood is in the market for its very own ZIP code.

Lakewood’s Economic De­velopment Committee has been pursuing the issue and is seeking support in its bid from Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Ill.

“At the highest level, it’s about having our own identity,” Village Board President Erin Smith said.

Having its own ZIP code also would make it easier to ensure that the village gets its proper share of state and federal revenue, such as utility taxes, which have to be calculated out manually, Smith said.

Lakewood officials have tried to get a village ZIP code in the past, but have been turned down. This time, they hope to get support from Man­zullo and others to push the matter through.

“We want to develop a commercial base and differentiate the village from surrounding areas,” Smith said. “We want our own unique identity,” Smith said.

The village shares a ZIP code with Crystal Lake, but has been approved for its own last line address. That means a Lakewood resident can get mail using either Lakewood or Crystal Lake before the 60014 ZIP code.

However, as Smith pointed out, anyone looking up an address in Lakewood on the Internet is likely to find it listed as Crystal Lake.

“They see Crystal Lake and find out about [Crystal Lake Mayor] Aaron Shepley and don’t see anything about Lakewood,” she said.

Johnsburg spent almost 15 years asking for its own ZIP code for some of the same reasons, Village Administrator Claudett Peters said. In 2003, the village had two different ZIP codes splitting the town, but that problem later was fixed to reduce confusion, Peters said. Collecting the correct amount of revenue and fees was a top reason the village wanted its own ZIP code, Peters said.

Generally, each ZIP code serves about 55,000 addresses, however there are some exceptions, United States Postal Service spokesman Tim Ratliff said.

“ZIP codes are created to provide operational efficiency,” he said. “They are not used to form community identity.”

Simply put, some towns have their own, others don’t.

“A lot of factors are considered, including geographic location, efficiency and economic use of resources,” Ratliff said.

Formal requests for ZIP code changes are reviewed by the USPS and then evaluated. A decision and explanation then would be provided to the municipality, Ratliff said.

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