Wilmette residents protest new admission fees, fence built at Gillson Park beach

WILMETTE, Ill. (WLS) -- Suburban residents protested over new admission fees and fence that was put up at Gillson Park.

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"We wanted to enjoy our Labor Day Weekend on Beach with our family, but now we have to pay to get in," beachgoer Serena Chen said.

Chen said she drove from Schaumburg to what she thought was a free beach.

Wilmette Park District began charging $5 to residents and $10 to non-residents for beach access earlier this summer.

Chen said she couldn't afford the $50. So, she and her family are going elsewhere.

"We are not going to put up with them keeping people out and making it unaffordable to those who can't afford it," Unfence Gillson Organizer Jeff Axelrod said.

A group of Wilmette Residents, who call their organization Unfence Gillson, have been fighting the park district's decision to fence off about 1,000 feet of lakefront in Gillson Park and charge a beach fee.

For over 100 years, this lakefront stretch in Gillson Park has been open and free for anyone to enjoy.

The Park District said it was previously open admission because it was not a swimming beach. However, swimming is now permitted with lifeguards on duty.

The fencing up was put up to minimize large unruly crowds that the park district said started to gather during COVID.

Unfence Gillson claims the Park District made these changes right before the beach season began with very little public notice.

The fencing blocks lake views for older and disabled residents who can't stand up to look over the fence.

Unfence Gillson says it will continue to fight until the Park District reverses its decision.