New restrooms coming to some Cook County forest preserves

Installation has begun on the first of 10 new permanent toilet buildings for the Forest Preserves of Cook County. The restroom at the Bremen Grove Forest Preserve in south suburban Oak Forest is expected to open in mid-November. The remaining nine facilities will be installed in spring 2014. Secure, single-unit flush toilets will be installed in popular picnic groves that currently have limited facilities, including Schiller Woods near Schiller Park, Harms Woods near Morton Grove, Barrington Road Pond near Hoffman Estates, and Carl Hansen Woods in Hanover Township. Schiller Woods, the second most popular site for picnics in 2012, has 13 picnic groves, but no permanent bathrooms. "We're committed not only to building these new restrooms, but to making sure they are clean and welcoming at all times for the millions of people who visit the Forest Preserves each year," Forest Preserves of Cook County General Superintendent Arnold Randall said.