Lake County Sheriff’s Deputies were enforcing a court-ordered eviction in the 3600 block of Skokie Highway, unincorporated Lake Bluff at about 10:00 a.m. Thursday, February 27, 2025.
The property is a large commercial site with extensive land, including a section densely covered in foliage. In the summer of last year, the property owners discovered a concealed tent structure—approximately 400 square feet—hidden in thick brush. A man, later identified as Christopher J. Hermanson, 63, with no permanent address, had been living there for about seven years. Despite being asked to leave, Hermanson refused, prompting the property owners to seek an eviction order.
In the fall, sheriff’s deputies served Hermanson with notice of his eviction hearing. While he verbally objected, he was otherwise cooperative. Given the property’s conditions, deputies determined late winter or early spring would be the safest time to enforce the eviction.
Recently, Hermanson was served with a final notice of eviction. When deputies arrived today to enforce it, he began shouting threats from inside the tent that he was armed and would kill them if they approached. Despite attempts to de-escalate, he repeatedly threatened harm, insisting the property belonged to him. Additional resources were requested, and the Lake County Sheriff’s Tactical Response Team (TRT) responded, including sheriff’s canines. Hermanson also threatened to kill the canines if they came near him.
For approximately four hours, sheriff’s crisis negotiators attempted to reason with Hermanson, but he refused to exit peacefully. Just after 2:00 p.m., TRT began issuing final warnings and ordered him to surrender. At approximately 2:10 p.m., Hermanson suddenly cut a hole in the tarp and emerged from the structure with a hammer, refusing commands to drop it as he aggressively advanced toward TRT members. Deputies deployed a less-lethal beanbag shotgun, striking him and allowing TRT to take him into custody without further incident.
Hermanson was transported to a local hospital, treated, and released back into sheriff’s custody. He remains in custody while deputies work with the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office to determine charges.
All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
THANKS FOR READING CARDINAL NEWS
Get updates from The Cardinal ALL NEWS FEEDS on Facebook. Just ‘LIKE’ the ‘Arlington Cardinal Page (become a fan of our page). The updates cover all posts and sub-category posts from The Cardinal — Arlingtoncardinal.com. See all of The Cardinal Facebook fan pages at Arlingtoncardinal.com/about/facebook …
Help fund The Cardinal Arlingtoncardinal.com/sponsor
Amazon Best Sellers in Audible Books