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Community Corner

Lake Forest Resident Is Only 3rd Illinoisan To Head B'nai Brith International

Allan Jacobs' sense of community extends to international organization.

Central to Lake Forest resident Allan Jacobs’ lifelong commitment to public service is his desire to give back to the community. 

“You have to back give to your community,” Jacobs said. “When residents are involved the community thrives.”

In Jacobs’ case, he is a member of a group of communities. As a resident of Lake Forest, he chairs the city's audit committee. Most recently, he was named president of B’nai Brith International, a 167 year-old Jewish social service organization. 

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Jacobs is one of only three presidents of B’nai Brith ever from Illinois and the first since 1959. The group was providing disaster relief to flood victims in Baltimore in 1868, 13 years before the founding of the American Red Cross.

"It's great to be recognized for over 45 years of service to the people of B'nai Brith. It is a great honor," Jacobs said. "I take this as a great compliment."

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As a leader of B’nai Brith, Jacobs has lobbied for causes at the United Nations and led a delegation of the organization’s Interreligious Committee to meet with Pope Bemedict XVI this past May in Rome. 

Jacobs, 76, has done that not only in Lake Forest where he lives, but in Waukegan where he works as a certified public accountant, and in Highland Park where he used to live and throughout his life with the Jewish community. 

Meeting the Pope may be a highlight in any person’s life, but for Jacobs it was about making the world a better place, a common ground shared by Jews and Catholics throughout the world.

“We have regular discussions with the Vatican, but it’s every five years we meet with the Pope,” Jacobs said.

The group spoke with the Pontiff about peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians and freedom for Gilad Shalit — an Israeli soldier held captive by Hamas since 2006 — among other things. 

“He was very hospitable,” Jacobs said. “We were ushered into a room and he came in with a group of Cardinals.”

When meeting the Pope it is customary to offer a gift, according to Jacobs. His group brought something to display B’nai Brith’s lasting relief efforts surrounding the earthquake in Haiti two years ago. 

“We started a business there (Haiti) to help the widows earn a living,” Jacobs said. “We started a factory making things from paper mache. We gave the Pope a bowl from that effort to symbolize our continuing relief efforts there.” 

Before moving to Lake Forest in 1987, Jacobs and his wife, Jodie, lived in Highland Park for 18 years. While there, he was part of a commission that oversaw the development of Port Clinton Square in that city’s central business district. 

As part of Lake Forest’s audit committee, Jacobs and four other experts work with the city’s auditors and staff to make sure the community adheres to the strict set of accounting standards required for municipalities. 

“Allen has done a marvelous job as chairman of the audit committee,” Lake Forest City Manager Bob Kiely said. “He helps make sure something like Enron doesn’t happen in Lake Forest.” 

Jacobs’ affiliation with B’nai Brith began as a boy in his native Waukegan. He was part of its sports leagues and its social outlets. “This was the Jewish organization in Waukegan,” he said. “The synagogue did not have a men’s club, B’nai Brith was its Men’s Club.” 

After graduating from the University of Illinois, becoming a certified public accountant and serving two years in the U.S. Army, Jacobs returned to Waukegan to begin his accounting career. By 1965, he was head of his local B’nai Brith lodge and his climb continued until he became international president May 23. 

Though the Jacobs family moved to Highland Park in 1968, he continues to work in Waukegan and be an active member of both B’nai Brith and the business community there.

Jacobs credits Lake Forest with bringing out the best in its citizens when it comes to public service. He speaks with pride when explaining the mayor serves for $10 a year while the city council and others serve for free. 

“We have a caucus system that recruits volunteers,” Jacobs said. “We have more than 100 people who serve."

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