I have been looking in Illinois and Michigan, generally. I'm originally from Springfield, IL, and much of my family in the USA still lives there (or nearby areas), and near the Harietta, Michigan area. I do not know of specific LAZAR family in Chicago but, as mentioned below (last paragraphs), I don't know a lot about my Lazar side yet. I would not be surprised to find some in Chicago, given the proximity of the City to MI and IL.

Anyway, here is what my family looks like (LAZAR family largely described near bottom hereof):

1. My maternal Grandmother (Mary Lazar Mihelsic, b. 1/31/1918) married Leo Mihelsic (changed from Mihelcic, b. 7/24/1911).

2. Siblings to Leo Mihelsic were Mary, Stevana and George.

3. Parents of Leo Mihelsic were Mary Malnar and Steven Mihelcic.

4. Mary Malnar was from either Mrzla Vodica or Crni Lug, Croatia (both are very small towns near Lokve which is just a bit east of present-day Rijeka). Her
parents were Simon (or maybe Samuel) and Ursula Rauker. Her siblings: Pauline (Pepa), Margaret (Meta), Ludvic (Luke), Frances (Frana), and John Daniel (he is
the only sibling we KNOW of who came to the USA, too; both he and his sister Mary Malnar settled in the Springfield, IL area (central IL)).

5. Steven Mihelcic was from Lokve, Croatia. He had 1 sister (name unknown) and a brother, William (who also came to the USA).

6. I know that my maternal Grandfather, Leo Mihelsic's brother George's middle name was Matthew (George Matthew Mihelsic), but I don't know where the
Matthew comes from. It is VERY possible it was George's father's (Steven) brother's name (the only brother I know of for sure is William because I know he came
to the US and I know his descendants in Springfield, IL). I would think it strage that Steven and William were the only brothers and had only 1 sister (whose name I
don't know); families were usually much larger than this then.

7. I visited my maternal Grandmother's family in Skofja Loka, Slovenia, in 1995 (Lazar, descendants on her father's side -- her father was John Lazar, married to Mary Demsar Lazar).

8. John Lazar (b. 2/28/1886) was the son of Mary Turcek and Matiose/Matevi Lazar, and was from the Idrija/Vrsnik area which is south and west of Skofja Loka. John had at least 1 brother and 1 sister that I KNOW of: Frank (b. 7/132/1888) and a sister who I know nothing about (other than that she existed and probably never came to the USA). A male uncle (their father's brother) or cousin likely accompanied them; the male relative settled in MI and William and John settled in the Springfield, IL area, where their descendants still live. I'm still in touch with the Lazars in MI today.

9. Mary Demsar Lazar was the daughter of Agnes Tusare and John Demsar, and was from the Skofja Loka area. I know Mary had at least 1 siser named Frances, and I know there were other sisters and brothers but I don't know their names. Mary was the youngest of about 7-9 children and her parents died when she was young. She went to live with her eldest brother in Skofja Loka and, I believe, met her
husband, John Demsar, there.

My husband and I have been planning a return trip for this year but are now 5 1/2 months pregnant with our first child so don't think we'll go this year. I am not in
direct contact with my Mihlesic family in Lokve, Crni Lug and Mrzla Vodica but know they exist (and was planning to visit them during the same trip this year) and
am in the process of translating a lot of my info. into Croatian and sending it to suspected family in all 3 villages. We'll see what response(s) I receive.

If you've done research in Slovenia, I'd love to hear about it. I'll keep you in mind as my research continues. You're welcome to email me directly at: JAKIMIER@FWBC.COM Happy hunting and thanks again for writing. Would be happy to hear more from you.

Mary