Our Doctors
Dr. James Doherty
Dr James Doherty grew up in Walpole, Massachusetts, a rural suburb of Boston, Massachusetts. Upon graduation he attended Providence College in Rhode Island majoring in pre-medical studies.
He gained early admittance into Illinois College of Optometry after achieving an average test score above the 95th percentile on the Optometry College Aptitude Tests (OCAT's).
During optometry school he took extra classes to achieve his Bachelor of Science degree in Visual Sciences and then graduated with his Doctorate in Optometry.
In 1982 he was offered the American Vision franchise located in Waukegan which pioneered the concept of one hour service in a mall environment. In 1988 he opened his private practice AccuVISION in Lindenhurst to better serve his patients in western Lake County. Due to the success of the Waukegan office in 1994 he was offered the American Vision at 20 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago directly across from Grant Park. A patient care philosophy of fast quality service from a well trained staff, state-of-the-art instrumentation and a large inventory of frames turned an office close to shutting its doors into one that annually won the President's Award for Best Patient Service. In 1995 the Furst Vision in Round Lake Beach was close to bankruptcy when Doherty took it over.
With the implementation of the same standards applied at his other offices it has grown to become the largest optical in northwest Lake County after moving to its new location in 2005. The Waukegan Lakehurst Mall office was moved to its Gurnee Mill's location in 2000. This office is the only Vision Service Plan (VSP) authorized provider of eye care on Sundays in Lake County.
The American Vision Centers on Michigan Avenue and in Gurnee Mills were renamed to Doherty's private practice name AccuVISION after buying out these two franchises in 2000. The tremendous patient growth at the Michigan Avenue office required a move in 2003 to double its size at a new street level location near the corner of Wacker and North Michigan Avenue diagonally across from the Trump Tower.
Mundelein opened in 2007 saving many of our Wauconda, Libertyville and Mundelein patients on the drive time to Round Lake Beach. In 2014 Dr. Sandy and her staff of the Towne Vision merged with the Gurnee and Lindenhurst AccuVISION's. After the Sear's Optical went out of business in Wauconda their optometrist selected Dr. Doherty to assume the care of her patients and the newest AccuVISION reopened in the same location. We will be tripling the size of this office when we finish renovating the old Mill Creek Restaurant and move into that building in August of 2015. This will be the largest VSP approved optical in western Lake County.
Dr. Doherty lives on Fox Lake where he enjoys great sunsets, boating, biking, snowmobiling, tennis, and skiing. His son Tyler and daughter Taryn graduated from Bradley University. Tyler is an insurance agent and Taryn has entered Illinois College of Optometry.
He would like to thank all of his patients for their support and greatly appreciated referrals that have allowed AccuVISION to become one of the largest locally owned doctor practices in Illinois. Our ability to offer state-of-the-art service and instrumentation from a well educated staff resides in your continued support. Dr. Doherty personally reads all patient surveys filled out from this website. Please include an email address if you would like any issues responded to.
Dr. Lonn Yang
Dr. Lonn Yang grew up in West Springfield, MA. She attended Tufts University from 1991-1995 where she received her B.S. in Biology. After graduation she worked at a cardiovascular research lab in Boston for a year and helped publish a research paper regarding VEGF's roll in restenosis following balloon angioplasty.
In 1996 she attended Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, FL where she received her optometry degree in 2000. In 2001, She moved to Illinois and worked for AccuVision until 2004, and now she is happily back with us again.
She enjoys working with people and is passionate about helping her patients with their eyecare needs. Her husband is also an optometrist, and together, they have 3 children: an older daughter and twin boys. In her free time, she enjoys reading, running, meditation, and doing qigong exercises.
Dr. Lynn Meyer
Dr. Lynn Meyer has been dedicated to taking care of the vision and ocular health needs of Chicagoland families since moving here in 2004. Dr. Meyer grew up in Michigan City, IN. She attended Indiana University and graduated in 1994 with a B. S. in Biology. In 1996, she attended Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, where she received her optometry degree in 2000. She was accepted to the Kansas City VA Medical Center ocular disease residency upon graduation. She is National Board Examiners of Optometry Certified, State of Illinois Board of Optometry Certified, and Illinois Therapeutic License Treatment and Management of Ocular Disease Certified.
After completing her residency at the KCVA in 2001, she spent some time in her home state of Indiana, practicing in Indianapolis. Soon after moving to Chicago, she married her husband of 15 years. They have 2 Children, a daughter and a son.
Dr. Meyer enjoys spending time with her family, playing golf and tennis, and giving back through several charity groups. One is the Chicago Diabetes Society, which is actively working on a cure for Juvenile Diabetes.
Dr. Wendy Mchugh
Dr. Wendy McHugh received her undergraduate degree in 1998 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she majored in biology and minored in chemistry.
She went on to Indiana University School of Optometry where she graduated with Honors in 2002 and has been working in private practice since then.
Dr. McHugh is a member of the American Optometric Association, Illinois Optometric Association, Beta Sigma Kappa International Optometric Honor Society, and Golden Key National Honor Society.
Dr. Don Helms
Dr. Don Helms is a graduate of the Illinois College of Optometry. He has been caring for AccuVISION patients since 1997. Dr. Helms is highly experienced and skilled with the fitting of regular and specialty contact lenses such as custom astigmatic contacts, contacts for individuals with dry eyes and multifocal (bifocal) contacts. Dr. Helms' success rate with bifocal contacts is much higher than the national average.
He is very skilled in finding solutions for individuals that work on computers who are experiencing excess fatigue, blurred vision, headaches and dry eyes. Dr. Helms is also adept in the treatment of anterior ocular disease (red eye, eye infections, dry eyes etc.)
Dr. Wendy Mchugh
Dr. Wendy McHugh received her undergraduate degree in 1998 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she majored in biology and minored in chemistry.
She went on to Indiana University School of Optometry where she graduated with Honors in 2002 and has been working in private practice since then.
Dr. McHugh is a member of the American Optometric Association, Illinois Optometric Association, Beta Sigma Kappa International Optometric Honor Society, and Golden Key National Honor Society.
Dr. John Ichishita
Dr. Ichishita grew up in Chicago IL. He attended the University of Illinois as a member of the Honors College receiving his bachelors in Biology. He then went on to earn his doctorate at the Illinois College Of Optometry. He graduated with Honors in 2013. After graduation he wasin the 8% of graduate selected for a residency program in Ocular Disease at the VAMC in Huntington Wes Virginia.
Dr. Ichishita enjoys practicing full scope optometry, with special interest in treating and managing ocular disease. He is a member of the American, Illinois Optometric Association, Beta Sigma Kappa Honors Society and the Golden key International Honors Society.
In his free time he enjoys biking, reading, snowboarding, hiking and tennis.
Dr. Wendy Mchugh
Dr. Wendy McHugh received her undergraduate degree in 1998 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she majored in biology and minored in chemistry.
She went on to Indiana University School of Optometry where she graduated with Honors in 2002 and has been working in private practice since then.
Dr. McHugh is a member of the American Optometric Association, Illinois Optometric Association, Beta Sigma Kappa International Optometric Honor Society, and Golden Key National Honor Society.
Dr. Jason Kwon
Dr. Kwon has been a Doctor of Optometry with AccuVISION since 2004. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in biology. Then, he completed his doctorate program at the Illinois College of Optometry in 2002. He also has many years of experience treating and managing anterior segment conditions and retinal diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, and Glaucoma. With a commitment to staying at the forefront of his field, Dr. Kwon regularly attends continuing education courses and is board-certified by the American Board of Optometry.
Dr. Kwon's passion for aiding others is evident in his actions, which include being an active listener, empathetic, and compassionate. Thanks to these attributes, he has a strong, respectful doctor-patient relationship with many of our patients who have been coming to AccuVISION for many years.
He enjoys seeing patients of all ages and treating patients with various types of contact lens fits. Dr. Kwon resides in the northern suburbs with his wife of 20 years, their two teenage sons, and their dog Millie.
Dr. Wendy Mchugh
Dr. Wendy McHugh received her undergraduate degree in 1998 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she majored in biology and minored in chemistry.
She went on to Indiana University School of Optometry where she graduated with Honors in 2002 and has been working in private practice since then.
Dr. McHugh is a member of the American Optometric Association, Illinois Optometric Association, Beta Sigma Kappa International Optometric Honor Society, and Golden Key National Honor Society.
Dr. Richard Yang
Dr. Yang was born and raised in Chicago until he was 12. He then spent the rest of his formative years in Glenview. He attended Glenbrook South High School and made the Dean's List at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. He played volleyball for his high school team and the U of I men's volleyball club team while winning two gold medals at the Prairie State Games high school division (Illinois' version of a statewide Olympics) as a junior and a senior.
Dr. Yang then attended Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry in Fort Lauderdale. It was there that he met his future wife, who is also a doctor at the Lindenhurst location for Accuvision. Dr. Yang received his Optometry degree in 1998. After graduation, he did a year of residency in the Fort Lauderdale area, where he also corresponded with residents at the prestigious Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami. He was very happy to come home, as he loves Chicago and prefers the colder weather.
Dr. Yang enjoys helping patients with their eye care needs.
Dr. Yang also enjoys sports (both participating and watching), music, movies, running, and exercising. But he mainly treasures his time with his wife and three children (a daughter and twin boys).