Fox Lake mayor defends Bears road trip in middle of Gliniewicz fallout

The fallout from the actions of Fox Lake police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz prompted Mayor Donny Schmit on Tuesday to defend his road trip to the Bears game in California as investigations continue and reiterate the village will emerge stronger.

After giving his regular report as mayor during a village board meeting, Schmit, in a prepared statement before a room packed with television and other media, first discussed his trip to San Diego with former Police Chief Michael Behan and other friends to watch the Bears play the Chargers.

"The Bears won last night, and that seemed to be a controversy," he began.

Chicago media reports earlier this week said some people were upset that Schmit had left town with Behan when the community was reeling after investigators said last week Gliniewicz had killed himself in a ruse staged to look like he was killed by three men, and that he had embezzled funds from the Fox Lake Explorers, a youth police program. Gliniewicz also has been accused of other wrongdoing, such as considering hiring a hit man to kill Village Administrator Anne Marrin, who began asking about the Explorers funds.

Behan retired Aug. 28, three days before Gliniewicz killed himself. Earlier that month Behan and another officer were put on administrative leave as the village investigated a confrontation between the officer and a suspect last December.

Schmit said he has known Behan for 30 years and still maintains a friendship.

"Nothing is more important during serious challenging times than having friends and family support you along the way. Ours is a mutual support," he said.

"This is a trip I've been taking for over 10 years. About a dozen of us pick a Chicago Bears road game every year and organize a trip as soon as the schedule comes out. It's just a trip between friends, nothing official, and I'm sure I'll be doing it again next year with the same group.

"Quite frankly, I don't believe our residents care if I'm attending a football game with friends on a long weekend," he said, adding that residents want the village to provide service, attract business, improve schools and keep their families safe.

"How I spend my free time and who I spend it with doesn't affect the village. Covering it is nothing but a distraction from the work we all need to do to recover from all this and move on in a way that makes Fox Lake stronger and prouder than it has been before."

He said the village needs to move forward and become stronger after the events involving Gliniewicz.

"As a community we need to deal with the fact that while he did help many, he was far from the hero we wanted to think he was," Schmit said

"Several emotions are running through our community: confusion, anger, disbelief, feeling betrayed are just a few of the emotions in our community right now," he continued.

"The last two months have been major defining events in our community's history. FOIAs (freedom of information requests), interviews, media presence and uncertainty have understandably consumed our time and energy so much that we have not been able to continue conducting regular activities."

To avoid the same mistakes, he said, the village must put in "proper controls and accountability measures to ensure something like this never happens again."

He said areas of deficiency may arise as investigations continue and possibly embarrass the community.

"I feel we are facing these challenges head on," he said. "But we are fools if we don't at least acknowledge that we can do it better."

Residents defended Schmit.

Ellen Allen, a 12-year resident, said the mayor has a right to his private life.

She said she owns many properties in the area and the emphasis should be on making the village more attractive to visit.

"I'm a little upset" with events of recent months, she said, "but other than that, we'll work through it."

Marrin said after the meeting the support from the community she has gotten is "beautiful."

"It's been a difficult time, and they're great for stepping up and saying such wonderful things," Marrin said.