Fox Lake administrator lauded for investigating Gliniewicz
Fox Lake Village Administrator Anne Marrin has received a statewide honor stemming from her internal financial investigation tied to police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz.
Officials from the Illinois Association of Municipal Management Assistants announced Thursday that Marrin received the organization's top award.
"Ms. Marrin displayed characteristics of integrity and leadership in order to provide exceptional service to her community," said Jack Knight, the group's president and Woodridge's assistant to the village administrator.
Marrin received the Outstanding Manager Award at an annual conference April 22.
Marrin, who could not be reached for comment Thursday, entered a national spotlight after Lake County authorities announced Nov. 4 that Gliniewicz had killed himself after stealing money from an organization for teenagers who want to become law enforcement officers.
The death of Gliniewicz, 52, triggered a massive manhunt by authorities after he was found in a marshy area on Fox Lake on Sept. 1 after radioing a dispatcher that he saw three men acting suspiciously at 7:52 a.m., authorities said.
After Gliniewicz's death was ruled a suicide, Marrin addressed how she had been on the job a little more than a year when she started to raise questions about spending and operations of the Fox Lake Law Enforcement Explorer Post 300 program led by the late cop.
Police said an investigation showed Gliniewicz may have tried to "put a hit" on Marrin because of her probe of the Explorer program. The last text message released by authorities and believed to have been sent by Gliniewicz shortly before he died showed him clearly worried about Marrin's request to inventory the program's headquarters.
Melodie Gliniewicz, 51, of Antioch, has been charged in connection with what Lake County prosecutors allege was her late husband's embezzlement of the Explorer post's funds. The Explorers fund was used to pay for a trip to Hawaii, many coffee shop purchases, tickets for the Fox Lake Theatre and more than 400 restaurant charges, authorities said.