Schmit to seek re-election as Fox Lake mayor
The man leading Fox Lake when the Gliniewicz saga unfolded announced Wednesday he is seeking four more years in office.
Mayor Donny Schmit, 62, announced via email he will team up again with Trustees Bernice Konwent, Jeff Jensen and Ron Stochl on the "Common Sense Party" slate to seek re-election in the April 4, 2017 municipal election. Danice Moore, a member of the village planning board, will join the slate and run for village clerk, Schmit said.
Opponents to the slate have not yet come forward.
Schmit said the four incumbents ran on a platform of creating more transparency in local government, protecting Lakefront Park from development, and returning the village bus service in town.
The slate's goals include providing a safer community to raise families, making local government even more transparent, and continuing to bring in more business and residential development, he said.
"This is only way we can continue to provide essential services without taxing people out of their homes," Schmit said.
Schmit became nationally recognized for being at the helm of the village when police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz was found dead on village-owned property on Sept. 1, 2015.
Authorities initially thought Gliniewicz was killed by three people he chased into a swamp. However, authorities later determined Gliniewicz killed himself to cover up the embezzlement of funds from Fox Lake Law Enforcement Explorer Post 300.
The town made national headlines over the Gliniewicz death, and Schmit appeared on several national news shows that covered the shooting and subsequent investigation.
Schmit said he has worked to put the Gliniewicz saga behind him. He said he hand-delivers business and liquor licenses to stay in touch with residents and the business community, and looks forward to new challenges to expand on the many successes of the past four years.
"This is my town. My family has been here for five generations, and I want to continue to serve the people here to make it great," Schmit said. "We want to continue the progress we made the last four years and continue to work to make Fox Lake as good as it was when I was a kid."