Gurnee has new dog law with teeth

Gurnee has beefed up its local law so there are consequences for owners of dangerous dogs that misbehave.

Mayor Kristina Kovarik said Gurnee's dog ordinance was "pretty weak" and didn't go much beyond leash regulations until trustees approved changes a little more than a week ago.

"You wouldn't need government if everyone was responsible," Kovarik said.

Police records show 31 reports of dogs biting other canines in the past five years, Kovarik said. There also have been 66 residents who were reported to have been bitten by dogs in Gurnee since 2005.

Village Attorney Bryan Winter worked for most of the year on altering the dog ordinance, which he said likely was last examined about 30 years ago. The amended law will help when police are called to an incident involving dogs, he added.

Winter, speaking at a village board meeting, said the new law has criteria for an incident to qualify for a dangerous dog administrative hearing before retired Lake County Circuit Judge Henry Tonigan III.

For example, a dog chasing or approaching someone on the street, sidewalk or any public grounds in a menacing fashion or apparent attack mode may trigger a hearing. This must be witnessed by one or more people or investigated by authorities.

"The board or the public should not think that ... I'm walking down the sidewalk and a poodle approaches me, yapping, that somehow I could initiate a dangerous dog hearing based on those set of facts," Winter said.

Owners may face a hearing if they are suspected of possessing dogs used primarily for fighting other canines or are trained for such action. A police report about a dog believed to have attacked and inflicted serious injury on a human without provocation on private or public property also may result in a hearing for the owner.

Winter said dogs declared dangerous by the hearing officer will be forced to be kept in an enclosure no closer than 20 feet from property lines.

In addition, such dogs would be registered with the village. Owners will need a minimum of $300,000 in liability insurance.

He said a sign will be required outside the owner's home warning of the dangerous dog.

"These will not necessarily be easy requirements," Winter said.