Gurnee trustee, mayor spar over police news

Gurnee Mayor Kristina Kovarik and Trustee Greg Garner are clashing again over the timeliness of public notification about major crime.

Another incident at Gurnee Mills is at the root of the disagreement between the political foes.

Garner said Kovarik would prefer to keep mall crime quiet to protect Gurnee's image, but Kovarik contends Garner is uninformed and police would never jeopardize public safety by suppressing serious-crime reports.

Police have said they don't withhold information.

Garner spoke out at a June 21 village board meeting after police announced they were seeking a suspect in an abduction, robbery and sexual attack of a woman that began in a Gurnee Mills parking lot.

Police made public the June 5 attack eight days after it was reported. Convicted child molester Richard R. Gallatin, 37, of Pleasant Prairie, Wis., was arrested last week after an anonymous tip to police.

In an interview last week, Garner questioned why word about the crimes authorities accuse Gallatin of committing didn't reach the public sooner.

"To me, it's a matter of not wanting to look bad," Garner said. "I've brought this up before."

Kovarik said Garner doesn't know how police release information about major crime. She said there is a thorough decision-making process before Gurnee police go public about certain activity so investigations aren't jeopardized.

Garner seized on the latest Gurnee Mills attack for political purposes, Kovarik said.

"Greg Garner didn't bring it up because he's concerned about the safety of the citizens," she said in an interview last week. "He brought it up to make us look bad."

In February, Garner and Trustee Kirk Morris questioned why a recognition letter about a police officer's good work provided new information about fights and damage at Gurnee Mills early in the morning Nov. 27.

Garner and Morris said the lack of timely, detailed information about the Gurnee Mills mayhem in November was an example of Kovarik's administration not being committed to open government for residents. Kovarik denied the accusation.

Morris did not enter the fray when Garner complained about the police information flow at the June 21 village board meeting. The friction was limited to Garner and Kovarik.

At the recent meeting, Garner also said elected officials should receive notification about major crime just before the public. He said he should not have first learned of the June 5 attack at Gurnee Mills on television news.

Kovarik did not specifically respond to Garner's request.

"When you start acting like a trustee," she told Garner, "maybe we'll treat you like a trustee."