Small but mighty: Why the Lake County sheriff is using personal watercraft on the Chain

Bigger isn’t always better.

Like when you’re rushing to the scene of an accident, but getting there means navigating narrow channels congested with boat traffic.

Or someone’s fallen overboard and needs help, but the area is too hard to reach for a 22-foot vessel.

Or you’re trying to patrol a sandbar packed with hundreds of revelers and dozens of boats tied together, leaving no space for you to operate.

Getting to those hard-to-reach areas, and getting there fast, is why the Lake County Sheriff’s Office has added a pair of personal watercraft — sometimes better known by brand names such as Sea Doo, Jet Ski and WaveRunner — to its fleet.

They’ll be getting heavy usage this holiday weekend, as tens of thousands take to the Chain O’ Lakes, Lake Michigan and a host of smaller waterways patrolled by the sheriff’s Marine Unit to celebrate America’s 250th.

“It allows our deputies to respond more quickly in areas where larger patrol boats can't easily operate or even launch from,” said sheriff’s Sgt. Michael McCarty, who oversees the marine unit. “A personal watercraft is highly maneuverable, they are fast to deploy, and can reach locations like sandbars, narrow channels, low bridges and shallow water. All are difficult for larger patrol vessels.”

The sheriff’s office has added the personal watercraft to its fleet at no cost, through a donation from Lake Villa-based marine dealer Nielsen Enterprises and manufacturer Sea Doo.

They’re part of a fleet that includes five larger patrol boats for the Chain and other smaller lakes that dot the county, and a 29-foot cabin boat that patrols 27 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline — extending 39.5 miles from shore — from the Wisconsin border to the Cook-Lake county line.

While marked with “SHERIFF” in white letters on each side and equipped with a flashing light attached to the handlebars, the watercrafts stand out less than the sheriff’s other boats.

But McCarty said the intention is not to sneak up on boaters who might be violating laws or acting unsafely.

“We want people to see us. We want to be a visible deterrent,” he said. “We don’t want to be called out to something after it happens.”

McCarty said boaters usually are surprised to see law enforcement aboard a Sea Doo, but they generally lead to positive encounters, especially with kids or fellow PWC riders.

“When we get to have interactions with boaters, they usually enjoy seeing us on patrol with a different and unique platform of doing it,” he added.

The unit will be out in full force this weekend, when the sheriff’s office takes part in Operation Dry Water, a nationwide boating under the influence awareness and enforcement campaign.

“Our focus is education first, but we will be actively looking for impaired boat operators and other safety violations,” McCarty said. “Boating under the influence puts everyone on the water at risk, and we'll have zero tolerance for unsafe behavior.”

Judicial warning

Kane County Judge D.J. Tegeler delivered blistering remarks to a gallery of teens and young adults Tuesday before convicting a 19-year-old Carpentersville man of murder.

“I am sick and tired of young people getting shot,” said Tegeler, a former criminal defense lawyer. “I understand you may be worried about (involving) the police. But you don't solve things by killing each other.”

Tegeler found Jimmy Medina guilty of first-degree murder in the fatal Oct. 25, 2023, shooting of 17-year-old Anthony Aragon. Authorities said Medina and his cousin, Alan Medina, drove to a Carpentersville neighborhood that night to take part in a fight.

They were passing by another vehicle when someone inside the Medina vehicle opened fire, striking Aragon and another person, prosecutors said. Jimmy Medina is set to be sentenced Aug. 26, when he’ll face decades in prison.

“For all the young people here, come back in eight weeks for sentencing,” Tegeler said. “You are going to find out what it is like when you decide to take the law in to your own hands and be stupid.”

Drop in domestic killings

For the first time in five years — and in the wake of a 140% increase from 2022 to 2024 — the number of homicides linked to domestic violence in Illinois is trending in the right direction.

That's according to the latest Domestic Violence Homicide Report from the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

The report released last week shows that there were 72 incidences of domestic violence homicide last year statewide, leading to 101 total deaths. That's down about 26% from the 137 deaths from 98 instances reported in 2024, the coalition noted.

While that's good news, the report noted that an abuser’s access to firearms keeps the risk of fatal outcomes dangerously high throughout the state. In fact, 68% of the homicides last year and 88% of perpetrator suicides involved a gun.

“We cannot ignore the reality that an abuser’s access to a firearm is a critical lethality risk factor,” said Carrie Boyd, CEO of the coalition. “The presence of a gun correlates with five times increase in the risk of homicide for victims.”

Other key takeaways:

· Approximately 41% of the domestic violence homicide victims in Illinois in 2025 were current or former intimate partners of the perpetrator.

· The vast majority — 95% — of perpetrators identified as male, while 69% of victims identified as female.

· The Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline experienced a 17% increase in contacts, receiving 69,748 calls, texts and chats in 2025.

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