Rangers keep Lake County Forest Preserves safe

With more than 25,000 acres encompassing a variety of uses scattered over dozens of sites from throughout Lake County, John Tannahill has a sprawling beat.

The new chief of the Lake County Forest Preserve District's ranger police acknowledges that open spaces, trails and other facilities do not exactly qualify as high-crime areas.

But being one with nature doesn't mean letting your guard down, he acknowledges.

"People who use the forest preserve tend to forget there's no area immune from people who commit crimes. They've become lax in their security," says Tannahill, who took the post after 25 years with the southwest suburban Westmont Police Department.

"The difference is people come to the forest preserves to enjoy themselves. This is their relaxation," he said.

While he is still getting to know the staff and the area -- and was officially introduced to the full forest preserve board this morning -- Tannahill, 49, already has a mission only two weeks into the job.

Soon, the residents in the vicinity of Grant Woods Forest Preserve near Lake Villa will become the first in an effort to step up the Community Preserve Watch Program.

The directive came as a result of an incident July 1 at Grant Woods in which 12 people, including three juveniles were arrested. Police said a group of gang members confronted three teens who were at a corporate picnic nearby.

"It's the first time we had that. It was very upsetting," said Bonnie Thomson Carter, forest preserve president.

"We're going to set up a two-year timeline when we're going to reach out to the communities around all of our preserves."

Tannahill described the Grant Woods incident as an "anomaly" for the district.

"It wasn't anything planned -- it was just two groups met in the wrong place," he said.

Besides security, the stated goal of the department is to preserve natural resources. Ranger activity usually involves stopping poaching, checking for fishing licenses and making sure people don't pick wild plants, for example. Noise complaints and reports of rowdy people are also common.

Rangers carry weapons and can make arrests throughout the forest preserve holdings, which are divided into five areas. They are trained and certified by the state and have a staff member on the Lake County Major Crime Task Force.

Because of the vastness of the area covered by the 17 sworn full-time ranger police officers, the department also relies on reports from volunteers, stewards and other district staffers. An alert public helps the rangers, who operate on a community policing philosophy, he added.

"They may hear loud music we don't know is going on," he said. "If we can get that information, we can focus on the challenges out there."

Plans also are in the works to expand the Walk with a Ranger program. Rather than being by appointment, mainly to various groups, it will become an ongoing feature held at different preserves.

"That's what I want our rangers to do -- meet, greet, let people know we're out there," Tannahill said.

"We don't have a real heavy crime issue, but like any community, we're not immune to it either."