Bolingbrook robberies touch off fight between mayor, police chief

A string of robberies in Bolingbrook has exposed a rift between the police chief and the mayor over how and when to release public information.

Chief Ray McGury suggests the disagreement can be traced to the attention brought to the town by the Drew Peterson case.

For months after Peterson's wife, Stacy, disappeared Oct. 28, the national media spotlight was focused on Bolingbrook, where Peterson worked as a police officer for 30 years. In December, Mayor Roger Claar ordered that all news releases be approved by him before being sent out.

"I can only surmise that it has something to do with the Peterson media blitz. We were getting inundated," McGury said. "The Bolingbrook Police Department handled the media calls. . . . I don't know if that's necessarily unusual (because) it was a police department matter."

In the matter of the robberies, during which women were accosted in a shopping mall parking lot, McGury said he asked Claar for direction after the first incident on Feb. 22. He never heard back. When another robbery occurred Feb. 29, McGury said police sent Claar a news release and again did not hear from him. McGury decided to issue the news release on March 1.

Claar "obviously questioned why the final approval wasn't with him. We politely said there must have been a problem with your phone and e-mail because we made several attempts," McGury said.

Two days later, the tips began to pour in. On March 13, based on those tips and the victims' information, police picked up five suspects. They were later charged with aggravated robbery and attempted aggravated robbery.

Village attorney James Boan, speaking for Claar, said there is no obligation on behalf of the village to issue press releases. Adding that there's nobody trained at the police department as a public information officer.

Boan could not say why Claar never responded to McGury's request for direction on the robberies. When pressed, he said he answered McGury's calls and helped issue the March 1 notice.