Large cat sighting has North Chicago wondering what's out there

It was a routine Friday night for North Chicago police officer Steven Schilaita until he parked at the station and began writing a report.

"I saw something large out of the corner of my eye walking toward my squad car. I was stunned," he said.

Schilaita was one of several people that day to see what was described as a large cat, possibly a cougar. Another sighting Sunday morning has put the town on alert.

"All our staff who are out, we've sent information to them asking them to keep their eyes open," Mayor Leon Rockingham Jr. said Monday.

"Our biggest concern is that the residents are aware and they be more cautious when they're out and about."

Schilaita described the animal as about 5 feet long and weighing more than 200 pounds, with brown fur, pointed ears and white around its face.

It was about 9:30 p.m. when the animal approached nonchalantly, and rubbed against the front of the squad car, according to Schilaita. By then, he was crouched behind the open driver's side door with a gun trained on what he described as "this monstrous thing right in front of me."

"To me it looked like a lion," he said. "I've never been three or four feet away from any animal of that size and stature."

Schilaita said he was stuttering as he alerted the dispatcher. The animal took off as the radio screeched with responses. He didn't fire.

His encounter sparked a quick response as police combed the area near the station at Lewis Avenue near Argonne Drive. Paw prints were found, but the animal eluded searchers.

Rockingham urged residents to call 911 if they see anything resembling the animal. City workers are being more vigilant this week, but it was unclear if experts or authorities were investigating and whether casts of paw prints were made.

The sighting Sunday morning was at 14th Street and Dugdale Road. The animal was seen heading into Greenbelt Forest Preserve, Rockingham said.

"Believe me, it's out there," Schilaita said.

Lake County Forest Preserve District officials say they are not involved in any investigation and referred the matter to Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

The agency's regional office covering the Chicago area has not received a formal request to be involved, according to spokesman Chris McCloud.

He said only two cougars have been positively identified in Illinois in the past century.

"It's not out of the realm of possibility, (but) it's not very common," he said.

Forest district biologists wonder whether the animal is the same one seen and later positively identified as a cougar earlier this year in Milton, Wis., according to spokeswoman Sue Hawkins.