Island Lake officially welcomes new police chief

Island Lake's new police chief was officially sworn in Thursday at the village board meeting.

Chief William McCorkle started in the top position last week after some heated debate about former interim chief Anthony Sciarrone's demotion.

None of that debate carried over to McCorkle's swearing in ceremony. McCorkle said he thinks the controversy is over and he is pleased to be leading the police department.

"I tapped into the talent of the police department and they've been getting me started with what I want to do," he said.

McCorkle, who lives in Wauconda, said he has started a child safety seat program coordinated with the Lake County Coroner's office. Officers are learning to secure child safety seats in squad cars in case children need to be transported in one of the cars.

Before being named police chief, McCorkle was a part-time officer in the department and a lieutenant with the Great Lakes Naval Station police force.

He said he also wants to implement a community outreach program, to further open the lines of communication between the department and area businesses and residents. Hearing their ideas on how the police department can best serve them would be valuable to the department.

Controversy arose when Mayor Debbie Herrmann put Sciarrone on paid administrative leave in February without consulting trustees. The board later decided in a split vote to return Sciarrone to sergeant, his previous position.

Sciarrone is set to report for duty in that position Sunday. Officials said he requested an additional week off but that request is still pending.