Hainesville near decision on who will take over police services

With the Hainesville Police Department about to be dismantled, Mayor Linda Soto said she's "very, very close" to choosing which police force will take its place in the village.

The Grayslake Police Department and the Lake County sheriff's office are the contenders. Soto has a favorite - "we're leaning toward one over the other," she said - but she isn't yet ready to make her choice public.

Soto had been expected to announce her choice Tuesday night, but she postponed the recommendation because some details still need to be worked out.

"We just wanted to make sure that both parties are comfortable with the (legal) language," Soto said. "An agreement is only as good as you make it."

The board now is expected to hold a special meeting Tuesday, June 29. It has not been formally scheduled yet.

Soto said she'll publicly announce her selection and ask the board to vote that night.

Plans call for a new department to start patrolling Hainesville by mid-July.

Grayslake proposed 24-hour-a-day police service for $711,782 a year. The sheriff's similar offer came with a $791,566 price tag.

Around-the-clock policing has always been an important requirement for the village, Soto said. So has access to traditional large-department resources, such as detectives for investigations or more officers to handle significant calls, she said.

"And obviously, both of those agencies' resources ... (are) head and shoulders above what we've been able to do here," Soto said.

Hainesville had a part-time police department until state requirements forced its closure in 1999. From then until 2008, Round Lake Park police patrolled Hainesville.

Hainesville launched its own full-time police force in 2008, but in April officials voted to shut down the department because of its operational costs, which Chief Wallace Frasier estimated at $1.1 million annually.

The department has four full-time officers, including Fraser, and eight part-time officers.