Group asking Fox Lake officer's family to return money
Officials at Motorola Solutions, which pledged $50,000 in reward money to help solve the murder of Fox Lake police Lt. Joseph Gliniewicz, said Wednesday money will be given instead to Fox Lake Police Explorer Post 300.
At the same time, the 100 Club of Chicago is asking for the Gliniewicz family to return $15,000 the club gave them within a day of his death.
Thousands of dollars, from all around the country, were donated and pledged after Gliniewicz died Sept. 1, thought to be the victim of a homicide. Some of the money was meant for the officer's family; other donations were an incentive to help solve the crime.
Schaumburg-based Motorola Solutions Inc.'s donation of $50,000 to the Explorer post will be used to help replace funds that Gliniewicz apparently stole, company spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch said Wednesday.
On Wednesday, Lake County investigators say Gliniewicz used the Explorer youth program fund as a “personal bank account,” stealing “five figures” worth of funds to make personal purchases.
“We share in the shock and disappointment felt by those who have followed this tragedy,” Ebenhoch said. “The reward pledge Motorola Solutions made to the Fox Lake Police Department for information leading to an arrest was to support a community that many of our ... employees and their families call home.”
Motorola, which makes safety equipment and communications devices for police and fire departments worldwide, sells equipment to the village of Fox Lake and surrounding community police forces.
Meanwhile, the 100 Club of Chicago, a civilian organization that provides for families of first responders killed in the line of duty, requested Wednesday that the Gliniewicz family return the $15,000 they received after his Sept. 1 death.
The club's executive committee met on Wednesday and agreed to ask for the money back since authorities determined the cause of death to be a “carefully staged suicide” and not a line of duty death, club officials say.
“This is an unfortunate thing to have to do and we, of course, feel for the family,” said a statement from club CEO Joe Ahern and President Ralph Mandell.
“We know, however, that we must stay true to the mission and purpose of our organization and reserve financial benefits for families who lose a loved one in the line of duty.”
Among several suburban fundraisers, one of the most prominent was the McHenry Outdoor Theater's Sept. 9 showing of the 1978 movie “Superman,” with proceeds from ticket sales and concessions being donated to a Gliniewicz memorial fund. Some 300 people attended and $5,016 was raised, according to theater owner Scott Dehn.
The money has already been donated, but Dehn isn't asking for it back.
“The overwhelming feeling is sadness over the whole situation,” Dehn said. “We're trying to focus on the fact that this community tried to come together to focus on what they thought was good at the time, for the right reasons.
“Even despite the news that came out (Wednesday), that's a positive that can be said for the community.”