Former Lake County Sheriff Gary Del Re dies at 69

Former Lake County Sheriff Gary Del Re was regarded as a great cop, a law enforcement innovator, and a loving father and grandfather.

Del Re, 69, was found dead at his Mundelein house Sunday, officials said. He died in his sleep late Friday or early Saturday, Lake County coroner officials said.

Del Re's son David, a Waukegan attorney, said family members performed a well-being check on his father after not hearing from him.

"My dad dedicated 33 years of his professional life to the village of Buffalo Grove and the County of Lake; protecting and serving each passionately," David Del Re said in a written statement. "He simply loved being a cop."

Kildeer Police Chief Steve Balinski, who served 23 years with Gary Del Re at the Buffalo Grove Police Department, said he was a visionary cop and a fun-loving person.

De Re "really knew how to enjoy life," Balinski said.

"You could just talk and laugh with him. He was such a down-to-earth individual."

Del Re was born in Chicago in 1949 and moved to Vernon Hills in 1976. He worked at the Buffalo Grove Police Department for 25 years before being appointed Lake County undersheriff in 1994 by former Sheriff Clinton Grinnell.

He took over the sheriff's office in 1996 when Grinnell retired. Del Re won election in 1998 and 2002 before losing to current Sheriff Mark Curran in 2006.

"He was a genuine law enforcement professional and a true gentleman," said Round Lake Park Police Chief George Filenko. "He had an extremely kind heart, was always very fair and very even-keeled. In all the years I worked with him, I never saw him defer from the personality he had as an individual."

Del Re's crowning achievement was serving as co-founder and first commander of the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force in 1992. The specialized unit is composed of members of various Lake County law enforcement agencies and responds to a mutual need for investigative resources and expertise.

Filenko, who served seven years as the unit's commander, said Del Re "was one of the true innovators of the idea."

"He recognized the need of it based on the demographics of Lake County and worked hard to put the concept in motion," Filenko added.

But above all else, Del Re was a devoted father and grandfather.

"His family and close friends knew that he was a humble expert on everything Civil War and Abraham Lincoln, with history lessons given off the top of his head whenever requested," David Del Re said. "But mostly he loved his family and the time spent with his grandchildren, who miss him dearly."

There will not be a public viewing or burial, in accordance with Gary Del Re's wishes. In lieu of flowers, donations should be sent to Save-A-Pet in Grayslake.