Investigation Into Cop’s Death Has Cost Taxpayers $300,000

Fifty suburban police agencies reported using 283 employees to assist in the investigation of Fox Lake police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz's Sept. 1 shooting death at a cost of more than $300,000 in the first three weeks alone.

Fifty suburban police agencies reported using 283 employees to assist in the investigation of Fox Lake police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz’s Sept. 1 shooting death at a cost of more than $300,000 in the first three weeks alone.

Would police spend $300,000 to investigate your death?  Unlikely.

But more than $300,000 has been spent on the investigation into the unsolved shooting death of a Fox Lake police lieutenant, according to a review of personnel records from 50 suburban Chicago police agencies.

Almost two-thirds of that number, about $196,000, was related to overtime, according to an analysis by the Daily Herald. The review also found that departments with employees assigned to the Lake County Major Crime Task Force had some of the highest costs.

The killing of Fox Lake Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz on Sept. 1 prompted a manhunt for three suspects. Authorities later confirmed Gliniewicz had been shot twice with his own weapon. Investigators have revealed little else.

Despite a wide search and a month of detective work, police haven’t made any arrests, identified any suspects or come up with a possible motive. Questions have swirled around the investigation — particularly since the county coroner said he has been unable to rule the 52-year-old Gliniewicz’s death a homicide, suicide or an accident.

The review found that 283 people from 50 suburban Chicago police departments and sheriff’s offices were involved in the first three weeks after the shooting, either assisting in the investigation or covering shifts for others. That amounts to more than 5,700 hours of work.

“It’s something worth spending the taxpayers’ money on,” Mundelein Village Manager John Lobaito said. That suburb spent about $23,000.

The Lake County sheriff’s office sent 93 employees to help with the investigation at a cost of nearly $46,000 in overtime.