Gliniewicz notoriety hangs over Fox Lake police's future
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Officials with the Lake County sheriff's office have been providing interim leadership, and Village Administrator Anne Marrin said she doesn't expect the search for a long-term police chief will be easy or quick.
Fox Lake's leadership will likely select a second interim chief to steer the department through a period of reforms before village officials select the person they want at the helm for the long haul, Marrin said.
"It's kind of like bringing in someone after a tornado, giving them a broom and dustpan and saying, 'clean it up,' " she said. "You don't want to set (the long-term chief) up for failure."
She estimated it could take up to a year to find the next interim chief.
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Police have already restructured the department's leadership, eliminating the position Gliniewicz held, Covelli said.
As lieutenant in charge of patrol, Gliniewicz oversaw the Explorers youth policing program and police records, a light workload a more junior officer could handle, Covelli said.
"For a lieutenant, someone that's in the upper-rank structure, it just doesn't fit," Covelli said.
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Police are also auditing the department's armory and evidence room. According to Covelli, it's standard procedure during a change in leadership and is not related to the discovery that Gliniewicz had an evidence bag of cocaine in his desk.
"The new administration is responsible for anything that's in the department's possession, so they need to know if anything is missing or if there are any issues," Covelli said.
And the Fire & Police Commission is considering a change to its police officer hiring procedure, at the interim chief's suggestion, that will see three officers interview each candidate instead of just one, according to meeting minutes.
