A message from Mayor Donny Schimt

These last 60 days have taken a toll on our community like never before. For two
months our residents were left with few answers about what took place the morning of
September 1 in our community.
We were also left to wonder whether there were cop killers in our midst. That has left
our community unsettled and uneasy.
We are pleased to have finally reached some resolution regarding Lt. Gliniewiczs
untimely death.
We know that todays news has been very difficult to take for our employees and our
community.
We know that learning that the Village has been the victim of criminal activity is tough
news to hear.
But during this time, as our communitys elected and appointed leaders, we must lead
and we must show that we are united in our goal to get at the truth, wherever it may
lead.
The Village fully supports efforts to hold wrongdoers accountable and that we will
continue to assist investigators at every turn, as we have done since September 1.
The Village is eager to see this investigation move forward in a timely way and will be
urging investigators to be thorough, but to also be expedient in their efforts.
As I have repeatedly stated, I have had and continue to have complete confidence in
the Lake County Sheriffs Office, the Lake County Major Crime Task Force and the Lake
County Coroners Office. They all deserve our thanks. They have worked very hard on
what is clearly an increasingly complex investigation. We are grateful for their
assistance on this case and they have our commitment to continue to assist them in any
way.
I ask our residents to be patient and allow the investigations to continue. The amount of
evidence that has been examined is enormous. We are still conducting audits of our
policies and procedures that will take time. I would rather have a thorough investigation
of our practices than a hasty one.
On a personnel note, I lost a friend. While this friend may not have been perfect, he was
still a friend. In the past 30 years, he has been a part of our Village and helped many of
our youth. So while he had some flaws, he also did a lot of good.

Over the past two plus months, in my head, I have tried to go over every possible
scenario. Though suicide had been mentioned, almost form the start, I never really
thought it was a possibility. Suicide is a constant fact of life for our Police, Fire and
Military. 22 veterans take their life every day. It is my hope that anyone considering this
permanent solution to a temporary problem seeks help. If one person is able to learn
from this and seek help in their time of need, then possibly a bit of good can come from
this.

Finally, I cant begin to say how proud I am of this Village and its residents. We came
together as a community to support our Police and Fire Departments. People just
wanted to know what they could do to help. The donations of food, water and offers of
help were endless. These selfless acts of humanity define our community. While the
revelations today were shocking, Im still proud to say Im from Fox Lake.

Donny Schmit
Mayor, Village of Fox Lake