County aims to give sheriff's tow contract authority the hook
Post-Tribune
December 13, 2016
chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/news/ct-ptb-lake-county-towing-ordinance-20161213-story.html
The Lake County Council could soon move authority over towing contracts away from the Sheriff's Department.
Councilman David Hamm, D-1st, said an amendment to the towing ordinance would strip authority over Lake County's towing contracts from the sheriff and give that to the County Commission.
The county's move to take more control over the towing contracts follows the Nov. 18 indictments against Sheriff John Buncich and Chief of Police Timothy Downs, the department's top ranking officials, for allegedly taking bribes from tow operators.
"It's my intention to remove the towing from the sheriff and give that responsibility to the commissioners," Hamm said.
The Sheriff's Department did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Buncich, Downs and William Szarmach, of CSA Towing in Lake Station, were named in a multicount indictment alleging an illegal towing scheme in which the sheriff accepted bribes in the form of thousands of dollars in cash and donations to his campaign fund, Buncich's Boosters, according to court records. All three are facing charges of wire fraud, while Buncich and Szarmach also are charged with bribery.
Buncich, whose department was in charge of deciding which companies were called for towing services, and the chief allegedly steered business toward towing operators in exchange for cash and checks, the U.S. attorney alleged in a 14-page indictment. Buncich allegedly took more than $25,000 in cash bribes and $7,000 in checks from Szarmach and another towing operator identified as "Individual A," according to the indictment.
Buncich, Downs and Szarmach have all pleaded not guilty.
The county previously amended the tow ordinance, giving the Sheriff's Department the authority to select the roster of tow operators and collect the fees. The County Commissioners simply signed off on the contract based on the sheriff's recommendation.
"It's going to be more or less like it was done in the past," said Commissioner Mike Repay, D-3rd. The commissioners would likely determine a set of minimum qualifications for tow operators and evaluate how to distribute territory throughout Lake County, Repay said, but the logistics will have to be worked out later.
Hamm said the money from the towing fees, based on the ordinance revision, would go into the general fund and be under the supervision of the seven councilors and three commissioners.
St. John resident Joe Hero said he'd encourage the council to amend the ordinance to get more control and accountability over the income from tow jobs.
"You have no control over this," Hero said.
Right now, Hero said the county has private contractors collecting the fees, Hero said, and no control on how that's being paid to the county. He said the county should create a tracking system to monitor tow jobs.
"In light of what happened, that is something we will be doing," said Councilor Dan Dernulc, R-4th.
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