Waukegan approves purchase of 2025 Chevy Tahoe police package for community crimes unit

The finance and purchasing committee voted July 21 to approve the Waukegan Police Department's purchase of a 2025 Chevy Tahoe police-package vehicle from Curry Motors for use by the department's community crimes division.

The vehicle will be used for overt operations including crime suppression and traffic enforcement. The department told aldermen several vehicles in the division were at or near 200,000 miles and required frequent repairs.

The purchase price passed in committee was $58,006.90 (agenda materials list an amount not to exceed $60,306); the committee was told that buying on the authorized state bid through Curry Motors yielded a savings of roughly $2,299.10 off the list price. Funding for the purchase will come from federal forfeiture funds (GL line item 296629625468), a department representative said.

Alderman Hayes questioned whether an existing recently purchased Tahoe could be reconfigured for the community crimes unit instead of buying a new Tahoe, noting displeasure over prior purchases and asking why an earlier 2025 Tahoe could not be reassigned. Mayor Sam Cunningham acknowledged the previously purchased Tahoe was being used by the mayor's office. A police department representative explained police-package Tahoes include manufacturer upgrades for alternators, brakes and wiring and are outfitted to support police equipment; retrofitting a non-police vehicle to meet those demands had not been priced by the department.

Alderman Hayes said he wanted additional information on which vehicles in the fleet would be retired and whether reassignments could reduce new purchases, and the department said it would provide that information.

Outcome: Motion to approve the purchase carried by roll call.

Context and budget: Committee members were told the community crimes unit operates larger vehicles to carry equipment; the new Tahoe is a police-package vehicle purchased via an authorized state bid agent. The police department said the new vehicle will replace vehicles at the end of their service life; the purchase will be funded from federal forfeiture funds, not the general fund.

What was requested: Alderman Hayes asked the police department to provide a short fleet list identifying the specific vehicles to be retired and estimates, if available, for retrofitting existing vehicles to police specifications.

Vote: Committee roll call recorded in minutes: all members present voted in favor.