Gurnee emphasizes safety: more school resource officers, drones and regional 911 consolidation
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Summary
Mayor Tom Hood said safety is Gurnee’s top priority, citing a police budget exceeding $25 million, an additional school resource officer (bringing total to six), deployment of drones on emergency stations and participation in a regional dispatch center in Libertyville.
Mayor Tom Hood told attendees that public safety underpins the village’s success and detailed several operational investments in 2025 and plans for 2026.
“Safety is the No. 1 item that I would stand on,” Hood said, adding that the village has invested more than $25,000,000 in its police department. He announced the village increased school resource officers by one — to a total of six — to strengthen relationships between officers and students and to help deter and detect problems early.
Hood also described new technology for first responders. A drone stationed above Fire Station 1 will be deployed to incident scenes to provide video and heat-sensor data to officers and dispatchers before responders arrive. Hood credited Fire Chief John for supporting the drone placement and described uses that include locating missing persons and providing real-time scene information.
On regional coordination, Hood thanked Lake County officials, including Chris Caspone and Sandy Hart, for creating a consolidated dispatch center in Libertyville known informally as “The Rock,” where 30 agencies now co-locate dispatch to reduce call-transfer delays and speed response times.
The speech described investments and programs rather than formal policy changes or new ordinances; figures and operational claims were presented by the mayor and attributed to village operations during the address.
