Commander Who Led Gliniewicz, Calusinski Investigations to Resign

Written by Amie Schaenzer.

Lake County Major Crime Task Force Commander George Filenko will retire this spring.

In announcing Filenko's retirement, which will take effect on April 1, Lake County authorities lauded Filenko's commitment and service over his past 11 years with the major crime task force. Filenko has been involved in over 200 homicide investigations during his career, according to a Lake County Sheriff's Office news release.

“Throughout the past 11 years, George has given up vacations, anniversaries, birthdays, and many other special occasions. Not to mention the fact, George has contributed thousands of hours of unpaid time working cases for the citizens of Lake County," said Chief Mark Fleischhauer, Chairman of the Lake County Major Crime Task Force Board. "I’m extremely proud of the extreme dedication, professionalism, integrity, and hard work of George during his tenure, there’s no doubt he will be missed as Commander of the Task Force.”

But Filenko has also received plenty of public criticism over the past year. Filenko headed the team that investigated the death of Fox Lake Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, which began as a murder investigation. Two months later, Filenko announced investigators determined Gliniewicz took his own life and staged it as a murder after Gliniewicz spent years embezzling money from the Fox Lake Explorers program.

>> Fox Lake Lt. Gliniewicz Killed Himself After Years of Betraying His Badge

Filenko also assisted in the investigation into the death of of a toddler at a Lincolnshire daycare. Melissa Calusinski, a worker at the daycare, was sentenced to 31 years in prison for the death of Benjamin Kingan and Filenko was one of two task force detectives who questioned Calusinski, the Daily Herald reports.

The handling of that investigation is now being scrutinized by Lake County Coroner Thomas Rudd and defense attorney Kathleen Zellner and Calusinski is seeking a new trial, according to the article.

Filenko’s retirement is effective April 1, but he will remain on Task Force in an advisory capacity as needed, according to a Lake County Sheriff's Office press release.

The Lake County Major Crime Task Force Board will begin the process of selecting a new Task Force Commander in the near future. In the interim, Zion Detective Kyle Helgesen will fulfill the role of Acting Commander while the selection process is completed.