Illinois
'Truly a special dog': Illinois House honors Lake County Sheriff Canine Dax, handler following canine's death
The Illinois House of Representatives honored Lake County Sheriff’s Canine Dax and his handler this week after the canine’s retirement and sudden death last month.
State Representative Tom Weber (R-Lake Villa) and the Illinois House of Representatives honored Dax and his handler, Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy John Forlenza, on Wednesday.
Dax and Forlenza were honored with the adoption of House Resolution 703 commending the duo for their “honorable service and dedication to their community, the State as a whole, and the nation.”
Forlenza was present at the Illinois State Capitol for the adoption of the resolution.
“Dax is one of the most decorated police K9s in the history of our state,” Weber said. “It’s only fitting that we honor his service as we would any law enforcement officer who has done so much to save lives and protect our communities.”
“He was truly a special dog, but none of his accomplishments would have been possible without the dedication and determination of his handler. It is a testament to the time and constant training Deputy Forlenza put in over the years that Dax was able to achieve so much. It was my honor to recognize them both on the House floor today and thank Deputy Forlenza for his service and work with Dax,” Weber said.
Dax – a German Shepherd born in March 2014 in the Czech Republic – joined the sheriff’s office in the spring of 2015. He was 13 months old when he joined the team.
Following nearly 10 years of service, Dax’s retirement was announced on April 4 and a public retirement ceremony was held on April 10.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office announced Dax’s death on April 12, just two days after the ceremony.
“While K9 Dax’s legacy will forever live on, this morning K9 Dax passed away,” Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said at the time.
Covelli told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that Dax’s recovery since his injury in March had been “up and down.”
“But over the last ten days, it’s been going downhill. The last 30 hours he was in a lot of pain,” Covelli said.
Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg said Dax will “always hold a special place in our hearts, and we are incredibly saddened by his passing.”
“K9 Dax will be remembered for the lives he saved, violent offenders he apprehended, and drugs he kept from being distributed in our community. Please keep the Forlenza family in your thoughts and prayers,” Idleburg said.
Dozens of community members attended the retirement ceremony, some even bringing their own dogs.
Covelli said during the ceremony that Dax and his handler have located over 400 missing endangered people.
“There’s no doubt this equates to over 400 lives being saved by this canine, Canine Dax,” Covelli said.
Dax has located some of society’s most violent fleeing criminals, Covelli said just before Dax began barking. “He’s still got it in him,” Covelli joked as the crowd began laughing.
Covelli said the canine recovered hundreds of kilos of illegal drugs, assisted with the seizure of millions of dollars, recovered dozens of firearms discarded by offenders, assisted with dozens of seized vehicles and has participated in hundreds of community and school demonstrations.
“It’s hard to travel anywhere in the United States and meet somebody who hasn’t heard of Canine Dax from here in Lake County,” he said.
Dax received dozens of awards and recognition, including from elected officials and nationwide organizations.
During the canine’s career with the United States Police Canine Association (USPCA), he competed in several regional and national trials across the country.
Dax earned numerous top finishes in the areas of tracking, article searches, narcotics, suspect searches and protection.
He won six USPCA Regional Championships and earned two Tracking Exceptional Certifications.
Dax also appeared on numerous local and national news stations, including Fox Nation, NBC, A&E Network and ESPN.
Forlenza spoke during the retirement ceremony and reflected on Dax’s career, including Dax’s first apprehension of a felony domestic battery suspect who fled on foot in North Barrington in 2015.
“He found the offender hiding behind a tree. Dax started to bark aggressively — go figure. Something he has obviously excelled in,” Forlenza said as Dax barked during the ceremony.
“The offender gave up. I remember being so proud of him looking back and I could tell he was proud of himself also,” Forlenza said.
Dax’s handler said he never anticipated that his first find in the woods would be the start of a career where Dax would go on to locate hundreds of violent offenders, subjects in mental crisis, lost children and elderly subjects.
Forlenza thanked the community for all of the cards, letters, care packages and well-wishes as Dax worked to recover from his recent injury.
“I want you all to know the special role you have played in Dax’s career and his rehabilitation,” Forlenza said.
The canine was injured on March 3 while apprehending a person who had committed several felonies and was fleeing near Zion.
Dax injured his neck and spine, which resulted in temporary paralysis in his hindquarters.
He was later diagnosed with cervical and thoracolumbar Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD) and lumbosacral IVDD exasperated during the apprehension, Covelli said.
Dax went through intensive physical therapy following the injury, which allowed him to regain the ability to walk and use his hind legs.
Covelli said Dax’s team of veterinarians determined he would not be able to return to active duty for his physical well-being.
A number of Taco Bell locations have posted signs announcing they are “currently unable to sell Lettuce, Cilantro Onion, Pico de Gallo, and Guacamole due to a nationwide recall,” according to Detroit-area news radio outlet WWJ.
Taco Bell told the Post it would keep monitoring the situation and follow authorities’ guidance.
Taco Bell Lettuce Linked To Growing MI Parasite Outbreak: FDA
“Public health officials have not confirmed a link to Taco Bell or any specific ingredient, supplier, restaurant or retailer,” the company told the Post. “While authorities continue their broader review, Taco Bell has voluntarily and temporarily removed limited ingredients at select restaurants as a precautionary measure.”
In Michigan, where cases have been concentrated, media reports said notices were posted at some Detroit-area Taco Bell restaurants last week telling customers the chain was “currently unable to sell Lettuce, Cilantro-Onion, Pico de Gallo, and Guacamole due to a nationwide recall.”
The Illinois Republican Party filed its quarterly campaign finance report on the July 15 deadline. The party reported having just $223K in the bank. The next day, the party sent a letter to the Illinois State Board of Elections saying they were “reconciling” their records after a leadership change, and then noted that their actual end balance was $101K higher than it had reported the day before.
But that bit of found money was basically the end of the “good news” for the GOP last week.
Republicans no longer have a pet billionaire. Bruce Rauner and Ken Griffin have fled the state. The legions of wealthy business titans who once contributed and raised money have either retired to sunnier climes or passed away. Several prominent party members have publicly shunned labor unions and their hefty political war chests, although the state GOP legislative leaders have at least tried to rebuild ties to trade unions and even the Illinois Education Association. But the heavily gerrymandered legislative map combined with the current political climate means they’ll mostly receive scraps.
And, yes, the House Democrats are struggling this month with scandals, including a state representative who resigned under pressure and another who was indicted. I’m not trying to downplay that at all. But Democrats have the national political environment, the local infrastructure and tons of cash behind them. The Republicans have little to none of that.
The GOP’s gubernatorial candidate, Darren Bailey, raised $1.3 million in the second quarter, which ended June 30. That sounds like a lot, but he spent almost all of that on direct mail fundraising costs. The huge expenditures do give him a prospect list for future fundraising, but he ended the quarter with a mere $128K in the bank. That was still a whole lot more than the rest of the statewide ticket.
Attorney General nominee Bob Fioretti, a perennial candidate, raised $31K, spent $39K and had $28K on hand at the end of the quarter along with almost $15K in recent debt. Secretary of State candidate Diane Harris raised $6K, spent a bit over $4K and had a paltry $1,816.42 in the bank. Treasurer candidate Max Solomon, who ran as a write-in during the primary because the party failed to recruit anyone, raised less than $3K, reported no spending and ended the quarter with less than $8K. Comptroller candidate Bryan Drew raised $30K and received $47K in in-kind contributions from a company owned, ironically, by independent gubernatorial candidate Collin Corbett, spent less than $3K, ended with $54K and had $25K in debt from earlier this year.
Man, that’s just downright pathetic.
But I suppose it doesn’t really matter anyway unless we see a massive sea-change in national opinion in the coming months or the federal government finds a way to not certify certain election results. Regardless of where individual candidates are at this moment, they’ll have the money to compete. Unlike the Republicans, the Dems do have a pet billionaire (JB Pritzker) and, I assume eventually for most of them, organized labor.
The Republican legislative leaders have tried to scrape and claw as much as they can, but they’re vastly outgunned. Senate Republican Leader John Curran raised just $75K in the second quarter. He spent $71K and reported having a bit more than $3 million in the bank. His caucus committee reported having $160K in the bank.
Leader Curran has three Republican-held districts to defend in the Chicago media market that have all trended Democratic in the last three cycles. Depending how bad things get, he could be defending a couple, two or three more.
The Senate Democrats have a ton of money to do whatever they want. Senate President Don Harmon has about $20 million in his personal campaign account and $1.7 million in his caucus account.
Over in the House, Republican Leader Tony McCombie has at least four Democratic-trending or swingy districts to defend and just $1.3 million in her personal campaign account and another $363K in her caucus account so far.
In contrast, House Speaker Chris Welch had $11.4 million in his personal account and $1.2 million in his caucus account. Like Senate President Harmon, he has more than enough money already, but more is never enough when there’s so much out there, so those numbers will likely rise by November.
Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and CapitolFax.com.
BLOOMINGTON — Springfield’s Alex Eickhoff nearly had a magical Thursday as he tied for second place in the 95th annual Illinois State Amateur Championship at Crestwicke Country Club.
Eickhoff, a 2020 Hillsboro High School graduate and former standout on the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s men’s golf team, shot a 4-under-par 68 in Thursday’s third round and followed that with an even-par 71 to finish the three-day, four-round event 1-over 285. He tied for second with Bloomington’s Logan Stauffer.
Eickhoff briefly took the lead through nine holes of his fourth round when he sat at 1-under par. Chicago’s Charlie Kulwin finished both of Thursday’s rounds under par and finished 2-under 282. He was the lone golfer to finish under par for the tournament.
Eickhoff was The State Journal-Register’s Small School Boys Golfer of the year twice in his high school career: once as a freshman in 2016-17 and again as a senior in 2019-20. After high school, he golfed for the University of Minnesota for two years before transferring to SIUE.
He began the tournament with a 3-over 74 on Tuesday and shaved off a stroke Wednesday with a 2-over 73. He closed out the event with an even-par 71 in Thursday’s final round.
Other area golfers who made the cut were Springfield’s Charles Hoogland (7-over 291, tied for 20th) and Jacksonville’s Brady Kaufmann (8-over 292, 25th).
The last golfer from The State Journal-Register’s coverage area to win the Illinois State Amateur was Jay Davis. Davis, a Jacksonville Routt graduate, won the 1991 and ‘92 tournaments.
Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, ryan.mahan@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.
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