Dec. 22--A dead cat found hanging from a tree branch has prompted a police investigation in Waukegan, and a local cat rescue organization is offering a reward for information that leads to an arrest.
Waukegan police Cmdr. Joe Florip said the department received a call on Friday from a passerby who reported a cat hanging by a rope tied around its neck from a tree near the intersection of Montesano Avenue and New York Street. Police Chief Wayne Walles has ordered the case to be handed over to the department's investigations unit, Florip said.
"The passerby said they found the cat in that state. I really can't remember anything like this," Florip said. "We are taking this very serious. It's sad. It was a domesticated animal and it looks malicious."
At Monday night's Waukegan City Council meeting, the founder of North Chicago-based Fat Cat Rescue said the organization's $500 reward had increased to $1,000 thanks to additional donations promised through the group's Facebook page.
"When you see the picture it just takes your breath away. I was shook up," Mary Kaye Larsen Olloway said. "This was too out in the open, someone had to have seen something."
She said the cat appears young and domesticated.
"People that do this escalate to other things and that scares me," Larsen Olloway said.
"We're going to raise hell and make sure this is treated as a serious crime," she added.
Charlie Burleson, a retired Waukegan police sergeant, also addressed the City Council, saying she was "alarmed at the recent spike in violence against animals."
She questioned the way the city and police department handled an incident earlier this month in which Ald. Larry TenPas beat a raccoon to death with a tire iron while a resident waited for animal control.
Mayor Wayne Motley on Monday night confirmed police are looking into the cat's hanging and said the Illinois DNR is investigating the raccoon's killing.
TenPas was not present at the meeting.
Larsen Olloway said she hopes the $1,000 reward will motivate people to report information about the cat's death.
"We need to get the word out so someone comes forward. It had to be seen by someone. It's so sad right before Christmas," she said.
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