Deerfield, Bannockburn Police Take Polar Plunge

With the water temperature hovering just above freezing, hundreds of people including scores of police officers from Deerfield, Bannockburn and surrounding communities plunged into Lake Michigan Saturday at the Lake Bluff Beach for a good cause.

For the last 15 years the Lake Bluff Police Department has organized the Law Enforcement Torch Run for the Special Olympics Polar Plunge to raise money and awareness for the Special Olympics, according to Lake Bluff Police Officer Dave Thomas.

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“We raise between $90,000 and $100,000 each year,” Thomas said. “We get between 300 and 400 people each year.”

This year the group included police officers from Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, Bannockburn, Deerfield, Buffalo Grove and more as well as student teams from Lake Forest and Highland Park High Schools.

Bannockburn Police Chief Ron Price took the plunge for the eighth consecutive year this time accompanied by his daughter, Genna Price, Officer Bob Ogden and Bannockburn resident John Vanderbilt. "We raised $2,000 for the Special Olympics," he said explaining the reason for the effort. Six Deerfield police officers were there as well.

The Lake Bluff Fire Department was there too. They were in the water in heavy protective suits not to plunge but make sure everyone who did left the water safe and sound.

Patch will have a complete photo gallery Monday along with a video of the first wave of divers leaving the water.

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