Bannockburn Mayor Stepped Down Amid Criminal Sexual Conduct Investigation

Bannockburn’s mayor James Barkemeyer, who abruptly resigned last week, has been investigated by the Wilmette Police Department for criminal sexual conduct against teenage employees in the 1990s, according to an article in the Deerfield Review.

The statute of limitations for the allegations has expired and no charges have been filed.

The article is based on a heavily redacted report obtained by the paper through a Freedom of Information Act request, which names Barkemeyer. In the report, Barkemeyer, now 57, tells detectives that he had brief sexual encounters with two teenage boys who were employed at Linden True Value Hardware, his family’s business.

Wilmette police issued a press release on the investigation, which does not name Barkemeyer because no charges have been filed against him. The press release explains that the statute of limitations has expired on the crimes, which are alleged to have occurred between 1991 and 1996.

Police were contacted by a 36-year-old man in May who said he was molested by one of the owners of the business where he worked as a teenager between 1991 and 1995, the press release said. Investigators interviewed “numerous former teenage male employees,” one of whom said that the same owner committed acts of criminal sexual conduct against him as well between 1992 and 1996.

Wilmette police are encouraging anyone with information about the investigation to contact Detective Clark at 847-256-1200.

You can read the full Deerfield Review article here.