Calumet Township Trustee Found Dead

By Soyoung Kwak in News on Jun 27, 2010 8:00PM

A Calumet Township Trustee was found dead in a Chicago park pool Saturday morning. Carlos Salgado, of Blue Island and who had served on the board since 2009, was the youngest member of the board. Salgado also had a great interest in local politics and "spoke about someday running for other offices, maybe even trying to run for U.S. Congress," said Calumet Township Supervisor Rose Rita. Salgado's body was found by a pool worker on Saturday morning, and police have since confirmed that Salgado's death occurred after an "after hours party" involving city officials at the pool at Blue Island Memorial Park. The pool was reopened on Saturday, causing some concern among residents:

Attendees enjoying the popular Blue Island Fest just steps away from the pool had no idea someone had died. Several were upset the park district hadn't made them aware of it, especially after reopening the pool to the public Saturday.

Blue Island Park District President Fred Bilotto defended the action.

"It's an open investigation," he said. "We cannot make anyone aware of anything because we don't know exactly what happened yet."

Some have stated that the actions of city officials were "careless" and reprehensible. Blue Island resident Elias Contreras stated, "City officials, they shouldn't be out here drinking. I mean, they get mad when the kids do it, then they shouldn't do it either you know." An autopsy is schedule for today.