Glenview Man Drowns at Holiday Inn Skokie

A Glenview man was pronounced dead after his body was found at the bottom of a pool at Holiday Inn Skokie, 5300 Touhy Ave., on Saturday around 2 a.m. The man was identified as 28-year-old Andrew Buckley, said Police Chief Anthony Scarpelli.

"The detectives conducted a number of interviews and we know he was a guest at the hotel," Scarpelli said. "[Detectives] know he had been at Bar Louie prior to the incident."

Bar Louie is a restaurant connected to the Holiday Inn Skokie. 

CPR was attempted by several patrons, but efforts were unsuccessful, police said. Scarpelli added that Buckley was seen 10 minutes before his body was found.

"I don't know how long he was in the pool," the police chief added.

Results from an autopsy toxicology test will take several weeks before it becomes available, police said. Buckley was taken to Skokie Hospital after his body was discovered.

Trib Local Skokie reports that witnesses saw Buckley scale a fence leading to the pool prior to his death. The pool was closed at the time Buckley entered the water, authorities said. 

On Oct. 6, 2011, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) shut down roughly 500 swimming facilities that failed to meet the Virginia Graeme Baker Act, a measure passed after a 7-year-old girl became trapped underwater by a strong suction of a hot tub drain and drowned.

The Holiday Inn Skokie due to failing the new safety standard by the IDPH. The law requires pool operators, such as hotels, to install types of pool drain covers to prevent dangerous suction power that can cause swimmers to become stuck. 

Daniel I. Dorfman contributed to this article ~