Waukegan Alderman Jose Guzman has a Troublesome Criminal Record

When Waukegan Alderman Jose Guzman took office this spring, he was part of a glowing Lake County News-Sun Article titled, “History made on Waukegan City Council as 3 Latinos sworn in; ‘(It) is now a reflection of our community.’”

Since his time taking office, Jose Guzman has certainly made his voice heard loudly at City Council meetings. Guzman has seemed very sincere about his efforts to support his neighbors and speak up at City Council meetings, so we thought our team at Waukegan Watch should learn more about the freshman Alderman, but what we found was disturbing and, frankly, disappointing.

According to Lake County State’s Attorney records, Mr. Guzman, who currently is the owner of Dockside Dogs on Waukegan’s lakefront, has a very long criminal history. Guzman has been arrested for:

• Domestic Battery- 9-10-1996, 12-11-1997, and 5-30-1998

  • He was sentenced to the Lake County Jail, barred from contacting his domestic violence victims (one of whom was his relative), ordered to take domestic violence counseling and to pay fines and court costs.

  • Guzman had emergency orders of protection against him placed in 1996 and 1998 and again in 2002

• Guzman was charged on 2-15-2003 with violating an order of protection

• Disorderly Conduct- 10-5-2004

• Harassment by Telephone- 10-26-2004

• Retail Theft- 10-23-1997

• Possession of more than 15 grams of cocaine- 8-20-1997

• Criminal Trespassing at a Residence- 3-21-1993

According to court documents, Guzman was arrested for choking his relative, pulling her hair, and violently pushing her. In another Domestic Battery arrest, Guzman pushed his victim and slapped her. We found this especially troubling as during his Alderman allotted speaking time on July 17, 2023, Guzman made comments condemning domestic violence. Also, during the August Committee of the Whole meeting, Guzman made comments about the Waukegan Police Station, stating, “I’ve been in that Police Station.” Little did the audience know Guzman had actually been in the police station’s jail on multiple occasions.

Waukeganites have a lot of great things going for them with this new City Council that was elected in the spring. The diversity of the council should be celebrated, as we are a community that embraces our diversity.

Still, we are very troubled by Alderman Guzman’s record. To his credit, it seems that Guzman has cleaned up his life and hasn’t been arrested in the last few years while seeking public office.

If Alderman Guzman decides to make a statement on this topic, we’ll be sure to either update this article or provide more information.

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