(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A dozen years after their son was killed on the Chain O’Lakes, a Libertyville family has helped buy a new police boat to patrol there.
Tony Borcia was 10 years old when he was hit and killed by a boater who had alcohol and cocaine in his system. Tony had fallen into the water while tubing with his family on July 28, 2012.
Margaret Borcia was bewildered when people actually blamed her husband for the crash. Borcia said she learned afterward it was common knowledge that many boaters drink on the Chain O’Lakes on the weekends.
“Why are people putting up with that? Why are people saying, ‘Well, the people are just drunk … so don’t put your kid in the water,’ instead of doing something about it,” he said.
So, she decided to do something about it.
Borcia and her family formed an organization called the Y-noT Project; Y-noT is Tony spelled backwards.
The group will host its tenth wiffle ball tournament on Aug. 11 that aims to add to its fundraising efforts of more than $400,000. That money has helped buy two police boats, one for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and another for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
“From our work with these policing agencies, they have said it helps make a difference,” she said. “We’ve also helped pass laws, like the law that says you have to have an orange flag when you have someone in the water, [and] the law that now makes it required to have a boating safety course before you can get a license.”
She described the dedication as bittersweet.
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