Illinois House passes sweeping police reform bill

(The Center Square) – Policing in Illinois could look different after a sweeping criminal justice bill was passed by lawmakers in Springfield.

House Bill 3653, which passed by a 60-50 vote, will change use-of-force guidelines, require body cameras for every police department in the state, end cash bail, and strip collective bargaining rights relating to discipline from police unions. The Senate passed the bill in the early morning hours of Wednesday by a 32-23 vote.

The legislation, which is the work of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, faced opposition from law enforcement groups and Republican lawmakers.

“The time is now,” said state Rep. Justin Slaughter, a Chicago Democrat who helped craft the bill. “The time is now to go from protests to progress.”

Illinois Sheriffs’ Association Executive Director Jim Kaitschuck said the measure is too broad and, if it gets approved by lawmakers, he would quit being a police officer immediately.

Some GOP lawmakers are saying they are not necessarily opposed, but the rapid nature outside the normal process is alarming and should not be passed during lame-duck session.

“We are not on the right side of history,” state Rep. Andrew Chesney said. “You want to pass a flawed bill that is not supported by labor, it is not supported by the sheriff’s association, it is not supported by the police chiefs. Everybody that we task to keep us safe say this makes you less safe.”

The legislation also will allow officers to be punished or fired based on anonymous complaints from the public and defunds any department that does not comply 100% with the requirements.

Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle called the reforms catastrophic to law enforcement and feels they would make policing impossible for officers who have to make split-second decisions.

As soon as the bill passed the House, a clearly emotional Slaughter put a black glove on his right hand and raised his fist into the air.

The Illinois Law Enforcement Coalition said Wednesday that the bill was pushed through in the middle of the night with little transparency or time for constituents to weigh in on the legislation.

“In the dark of night, Illinois legislators made Illinois less safe. More than 112,000 citizens so far have signed a petition to oppose the community-endangering law enforcement legislation being rammed through the General Assembly, but how did the Senate respond to those constituent concerns? By introducing a 764-page amendment at 3:51 a.m. and shoving it through in the middle of the night before the people voting on it even had a chance to read it,” the group said in a statement.

The group said it would hamper police officers.

“It ties the hands of police officers while pursuing suspects and making arrests, and allows criminals to run free while out on bail,” the statement said. “The legislation includes no way to pay for any of these law-abiding, citizen-threatening measures, so taxpayers will have to pay extra for the privilege of being crime victims.”

The measure next goes to Gov J.B. Pritzker’s desk.

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