Senate passes awful "reform bill" at 4:49 a.m., goes to House this morning

From Ed Wojcicki, ILACP Executive Director

January 13, 2021

Summary Update and how you can help right now

HB 3653 SA 2 passed in the Illinois Senate this morning at 4:49 a.m. Language of this 764-page bill was first made available at 3:51 a.m., so obviously it was impossible to review. We are reviewing it. While it no longer eliminates qualified immunity, it contains a lot of bad language that will be detrimental to law enforcement and our communities.

It combines the language of HB 841, the decertification bill of Attorney General Kwame Raoul that we supported last night.

What you can do right now: Contact your rep in the Illinois House and say vote no on HB 3653.

We know you're going to ask, "What's in the bill?" We will be providing that information, but now, it's too much to describe and still get this message to you in a timely manner. Below is a summary as it appeared in the bill. We will have more to say in the coming days.

Statement of Law Enforcement Coalition issued this morning:

A coalition representing Illinois law enforcement leadership and rank-and-file officers has issued a statement regarding action taken by the State Senate at approximately 4 a.m. today on law enforcement and criminal justice legislation during the Lame Duck Session. The legislation is now in the House of Representatives for concurrence:

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. We had been working in good faith with the Attorney General on a bill that would make great strides to modernize law enforcement, but that legislation was dumped into this monster bill and the result is a betrayal of the public trust that gives many more advantages to criminals than the police. It ties the hands of police officers while pursuing suspects and making arrests, and allows criminals to run free while out on bail.
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.
We applaud the Senators who had the fortitude to vote in favor of public safety by voting against this bill. We strongly implore the members of the House to listen to their constituent concerns, avoid going down the dangerous path the Senate took, and refuse to concur on this draconian legislation that makes communities less safe.

The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) State Lodge, FOP Labor Council, FOP Chicago Lodge 7, Illinois Sheriffs’ Association and the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police have formed the Illinois Law Enforcement Coalition and have been working on these strategies since summer to improve community safety and enhance the trust between community members and law enforcement.

Summary language as it was dropped at 3:51 a.m. today (still needs reviewing)

Creates the Statewide Use of Force Standardization Act. Provides that it is the intent of the General Assembly to establish statewide use of force standards for law enforcement agencies.

Creates the No Representation Without Population Act. Provides that State Board of Elections shall prepare redistricting population data to reflect incarcerated persons at their residential address prior to incarceration. Provides that this data shall be the basis of the Legislative and Representative Districts required to be created pursuant to Section 3 of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution. Provides that incarcerated populations residing at unknown geographic locations within the State shall not be used to determine the ideal population of any set of districts, wards, or precincts. Creates the Reporting of Deaths in Custody Act. Provides that the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority shall create a standardized form to be used for the purpose of collecting information about persons who die in custody of a law agency, a local or State correctional facility in the State, or a peace officer.

Creates the Task Force on Constitutional Rights and Remedies Act. Provides that the Task Force shall review available research, best practices, and effective interventions to formulate recommendations. Provides that the Task Force shall produce a report detailing the Task Force's findings and recommendations and needed resources. The Task Force shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly and the Governor.

Amends the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act. Provides that notwithstanding any provision of this Act, employers shall not be required to bargain over matters relating to the discipline or discharge of peace officers. Provisions in existing collective bargaining agreements that address the discipline or discharge of peace officers shall lapse by operation of law on the renewal or extension of existing collective bargaining agreements by whatever means, or the approval of a collective bargaining agreement by the corporate authorities of the employer after the effective date of this Act, without imposing a duty to bargain on employers.

Amends the Criminal Code of 2012. Makes it official misconduct for an employee of a law enforcement agency to knowingly fail to turn on an officer-worn body camera or turn off an officer-worn body camera when there is a reasonable opportunity to act in a manner that is consistent with the officer-worn body camera policy of the respective law enforcement agency or when he or she knowingly uses or communicates, directly or indirectly, information acquired in the course of employment. Provides that an employee of a law enforcement agency commits misconduct when he or she knowingly misrepresents facts describing an incident in a police report or during investigations regarding the law enforcement employee's conduct. Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963.

Abolishes cash bail. Provides for pretrial release and eligibility for that release. Amends various Acts to make conforming changes. Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Changes the terms for mandatory supervised release. Makes other changes. Amends the Open Meetings Act.

Provides that deliberations for decisions of the Illinois State Police Merit Board, the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board and the Certification Review Panel regarding certification and decertification of law enforcement officers are not open meetings under the Act. Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Provides that information which is prohibited from disclosure by the Illinois Police Training Act is not subject to disclosure under the Act. Provides that records contained in the Officer Professional Conduct Database, except to the extent authorized under that provision are not subject to disclosure under the Act. Amends the State Employee Indemnification Act. Includes in the definition of "employee" the members of the Certification Review Panel. Amends the State Police Act concerning discipline of Illinois State Police officers and the appointment of the Illinois State Police Merit Board.

Amends the Illinois Police Training Act. Changes the misdemeanor offenses for which a law enforcement officer may be decertified. Grants the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board the power: (1) to review and ensure all law enforcement officers remain in compliance with the Act, and any administrative rules adopted under the Act; and (2) to suspend any certificate for a definite period, limit or restrict any certificate, or revoke any certificate. Creates the Illinois Law Enforcement Certification Review Panel to make recommendations to the Board on the decertification of law enforcement officers.

Effective July 1, 2021, except for certain provisions that are effective either January 1, 2022, January 1, 2023, or January 1, 2025.