Page 20 - April2021_Magazine

The super Police Board
The new Illinois Criminal Justice Reform Act, or HB 3653, is wrong is so many ways that the space allotted would need to be increased tenfold to address its shortcomings. With
over 650 pages passed in the days of the lame-duck session in Springfield, the bill
does little to reform any perceived injus-
tices but rather places a choke hold over
law enforcement in Illinois. The bill’s stated goal is to reform criminal justice in Illinois, but the true intent is to find more ways to punish and
prosecute members of law enforcement. Many aspects of HB 3653 are policies and procedures that Chicago Police Officers have been dealing with for years, but they are now rolled out to all law enforcement officers across the state. Chicago has outlawed choke holds and enforced Rule 14 violations, per- jury traps and ridiculous use-of-force requirements, whereas other jurisdictions in the state have taken a more reasonable approach. I guess we will extend a “welcome to the party” in- vitation to our fellow peace officers. The one area that will be different for Chicago will be the decertification language, which now makes termination a two-front war.
All law enforcement officers must go through a police acad- emy and then be certified by the Law Enforcement Training
and Standards Board. The Standards Board states that it is the “state agency mandated to promote and maintain a high level of professional standards for law enforce- ment and correctional officers.” In keeping with this high-minded goal, the Standards Board certifies all police officers, meaning that under state statute, one cannot act as a peace officer unless one maintains their certification. Initially, a police officer would have his or her certification revoked, or be “decertified,” and thus could not be employed as a peace officer. Prior to HB 3653 and Pritzker’s signature, it would take a felony convic- tion to be decertified. Now a massive bureaucracy has been set up where officers can face decertification for a host of rea-
sons.
The haphazard manner in which the bill was passed is no
more evident than the lack of detail in how this will be ac- complished, but I suppose that’s what happens when you are against the clock to pass something in the middle of the night and not listening to input from organizations that actually represent police officers. Let’s not get stuck in the weeds on open debate, contrary opinions or expert advice; we have a movement to advance.
If the Standards Board receives a complaint about a police officer, an investigation is supposed to be opened. If the Stan-
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20 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ APRIL 2021