You’re being asked for your suggestions to name Mt. Carmel’s newest police officer. The new K-9 officer will arrive this August and the city has launched a contest to name the new dog that will come from Alabama. You can submit up to three suggestions on the MCPD or city Facebook pages or you can drop off your written ideas at City Hall. Three finalists will be selected with the final choice being made by K-9 officer Daniel Hopper. The deadline to enter is March 19th.
Wabash District #348 February 2021 Personnel Matters
The District #348 school board acted on these personnel matters at their meeting Monday night:
School Board Adopts 2021-22 School Calendar
At their meeting Monday night, the Wabash District #348 school board approved the school calendar for the 21-22 school year. Superintendent Dr. Chuck Bleyer said the calendar may be altered depending on guidance from the state level.
Candidates Already SpaRring Over State's Population Losses
Illinois’ continued population decline is already a campaign issue in the next election for governor that’s more than 20 months away.
Illinois shrank by nearly 80,000 people last year and over the past decade, analysis shows the state has 253,000 fewer residents. Illinois is likely to lose at least one seat in Congress, if not two, which diminishes the state’s power in Washington D.C. and the number of electoral votes for president.
Last week, former state Sen. Paul Schimpf, R-Waterloo, announced he’s running for the Republican nomination for governor. He said the state’s continued population decline was a factor in his decision.
“We’ve all watched while our friends, neighbors and relatives have fled our state because of corruption, high taxes and excessive government regulation,” Schimpf said.
Illinois was just ranked by WalletHub as the second-highest property tax state in the nation, behind only New Jersey.
State Sen. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia, announced he’s running in front of a large audience in Effingham Monday night. He said the state’s accelerated population decline year-over-year is because of “failed government.”
“We have to be honest though, the political elite of both parties failed us,” Bailey said to applause from the crowd.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who hasn’t officially announced a bid for a second term, was asked Tuesday how he’d address population decline in Illinois. Before answering, he noted Bailey’s in-person rally.
“I heard that that announcement last night was in a room of hundreds of people and no one was wearing a mask,” Pritzker said. “So I’m concerned there’s going to be a superspreader event from somebody who is running for governor. ”
Bailey told WMAY there were masks and hand sanitizer available, and temperatures were taken for attendees at Monday’s event. He said he plans more events around the state, saying the pandemic doesn’t end people’s rights to peaceably assemble.
To the continued population decline, Pritzker didn’t address the state’s high taxes. The first-term Democratic governor said he’s increasing higher education grants and he’s focusing on “building up” small businesses.
“I’ve talked about the corporate loopholes that we need to close in order to balance our budget, the corporate loopholes that we’re closing, the vast majority of that is all about and affects the largest corporations,” Pritzker said.
Republicans have roundly criticized the governor’s insistence the legislature end nine different tax incentives for a $930 million impact.
Primaries are March of next year ahead of the General Election in November 2022. Pritzker hasn’t officially announced he’s running for a second term.
Reaction Mixed Over Pritzker Signing Justice Reform Legislation
There’s a lot more that needs to be done to fight crime and to reform the state’s criminal justice system, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the day after signing a bill bringing sweeping changes to the state’s system of justice.
In Chicago last weekend, there were 18 shootings. Two were fatal. In Springfield over a seven day period, there were three shooting incidents. One left a Decatur man dead.
Springfield Alderman Shawn Gregory didn’t think the law Pritzker enacted this week would hinder law enforcement from working to keep the community safe.
“I think we’ll be OK, and we’ll move forward,” Gregory told WMAY. “Change is always hard. It’s always scary at first. We have to give it time to work through.”
Springfield Alderman Chuck Redpath had a different take. As someone with a law enforcement background, he said the new law makes him sick to his stomach and is a “slap in the face” for law enforcement.
“I saw the picture this morning of the governor touting how much he’s going to fix racism in police departments and surrounded by all these people from Chicago, the most corrupt city in not just the state of Illinois but probably the country and they’re going to tell us how to reform our police departments,” Redpath said. “Are you serious?”
Pritzker said the bill he signed Monday in Chicago doesn’t solve issues of recent violence in Chicago, Springfield or elsewhere in Illinois.
“There are many challenges that we have in both fighting crime and in criminal justice reform, they all aren’t solved by one bill,” Pritzker said Tuesday in Springfield.
He acknowledged the law he enacted this week will need followup legislation to fix various issues raised by opponents. As to fighting crime, he said there needs to be more programs.
“We have to do more to fight crime directly with kids, young adults and maybe even middle-aged adults by working directly with them in programs that reach them where they live,” Pritzker said.
County Sees Big Slowdown In Real Estate Tax Collections
After a flurry of real estate tax payments in Wabash County before the first installment was due last month, collections really slowed down according to treasurer Beverly McBride…
McBride told county commissioners Friday that the 85% collected before the first due date was exceptional compared to the average of 65% collected. She said this Friday is the last day to pay your property taxes before your name appears in the newspaper with the tax sale set for March 19th. There’s still $542,000 in unpaid property taxes in Wabash County according to McBride.
Judge Fills Spots On Neglected City Boards
Mayor Joe Judge has been busy the last couple of months revamping various city boards and commissions, many of which have been neglected or ignored by previous administrations.
Judge has announced four new members to the city’s board of zoning appeals. Vic Singh, Andrea Downing, and Katie Slane were appointed to 5 year terms starting May 1st. They’ll replace Bill Mabry, Harold “Bunky” Bailey, and Bob McGregor, who Judge thanked and praised for their service to the city. Also, Shawn Storckman was appointed as an alternate to the zoning board, something of which was never appointed, even though is required by city statute.
Judge also reappointed Shad White to a three year term on the fire-police commission. Rob Dean was appointed as the county’s representative to the airport board.
And, Judge resurrected the ethics board which will be comprised of Kelli Storckman, Bill Easton, Stan Ernest, and Mike McWilliams. It’s been since 2007-2008 that the city has had an ethics board.
Goodbye Snow, Hello Potholes
Now that the snow and ice has melted from city streets, it’s revealing an ugly problem….potholes. As previously reported, street commissioner Tom Meeks reported at yesterday’s city council meeting that the city’s asphalt supplier is shutting down because their cold patch doesn’t meet state standards and their plant has to be renovated. In the meantime, Meeks said the city is exploring options on locating patch to at least fend off the worst of the potholes.
Bleyer: 2020-21 School Year Far From Normal
To say the pandemic has caused a disruption to the current school year’s calendar would be a big understatement. Superintendent Dr. Chuck Bleyer reported at Monday’s school board meeting that there have been just 41 in-person instruction days this year, compared to 56 remote learning days, 18 blended days, and 3 mixed days…
Bleyer also commended the athletic programs in the district for working through the tough year as things begin to slowly return to a sense of normalcy. He said another indication of the return to normal is that the high school pep band will perform at tonight’s boys’ basketball game and the Singing 7 will also be on hand.
Last Friday, Bleyer said over 100 district faculty members received the COVID vaccine accounting for almost one-third of the total faculty, something else he said was a positive sign moving forward.
Pritzker Signs Criminal Justice Reform Legislation
Today, Governor JB Pritzker signed the criminal justice reform legislation package, HB 3653 (Rep. Slaughter, D – Chicago/Sen. Sims, D – Chicago), into law. The provisions of this new law contain sweeping changes to the Illinois criminal justice system that will have a measurable impact on municipal operations, law enforcement and the public.
Throughout the development of this legislation, the Illinois Municipal League (IML) worked to ensure that municipal interests were protected. IML successfully advocated for the preservation of qualified immunity and the elimination of funding penalties to the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF). However, we were unsuccessful in removing several other aspects of concern. Many provisions of the new Act include mandates and compliance requirements placed upon municipal officials and law enforcement. It is critical that municipal officials fully understand these provisions and how they will impact municipal governments, the law enforcement personnel they employ and their communities.
In order to assist municipal officials with this broad understanding, IML has compiled a timeline, organized by effective date, for compliance with the Act (available via this link). The timeline highlights the Act’s new requirements and impacts on municipal governments and personnel, including reporting requirements, mandated training and other information.
Some significant provisions include, but are not limited to the following:
Beginning July 1, 2021, the Act requires all law enforcement agencies to employ the use of officer-worn body cameras by specified dates based on municipal population. Agencies that comply with this requirement shall receive preference by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board (ILETSB) in receiving grant funding. Additionally, the Act requires all law enforcement agencies that employ the use of officer-worn body cameras to submit an annual report detailing their use to ILETSB by May 1 of each year. This will require increased funding.
Beginning July 1, 2021, the Act expands training requirements for all law enforcement officers, including updated policies and training on use of force, use of deadly force, use of non-lethal weapons, the duty to intervene and the duty to render aid. This will require increased funding.
Beginning July 1, 2021, the Act mandates expanded reporting requirements to ILETSB on training, misconduct and officer-worn body cameras; expanded reporting requirements to the Illinois State Police (ISP) on use of force, mental health crises, firearm discharges and other crime data; and, expanded reporting requirements to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) on in-custody deaths. This may require increased funding.
Beginning July 1, 2021, the Illinois Secretary of State shall rescind the suspension, cancellation or prohibitions of renewal of a person’s driver’s license if suspended due to the person having failed to pay any fine or penalty for traffic violations. This may reduce revenues.
Beginning July 1, 2021, the Act allows the Illinois Attorney General additional oversight on allegations that any governmental authority, or their agent, has engaged in a pattern or practice of conduct by officers that deprives any person of privileges or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States or Constitution or laws of Illinois. These civil actions may result in equitable or declaratory relief, and may also include civil penalties of up to $25,000 for violations, and up to $50,000 for repeat violations. This may increase litigation against units of local government.
Beginning July 1, 2021, a person filing a complaint against a law enforcement officer is no longer required to have the complaint supported by a sworn affidavit or any other legal document. This may increase complaints and may require additional staffing to manage those complaints.
Beginning July 1, 2021, law enforcement agencies are prohibited from requesting or receiving specified equipment from any military surplus program. Any request to receive non-prohibited equipment from such a program must be published on a publicly-accessible website maintained by the law enforcement agency or the municipality within 14 days after the request. The acquisition of certain military surplus equipment may now require increased funding.
Beginning July 1, 2021, all public and nonpublic records related to complaints, investigations and adjudications of police misconduct are required to be permanently retained and may not be destroyed. This will require increased funding.
Beginning January 1, 2022, a process for the certification and decertification of all law enforcement personnel shall be established through ILETSB, including new training requirements and the required investigation and reporting of compliance with the Act. This may require increased funding.
Beginning January 1, 2023, the use of monetary bail is abolished and persons charged with specified offenses shall be eligible for pretrial release before conviction. Bail funds that are a source of immediate payment for court-imposed obligations will be impacted. This may reduce revenues.
During the 2021 spring legislative session, the General Assembly intends to establish statewide use of force standards for law enforcement agencies to be effective January 1, 2022.
By May 1, 2021, the Task Force on Constitutional Rights and Remedies will further examine and propose possible changes to qualified immunity for peace officers. However, the requirement for the task force to issue a report by May 1, 2021, conflicts with the section’s effective date of July 1, 2021.
IML has compiled more than a dozen suggested amendments to the Act (available via this link), which we are requesting to be included in any follow-up legislation advanced in response to the Act and its criminal justice reform package.
IML will continue to compile and share resources on the topic of criminal justice reforms on our dedicated website at iml.org/policingreforms. We will also continue to provide municipal officials with timely, accurate and complete resources on provisions of the Act, including any applicable model policies and ordinances, fact sheets and other potential issues that develop as more is understood about the implementation of this legislation.