‘Refer to the health department’: A look at local police departments’ roles in COVID-19 mitigation enforcement

During the first month of additional COVID-19 mitigations in October, dozens of people called local police agencies to report violations within DeKalb County, but a Daily Chronicle investigation found most of those cases ended up being handed off to the health department and did not lead to criminal consequences.

Documents obtained by the Daily Chronicle through the Freedom of Information Act show a pattern of reports made throughout the county over the past few months pointing to violations of COVID-19 mitigation efforts, although the reports in large part did not lead to charges or consequences, and they show enforcement varies across the county.

During a recent DeKalb County Board of Health meeting, Lisa Gonzalez, public health administrator for the DeKalb County Health Department, was asked how local law enforcement agencies are aiding enforcement strategy.

Gonzalez said she’s found local law enforcement is willing to respond to a complaint that comes in through dispatch.

“If the person who is complaining will share their information, [police] will go on-site and make a report,” Gonzalez said. “They will not write tickets, they will not enforce themselves, but they will report that information back to us so that we have that for documentation purposes.”

Greg Maurice, director of health protection at the health department, said as of the Nov. 24 board meeting, the department had received between five and 10 official police reports regarding complaints.

Health officials, on the other hand, reported receiving almost 200 complaints – not police reports – as of the November meeting related to COVID-19 mitigations, including violations of indoor dining prohibitions and mask-wearing.

“Some are better than others as far as responding [goes], but overall they will write a report and then pass it over to us,” Maurice said of the police reports.

Across the county

At the end of September, Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health announced COVID-19 resurgence mitigations would be implemented in Region 1, which includes DeKalb County, starting Oct. 3. State officials later extended the duration of those mitigations as COVID-19 cases surged across the state.

Because of increasing public interest, DeKalb County Health Department officials started to post data about mitigation-related violations, including a public list of restaurants and bars that were verified to be violating the indoor dining ban. Health officials said the list was “not punitive.”

Pritzker said in October that the Illinois State Police could issue citations to businesses that do not follow the rules, and those businesses could face having their liquor and gambling licenses taken away.

The Daily Chronicle requested reports from Oct. 2 through Nov. 6 of large gatherings or indoor restaurant and bar dining not permitted under additional Restore Illinois Region 1 mitigations within DeKalb County, which falls within ISP’s second district.

Bruce Kugler, the FOIA officer for ISP, said the agency found no responsive records to the request.

ISP Assistant Deputy Chief Mindy Carroll wrote in an email Thursday that the state police criminal investigation division has not issued misdemeanor charges to DeKalb County business owners, managers or employees.

Statewide, she said, ISP has received 70 total complaints from local health department supervisors asking for police assistance with mitigation compliance, but Carroll declined to provide details on those records.

“At this time, this is all the information we can provide, as these are open investigations,” she wrote.

In DeKalb

The DeKalb City Council in September approved a “nuisance gathering” ordinance that would allow the city to fine residents for hosting large gatherings violating COVID-19-related mitigations.

FOIA requests to the city of DeKalb and the DeKalb Police Department for all documents of any fines issued to violators since the council approved the ordinance through Nov. 30 did not return any records of fines issued during that time.

However, from a separate request last month, DeKalb police provided one Oct. 4 police report involving a caller who alleged that IHOP and The Junction Eating Place restaurants in DeKalb were not following mitigations. Police said they deferred the caller to the county health department, records show.

DeKalb Police Cmdr. Craig Woodruff said police officers generally refer callers wanting to file a report about mitigation violations to the county health department, and reports typically aren’t written for those types of calls, nor are they tracked by police. He said police treat those complaints as quality of life issues and not criminal matters, as the health-related issues at hand are not for police to enforce.

“They’re the ones with the ability to provide sanctions,” Woodruff said.

Woodruff said police might classify large gatherings or parties as “disorderly house” or “disorderly conduct” violations, and therefore a search of police records related to COVID-19 mitigation violations could be burdensome or fruitless because a search for such specific records would end up “too broad.”

“It could be two people and their music is too loud,” Woodruff said.

DeKalb City Manager Bill Nicklas said it would be a “fair assumption” that staff being unable to draw up those records means there haven’t been any nuisance gathering fines issued by the city.

“I think finally people get it, that they shouldn’t be gathering,” Nicklas said.

Nicklas said he hasn’t been aware of the city issuing any similar warnings either. He said the lack of warnings looks promising to him.

“It means people took it seriously and nobody was particularly inconvenienced,” Nicklas said.

In Sycamore

Sycamore police handled 25 police reports related to COVID-19 mitigations from Oct. 2 to Nov. 6, with the majority describing patrons dining inside restaurants. Those reports included Oct. 31 complaints of more than 30 people dining inside PJ’s Courthouse Tavern in downtown Sycamore, a live band playing at the restaurant and people not wearing masks.

Sycamore Police Chief Jim Winters said those police reports are made for documentation purposes in case any official information needs to be passed on. If someone calls the police department on those matters, he said, Sycamore police also refer the caller to the county health department.

“They’re the experts not only in rules … but IDPH guidance,” Winters said.

Winters said he thinks it’s too soon to tell whether the city police department’s enforcement approach may change if any state laws about COVID-19 mitigations were adopted.

In Genoa

Genoa police filed two reports from Oct. 2 to Nov. 6 from anonymous callers about alleged COVID-19 mitigation violations, according to documents obtained by the Daily Chronicle through FOIA requests. Police noted the reports were taken for documentation purposes.

One complaint came in through the Genoa Police Department on Oct. 20 about the Veterans of Foreign Wars Lodge, 311 S. Washington St. in Genoa, allegedly violating the additional mitigations, although police did not see any violations when they visited the location. Another complaint was documented regarding patrons dining indoors Oct. 17 at Genoa Cafe.

“I observed six patrons eating inside,” a Genoa police officer wrote in the Oct. 17 report. “All were more than 6 feet from one another.”

County records

DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office deputies took three COVID-19-related reports from Oct. 2 to Nov. 6, according to FOIA documents obtained by the Daily Chronicle. One report included 12 people patronizing Remington’s Bar in Malta indoors on Oct. 23.

“I informed [the bartender] a report would be generated and forwarded to the health department,” a sheriff’s deputy wrote in the report.

Other sheriff’s office reports included an Oct. 25 bar fight at R&R Pub in Shabbona at a time when about 10 people were inside the bar, deputies wrote, and an Oct. 24 underage drinking party with more than 30 people inside a residence in the 300 block of East Navaho Avenue in Shabbona.

State Rep. Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore, said he doesn’t think there is one state legislator who hasn’t been “bombarded” with constituents’ concerns related to COVID-19 mitigations. He said he appreciates the difficult decisions Pritzker has had to make but thinks the governor has shown his reluctance to work with state legislators to brainstorm concrete ways to keep businesses both viable and safe.

“It has not been easy,” Keicher said. “But he has chosen to go at it alone instead of calling a special session to allow the people’s representatives to share the burden of leadership.”

Although the concern is out there, Winters said, he believes people generally have been pretty good about following health and safety recommendations, especially with the good news about the vaccine coming soon.

Regardless, Winters said he and city officials continue to encourage residents to patronize local small businesses that have been hit hardest by the pandemic.

“It’s been a very tough time for people,” Winters said, “especially for businesses.”