April 19, 2024
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Peru council adopts resolution in opposition to criminal justice reform bill, House Bill 3653

Resolution calls for Gov. JB Pritzker’s veto and collaboration moving forward

By Jayce Eustice
Peru City Hall in Peru, Illinois

A new decorative clock was unveiled Wednesday in front of Peru City Hall. The clock was paid for by Anne Baker, and it contains a plaque honoring her late husband, Donald Baker, former longtime mayor of Peru. (Shaw Local News Network)

On Monday, the Peru City Council and Mayor Scott Harl adopted a resolution opposing Illinois House Bill 3653, the criminal justice bill approved by the General Assembly last week.

The resolution contains a letter intended for Gov. JB Pritzker strongly urging him to veto the legislation in its current format and return it to the Illinois House and Senate for further dialogue.

Among the council’s concerns are that the legislation:

  • Creates a new state law, right of action against law enforcement for alleged civil rights violations
  • Eliminates cash bail and essential mandated release
  • Establishes complicated and conflicting definitions related to use of force and duty to intervene
  • Creates mandatory access to three phone calls for detainees before being questioned
  • Mandates training and use of body cameras for all police departments without sufficient funding support
  • Allows officers to be punished or terminated for unverified anonymous complaints
  • Significantly limits the use of no-knock warrants

Effective Jan. 1, 2023, all bail bonds and conditions of bail will be replaced by a system of pretrial release to be developed by the Illinois courts based on a detainee’s alleged crime, their risk of not appearing for their court date and the threat or danger they may pose to the community if released, according to Capitol News Illinois.

According to the bill, the General Assembly intends to establish statewide use-of-force standards by 2022 while making changes to what are acceptable and unacceptable uses of force in Illinois statute, Capitol News Illinois reported.

One of the largest changes to the bill was the gutting of a provision that would have ended qualified immunity for officers, eliminating their protection from liability in civil suits if they violated rights guaranteed in the Illinois Constitution. Instead, the legislation creates a yearlong Task Force on Constitutional Rights and Remedies, an 18-member body that will investigate and develop procedures to protect constitutional rights and remedies should those rights be violated. The task force specifically will look at qualified immunity as enjoyed by law enforcement.

A police certification provision backed by the attorney general’s office also was added to the bill. It gives the state more power over who can be a member of law enforcement and makes it easier to decertify and terminate the employment of problematic officers.

Under this new legislation, the Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act is amended so that all law enforcement agencies must eventually use body cameras, according to Capitol News Illinois.

Peru’s resolution calls for legislators to collaborate with law enforcement and labor groups to develop reform and create policy.

The resolution also states the lack of debate from the bill’s introduction until approval and cites local lawmakers Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, and Rep. Lance Yednock, D-Ottawa, voted in opposition.

The resolution will be sent to the governor’s office with the hope for reconsideration and collaboration moving forward, officials said.