Meeting planned for Joliet police review board

A special meeting to consider the latest proposal for a citizens review board for the Joliet Police Department will likely be held later this month.

Assistant City Attorney Chris Regis told the City Council Land Use and Legislative Committee on Wednesday that he plans to schedule a committee meeting in the last week of October with the review board being the lone item on the agenda.

Various proposals, ranging from a board that would have oversight of the police department to one that would primarily serve as an advisory panel, have been considered at several meetings since August 2020. But the committee has not addressed the issue since April.

“I think everyone agrees this has been pending long enough, so we’ll make a decision one way or the other,” Regis told the committee.

Regis said he would likely have a proposal for the review board ready on Monday and wanted to set a meeting to consider the proposal for the last week of October.

He said a special meeting would be slated for the review board so as not to have it on the November agenda when the committee takes up the issue of single-family rental inspections. Both issues tend to be debated intensely, drawing lengthy public comment and committee discussion.

Karl Ferrell, who has been among the advocates for a review board, told the committee, “We still feel it’s much needed. We’re just waiting on it so we can have an agreement that keeps everybody happy.”