It’s just a bill
Monday, May 21, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller
* An analogy from the Cook County Public Defender…
Today, drinking a beer at a public park or beach in Chicago is an ordinance violation carrying a fine of up to $500. But what if starting tomorrow it became a felony offense instead of a ticket, just because the city of Chicago argued that sending all those beer drinkers to prison was the only way the Chicago Police Department could crack down on drunk driving?
Sounds ridiculous, right? It is, but this is precisely the reasoning that Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Police Department are using to persuade legislators to increase penalties for criminal trespass and possession of a stolen motor vehicle. Emanuel’s little-understood bill pending in Springfield is being touted by city officials as a “carjacking” bill, but in reality it achieves a completely different objective.
Senate Bill 2339 proposes to raise a nonviolent misdemeanor charge (trespass to a vehicle) up three full felony classes to a Class 2 offense (possession of a stolen motor vehicle) for anyone who is in a car (or a truck, golf cart, or ATV) without the owner’s permission, regardless of whether the person charged knew the car was stolen and regardless of whether it was taken hours, months or years ago. By the way, all of this applies to merely possessing just an “essential part” of a car, too — a transmission, a muffler, a trunk lid.
Worst yet, the bill creates a blanket presumption that youth will be held in detention and undergo a psychological evaluation, which could take weeks or longer.
* Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle is also no fan of the bill…
As currently written, the bill “will not have a significant impact on preserving public safety,” Preckwinkle said. “Rather, it will perpetuate Illinois’ longstanding trend of unnecessarily incarcerating young black and brown youth for nonviolent acts.”
The real problem is with police, she went on to add. “This bill doesn’t hold police accountable for their lack of arrests for violent crimes. Similar to the low clearance rate in Chicago for shootings, 9 out of 10 carjacking offenses in Chicago do not result in an arrest,” she said. “Incarceration, even for a short period of time, is extremely harmful to young people and increases the likelihood that they will reoffend in the future and be incarcerated as adults.” […]
The sponsor of the Senate bill, state Sen. Tony Munoz, who is Latino and represents a heavily Latino West Side district, strongly disputes that.
In a phone interview, Munoz insisted that his bill “isn’t an enhancement” of existing penalties in law, but merely an attempt to make sure those who break the law are held accountable.
Munoz says police are right when they argue there’s a loophole in the existing law in which a group of young adults riding around in, say, a $100,000 Mercedes, all insist they had absolutely no idea it was stolen and end up getting off with little if any penalty because police can’t prove they did know. “I don’t agree with that,” Munoz said, referring to Preckwinkle’s argument. “We do have a problem. . . .I don’t want to lock up anybody who doesn’t deserve it.”
* The bill stalled out last week…
Steve Brown, a spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan, tells CBS 2 News, “The Black Caucus’ issue with the legislation is the enhanced penalty and its effect on juveniles.”
Wednesday, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was confident the bill would pass.
“We’ll work through the issues, but I believe at the end of the day, since it affects every part of the city it will get a lot of support” said Emanuel. […]
Mayor Rahm Emanuel and others supporting the legislation say juveniles in possession of a stolen vehicle would get help, while in detention, after a psychological evaluation.
Opponents say that could take weeks in custody.
* Other bills…
* Illinois mayors say don’t balance state budget on the backs of their residents: On Friday, Gov. Bruce Rauner, talking to reporters after meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda in the city, was asked about the concerns of the Illinois mayors. Rauner didn’t directly answer the question, saying only that budget negotiations are ongoing.
* Yingling wants voters to elect Lake County assessment chief: Currently, the position is appointed by the county board chairman and approved by the county board. But Yingling plans to introduce legislation this week that would let voters decide if the post should be filled via an election in the future.
* Hospitals push back against timeline to train more nurses in sexual assault care: The bill, which passed the House in April and is being considered by the Senate, would require hospitals to have a provider trained to treat assault victims present within 90 minutes of a patient’s arrival in an emergency room by 2021. “We’re still concerned that there won’t be enough time,” David Gross, senior vice president of government relations for the Illinois Health and Hospital Association, said Thursday.
* Aurora state senator with MS co-sponsoring heath care bill that would help protect people with pre-existing conditions
* Fairmount Park wants in on sports wagering — if Illinois legalizes it
- @misterjayem - Monday, May 21, 18 @ 2:03 pm:
“Mayor Rahm Emanuel and others supporting the legislation say juveniles in possession of a stolen vehicle would get help, while in detention, after a psychological evaluation.”
At this detention center?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/10/17/fox-filmed-empire-in-a-juvenile-prison-now-its-being-sued-by-some-inmates/
– MrJM
- City Zen - Monday, May 21, 18 @ 2:03 pm:
Golf carts are included? Look out, Louis Winthorpe IV.
Strange that an “essential part” of a car that goes unmentioned but it stolen frequently is the catalytic converter. I’d wager scrap yards aren’t inundated with transmissions and trunk lids.
- Grand Avenue - Monday, May 21, 18 @ 2:04 pm:
I’m surprised the Latino caucus isn’t getting mad because there are immigration issues here. If a legal immigrant pleads guilty to trespass to vehicle, then it does not trigger automatic deportation because it is not a felony and it is not a crime of moral turpitude (like all theft crimes are including misdemeanors).
If it becomes a felony, then it means that there is no longer this option to punish the person without them being marked for deportation
- Grand Avenue - Monday, May 21, 18 @ 2:14 pm:
Also a theft conviction could lead to someone being ineligible for DACA or have their DACA status cancelled (although that is all up in the air right now), but one misdemeanor trespass to vehicle would not be a barrier to DACA.
- Actual Red - Monday, May 21, 18 @ 2:17 pm:
As Rich pointed out earlier today, good politics and good governance are often different things. This bill seems to create new problems, without doing much at all to actually reduce carjackings.
- Car - Monday, May 21, 18 @ 2:21 pm:
Several years ago, some teenagers stole my car on the south side. Police caught them driving away and they crashed the car while being apprehended. Literally caught in the act, and fled from police, and they were charged with misdemeanor trespass to vehicle — and the police said it was the third or fourth time they had caught those kids. I remember being in disbelief that they walked with zero consequences.
- 44th - Monday, May 21, 18 @ 2:29 pm:
yeah a 16 year old 3-4 time car thief really needs to be protected and coddled? so he can graduate to armed carjackings?
- Anonymous - Monday, May 21, 18 @ 2:41 pm:
Originally, the elected County Treasurer was also the tax assessor.
Because of corruption in the process, during the 1950’s counties were authorized to appoint Supervisors of Assessments.
If Lake County Democrats want to put the S of A back in the middle of elective politics, it is perfectly possible to see what will result.
Crooked Cook County Assessor Parky Cullerton’s political descendants will hold sway in Lake County, all big property owners will be under pressure to make campaign contributions and little ones who are politically connected will get assessment breaks.
- Chris Widger - Monday, May 21, 18 @ 2:42 pm:
==But what if starting tomorrow it became a felony offense instead of a ticket, just because the city of Chicago argued that sending all those beer drinkers to prison was the only way the Chicago Police Department could crack down on drunk driving?==
The analogy appears to be “Trespass to a vehicle is to carjacking as drinking in a public place is to drunk driving.” This is a pretty huge logical leap from the premise of the bill, which is “the burden to prove that a person in possession of a stolen vehicle knew the vehicle was stolen should lie with the suspect, and not with the government.” The bill isn’t great, but the crux of the issue is that this crucial element of the crime should always be the government’s burden to prove. The solution, of course, is not feel-good election-year legislation, but rather electing a state’s attorney willing to try hard cases. The people of Cook County already spoke when they picked Fox; they don’t want to be tough on crime.
- Amalia - Monday, May 21, 18 @ 2:49 pm:
keep going with your analogies and you will see how ridiculous they are. this is reality. what Car and 44th wrote.
- Michael Westen - Monday, May 21, 18 @ 4:21 pm:
Right. Just because a teenager holds a gun to a driver’s head forcing them out of the vehicle so the teenager can drive it-how on earth is the teenager supposed to know the vehicle was stolen?
- West Side the Best Side - Monday, May 21, 18 @ 6:04 pm:
Toni is making no sense, as usual. She blames the police for not making arrests and then complains too many black and brown youths are incarcerated. When someone gets arrested they get incarcerated. They’re then brought to court and bond is set. So if the police make an arrest, someone gets locked up. Does she want the police to make arrests and not lock people up? Toni’s urban catch and release plan in action.