* Center Square…

A new study by the nonpartisan Illinois Policy Institute reveals that police contracts are hindering internal investigations, making it difficult for police chiefs to get rid of problem officers.

Illinois labor law contains a provision that elevates collective bargaining agreements above state law. Section 15, included in the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act, states union-negotiated contracts override all other state laws and regulations.

Analysis by IPI found the 10 largest municipalities in Illinois, outside Chicago, all have provisions in their police collective bargaining agreements that would supersede internal investigations and officer discipline. They include Joliet, Rockford, Springfield, Champaign, Naperville, Peoria, Aurora, Elgin, Waukegan and Cicero. […]

Two bills are making their way through Springfield addressing union contracts. House Bill 3891 would exclude police union contracts from the language in Section 15, meaning those contracts would no longer have more power than state laws. House Bill 3892 would limit negotiation by police unions to compensation only, preventing contracts from including disciplinary provisions.

Um, the bills are basically dead. They were both assigned to subcommittees and are now back in the Rules Committee where they will likely remain.

* Sticking with this topic for a bit, this is from the Capitol Fax subscriber edition on Sunday, January 10, 2021…

Most of the Senate Executive Committee testimony yesterday against the Black Caucus’ criminal justice reform bill was either way over the top or not exactly helpful to their cause.

“Do you want to stop law enforcement from finding murdered children?” asked one police chief, who pointed to phone call and police interview mandates in the bill which he claimed would’ve prevented officers from finding the dead body of AJ Freund “as quickly as they did.”

The Illinois Sheriffs’ Association has been claiming the bill would “de-fund the police,” and some Republican legislators have shared the claim on their social media accounts. The bill would, in reality, reduce a local government’s share of its state income tax proceeds if it didn’t comply with a police body cam mandate. The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police didn’t go that far, but did claim at the hearing that the bill would “de-fund” municipalities.

The Illinois Municipal League testified against several aspects of the bill, including the “end prison gerrymandering” section. The group pointed out that counting prisoners at their last known addresses instead of at their prisons would reduce Local Government Distributive Fund dollars to (mainly Republican) prison host communities. But the flip side of that coin is the change would also increase LGDF funding for Democratic Chicago and Cook County.

Sean Smoot was one of the only opponents who seemed to know how to tailor his appeal to a Democratic super-majority. Smoot is the director of the Police Benevolent & Protective Association of Illinois, and he focused much of his testimony on the section that would eliminate discipline and discharge procedures from collective bargaining.

He said he wasn’t talking about protecting bad cops. “I’ve had the opportunity to represent officers who were being discriminated against because they were women,” Smoot said. “I’ve had the opportunity to represent officers who were being discriminated and disciplinarily discriminated [against] because of who they loved.” Smoot said he represented an officer in the Metro East area “who they attempted to terminate because he was Black.”

I don’t know if he succeeded or not, and threatening to scare the living daylights out of white voters has always been an effective tactic. But at least Smoot recognized who runs the Senate, didn’t try to bully anybody and seemed to be sensitive to the insanity this country and this state have just been through. We need more like him.

I shared that as a preface to this scintillating analysis from the Patch…

State lawmakers with Chicago Teachers Union cash jammed in their campaign war chests keep pushing bills in Springfield focused on providing union bosses more bargaining power and a lower threshold of member support required to go on strike.

Meanwhile, proposed legislation that would address police union contracts with provisions that remain roadblocks to criminal justice reform have been getting swept into the dark corners of the legislative session.

Yeah, it’s really tough to see why pro-union bills are being advanced in the Democratic super-majority GA while bills perceived as anti-union are not going anywhere this session. Also, the criminal justice reform law sets up a task force to make recommendations for future legislation. Here’s a statement from last week from Rep. Justin Slaughter, the House’s point-person on criminal justice reform…

When our General Assembly passed the historic police reform package in January, we made a commitment to form a task force that would continue these conversations deliberately and inclusively. The goal of the Task Force on Constitutional Rights and Remedies is to produce a report that clearly outlines how we better hold police accountable, and allow all stakeholders to operate from the same set of facts. We remain committed to moving these discussions forward, not only with the legislature but with communities across the state.

* This was certainly odd…

Three suburban Democratic lawmakers’ “present” votes temporarily halted legislation aimed at curbing gun violence in Illinois because of a disagreement over who could petition authorities for someone’s guns to be temporarily confiscated under a firearm restraining order.

House Bill 1092 is expected to come up for a vote again once the Democrats agree.

State Rep. Kathleen Willis of Addison, who worked for years on this issue, said she did not vote yes because the new bill altered the definition of a “family member” who could file such a petition to include “any former spouse (or) person with whom the respondent has or allegedly has a child in common.”

“We worked really hard” on the original wording, Willis said. “We had concerns that we did not want this to become a vindictive thing that someone could use in a divorce situation or just because you don’t like your neighbor or something like that.”

I dunno. Seems like there’s more to this than that.

* SJ-R…

The Illinois House passed a bill Friday which would make COVID-19-related expansions to telehealth services permanent through state statute.

House Bill 3498, introduced by Rep. Deb Conroy, D-Villa Park, aims to reduce barriers in access to virtual and telehealth services and would bring standards for virtual care in line with physical health services.

Conroy said that access to telehealth, which became a necessity for many Illinoisans during the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, would bring lasting benefits in managing chronic health conditions.

“Over the last year, we’ve seen firsthand evidence that telehealth preserves quality and safety, meets individual patient needs, decreases health care disparities, and protects public health,” Conroy said Friday.

Conroy’s telehealth bill failed to pass during last May’s truncated special session, but she’s worked it hard ever since.

* More…

* Illinois General Assembly passes hundreds of bills as session end approaches

* Illinois House passes gender-neutral bathroom bill, mandate to remove lead from drinking water

* Illinois House backs replacement of brain-damaging lead service lines, but wants Biden and Congress to pay for the work

* Illinois House backs bill that would make Juneteenth an official state holiday after Senate passes its version

* Senate passes journalism task force bill to help rural communities

* Windhorst’s Bill May Help Fill Teaching Vacancies

* Illinois Senate approves bill creating permanent council to protect Mahomet Aquifer