* I’ve been telling subscribers about this bill for days…

A new, controversial bill is set to come before Illinois lawmakers, which they could then vote on in the next five days. The bill includes major police reforms, and it’s sparking controversy amongst our local officials. […]

“It’s necessary to empower our community,” Democratic State Representative Maurice West says. “How else will we bring back trust [between] law enforcement and everyone.” […]

“There’s so many bad parts about this legislation that it will pretty much put law enforcement out of business in Illinois,” [Republican Senator Dave Syverson] explains. […]

Here are just some of the bill’s reforms:

• New procedures for reporting in-custody deaths
• Mandated statewide use of force policy
• Eliminate qualified immunity for police officers
• Reduce officer’s collective bargaining rights
• End cash bail
• Ensure disciplinary records of police officers are never erased
• Mandate crisis intervention training
• Scale back no-knock orders

* Capitol News Illinois…

The bill has seen intense pushback from Republican lawmakers and groups representing law enforcement. The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police called it “the worst thing to happen to our profession” and “the end of the law enforcement profession as we know it” in a statement released Tuesday.

In a Wednesday notice, the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police wrote “it might as well be a crime to be a law enforcement officer in Illinois.” […]

In response, the Senate Black Caucus distributed their own release Wednesday, saying “From our perspective, our communities know what they need in order to be kept safe. We come from the communities we represent. Our experiences, combined with our understanding of policy, have shaped our legislative approach, and they cannot be dismissed when it comes to determining what our communities need.”

The article goes on to describe some aspects of the bill, so click here. I gave you a quick summary of some of the police-related items yesterday. Click here to refresh your memory.

* More more in this Tribune story, but here’s an excerpt…

A key piece of the caucus’s criminal justice reform plan is eliminating cash bail, which proponents argue disproportionately affects low-income people of color who are awaiting trial.

Sen. Elgie Sims, a Chicago Democrat, is sponsoring a measure that would eliminate the term “bail” from state statute. Judges would still have discretion to keep people awaiting trial in custody if it’s determined they pose a risk to the public or have violated the conditions of their pretrial release. But people could no longer be kept in jail solely based on their inability to make bail.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker backs eliminating cash bail and made it a legislative priority before the General Assembly’s spring session was truncated by the coronavirus pandemic.

The proposal from Sims also would place strict limitations on the collective bargaining rights of police unions. Future contract negotiations would be limited to subjects directly related to wages and benefits, and discipline policies would no longer be subject to bargaining.

* Cash bail press release in Politico…

New polling on pretrial release: “The old-school default of keeping people who are presumed innocent in jail unless they can afford bail has always been unfair, destructive, and dangerous, and that is especially true amid a pandemic that poses a unique threat to incarcerated people. When informed that other jurisdictions have safely reduced jail populations through bail reform, 57 percent of Illinois voters support reforming the cash bail system and creating a presumption of pretrial release for most people, while only 29 percent oppose,” according to new polling from Data for Progress and The Lab, a policy vertical of The Appeal.

If you click here, you’ll see the full poll. The pre-informed response, which isn’t in the press release, is what you should pay more attention to.