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* Ben Bradley at WGN…
Amid growing calls for police reform, Illinois’ top law enforcement official has been quietly working to build support for a proposal to license police officers in Illinois.
Currently, officers are certified by the state, but often don’t lose that certification due to misconduct. A licensing process aims to change that.
“What we’re trying to do is put together a credible system that can distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate complaints,” Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said. […]
Under the proposal, police officers would be licensed and could lose licensing if accused of repeated or serious misconduct. Departments can now move to fire bad cops, but strict union protections often make discipline a difficult and lengthy process.
DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin said he supports the proposal.
“The overwhelming number of police officers are good, honorable people who just want to do the right thing. That being said, I think in every department there’s usually at least one,” Berlin said.
Raoul and Berlin worked closely together on the Sterigenics issue. Raoul is also working with people like Markham Police Chief Terry White. The Chicago FOP opposes the proposal. Read the rest for that.
* The AG has been working on this for quite a while. From my July 2nd Crain’s Chicago Business column…
As Raoul and others work through the sausage-making process, I wondered aloud whether proponents may be missing the moment. Hot issues always fade in time, and the General Assembly is not scheduled to return to Springfield until after the November election.
Raoul said he agreed the moment may pass. “The sustainability of it is a legitimate question,” he said. But, he added, “there is something very, very different” going on now in the wake of Floyd’s death under the knee of that Minneapolis police officer.
“Now, let’s face it, we’ve had several of these incidents that make people pop up and say, ‘Hey, we’ve got to do something.’ But there is something really different here. Part of it was just the depravity” of the eight-minute video of a man dying. Laquan McDonald was killed by 16 shots, “but it was a quick 16 shots. This is like a slow, ‘I don’t care, I can do this.’ ”
But, Raoul said, it’s the leaders of law enforcement who could prove to be the ally that pushes this idea across the finish line, even several months from now.
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 3:07 am
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There’s nothing that Chicago FOP supports that isn’t ultra reactionary or ultra right-wing. If it was up to them, they’d raise Jon Burge from the grave and make him superintendent of police.
At the same time, unbelievable that Berlin got a pass from Dems in DuPage. Total failure.
Comment by Precinct Captain Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 7:47 am
No amount of schooling or training fixes what is in a persons heart.
Comment by lowdrag Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 7:56 am
If police are already certified by the he state why not just add a complaint and discipline section to the certification? I assume you can’t be hired without certification
Comment by DuPage Saint Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 8:00 am
The quotes from Catanzara in that article are ridiculous.
“If you go to licensing, it basically renders our protections useless,” Chicago FOP President John Catanzara said.
“I mean, you’re talking about people’s livelihood here. No other profession is under that type of scrutiny,” Catanzara said.
Plenty of other professions are under that kind of scrutiny, and there are obviously very good reasons for a high level of scrutiny on police officers. I would think police chiefs would welcome this kind of change.
Comment by KSDinCU Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 8:06 am
This sounds good. Stop bad cops from leaving one precinct and going to another (in IL) quietly.
Comment by Perrid Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 8:07 am
== why not just add a complaint and discipline section to the certification? ==
Most the public does not do nuance. Licensing is better PR.
Comment by RNUG Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 8:09 am
==Under the proposal, police officers would be licensed and could lose licensing if accused of repeated or serious misconduct.==
I’m not against the idea but there has to be some due process. Just being accused is not sufficient
Comment by Stickman Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 8:28 am
Re: “*Accused* of repeated or serious misconduct. Is this a typo or poor choice of words?
Have worked as a police officer for nearly three decades and was accused of misconduct less than five times but not one of those claims were even close to the truth.
Some really good cops get accused of some pretty crazy stuff. Those accusations are often out of the control of the officers and easily disproven.
“What we’re trying to do is put together a credible system that can distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate complaints,” Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said. […]”
I’m hoping that I can have confidence in whatever this process will be. I’m also hoping the same process that is proposed for Chicago is a process that will work in the rest of the state.
Comment by Occasionally Moderated Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 9:22 am
What’s the timing on this? The budget will be time consuming this fall and next spring. There’s party leadership issues in the house. Redistricting is fast approaching. These are all very time consuming.
Comment by 1st Ward Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 9:22 am
==No other profession is under that type of scrutiny==
Someone should tell John that IDFPR has 8 professions under the letter ‘A’ alone.
Comment by Jocko Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 9:30 am
They may not technically be licensed, but an offence which lands one on the Health Care Worker Registry will make a person ineligible for a great number of (highly undervalued and underpaid) jobs with power over and great responsibility for vulnerable people.
https://bit.ly/3kd87Xj
Comment by Earnest Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 9:36 am
===Plenty of other professions are under that kind of scrutiny, and there are obviously very good reasons for a high level of scrutiny on police officers. I would think police chiefs would welcome this kind of change.===
Yes, they welcome the kind of scrutiny that makes qualified applicants uninterested in being police officers.
Reasonable people don’t want to do this job anymore and it’s understandable on every level.
Comment by Occasionally Moderated Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 9:48 am
== “No other profession is under that type of scrutiny,” Catanzara said.==
Well, TBH, no one ever said Catanzara was a brain surgeon.
Comment by Skeptic Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 9:54 am
===These are all very time consuming===
That’s a pretty weak objection.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 10:07 am
- Precinct Captain - Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 7:47 am:
“There’s nothing that Chicago FOP supports that isn’t ultra reactionary or ultra right-wing. If it was up to them, they’d raise Jon Burge from the grave and make him superintendent of police.”
Yup.
“[T]he Chicago Fraternal Order of Police attempted to incorporate a float honoring Burge into the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Chicago after he was fired in 1993.”
http://uchicagogate.com/articles/2015/3/23/chicago-police-abuse-continues-part-i-john-burge/
Comment by Glenn Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 10:29 am
Mandatory use of body cameras would go a long way to eliminating the trust issues and reducing the pressure on fellow officers to maintain the code of silence when it comes to bad cops.
Comment by The Way I See It Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 10:35 am
Good on Kwame and Bob Berlin. Glad to see the IL Dem AG work with the DuPage R SA. They got Sterigenics out of Willowbrook. If anyone can do police reform, I’d bet they can.
Comment by Suburban Operative Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 10:59 am
==Mandatory use of body cameras would go a long way==
It’s too bad they forget to turn it on (Breonna Taylor) or turn it on late (Marcellis Stinnette)
https://tinyurl.com/y3spmhg9
Comment by Jocko Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 11:11 am
In Illinois, “licensing” means you can perform the duties of a profession or occupation, whereas “certification” means you completed a certain level of training (or were waived) required by the State; they are legally different statuses.
Officers must have due process protections in any disciplinary process; the requirement is Constitutional, as well as a tool to prevent the inevitable false complaints which will be filed.
Comment by thisjustinagain Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 11:52 am
=- The Way I See It - Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 10:35 am:=
In Baltimore, police have repeatedly fabricated evidence and planted drugs–while wearing body cameras.
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-ci-pinheiro-ruling-20181109-story.html
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/another-baltimore-police-body-cam-video-shows-officers-plant-drugs-n789396
Comment by Google Is Your Friend Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 11:54 am
=- The Way I See It - Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 10:35 am:=
Body cameras haven’t led to Black people being treated as respectfully as whites
https://journalistsresource.org/studies/government/criminal-justice/police-body-cameras-black-drivers-respect/
Body cameras do not lead to less police misconduct
https://theconversation.com/rather-than-defunding-the-police-politicians-are-increasing-funding-for-body-worn-cameras-144548
Comment by Google Is Your Friend Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 12:05 pm
I worked for Bob Berlin. A very decent man, and one with conviction.
Comment by AlfondoGonz Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 12:12 pm
=At the same time, unbelievable that Berlin got a pass from Dems in DuPage. Total failure.=
The Dems have shown some ability in winning elections in DuPage County. I assume they took a pass on running against Mr. Berlin for a good reason - he is a strong candidate.
Comment by Ridgelander Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 12:39 pm
=== No amount of schooling or training fixes what is in a persons heart. ===
And hence licensing.
=== If police are already certified by the he state why not just add a complaint and discipline section to the certification? I assume you can’t be hired without certification. ===
Same thing.
Comment by Just Observing Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 1:03 pm
God Speed Gentlemen
Comment by Mason born Friday, Nov 6, 20 @ 1:49 pm