DeKalb Times

DeKalb County Board Law & Justice Committee met Aug. 23.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

The Law and Justice Committee of the DeKalb County Board met in the Legislative Center’s Gathertorium in Sycamore, Illinois. Madam Chair Dianne Leifheit called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Those members present were Ms. Mary Cozad, Mrs. Karen Cribben, Mrs. Kathy Lampkins, Mr. Neill Mohammad, Ms. Linda Slabon, Mr. Larry West, and Chair Dianne Leifheit. A quorum was established with all seven Members present.

Others that were present included Tom McCulloch, Michael Venditti, Rick Amato, Chief Parnow, Sheriff Sullivan, and the Honorable Judge Waller.

APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA 

It was moved by Mrs. Lampkins, seconded by Mrs. Cribben and it was carried unanimously by voice vote to approve the agenda as presented. 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES 

Ms. Cozad moved to approve the minutes of the May 24, 2021 Committee Meeting. Mr. West seconded the motion and it was carried unanimously. 

PUBLIC COMMENTS 

The Honorable Judge Brad Waller introduced himself to the Committee. Judge Waller, the Presiding Judge at the DeKalb County Courthouse, wanted to let the Committee know where the Courthouse currently stands in regards to the COVID-19 pandemic. For the most-part, the Courts are still performing remotely (through Zoom or Livestreams). They did have a fully masked trial today. Between now and December 14, 2021, there are 134 criminal juries that are set to take place. That number is a little misleading though due to various dispositions that can occur prior to the trials. There is certainly still a reluctance to proceed with jury trials that are fully masked at this time, which poses a challenge. Judge Waller had 7 civil jury trials set starting on Friday and now none of them are going to go forward due to the mask mandates that are now in place again. Zoom is not the optimum way to conduct court but they are still doing it out of necessity. Although they can do statuses and bench trials, for the foreseeable future, civil and criminal juries are going to be somewhat problematic, the Judge explained.

PUBLIC DEFENDER’S REPORT 

DeKalb County Public Defender Mr. Tom McCulloch placed the July 2021 Public Defender’s Report on file with the Committee. According to the report, there were 1,814 cases opened and 1,806 cases closed. They are finally starting to close just about as many cases as they opened but the clients are starting to stack up. Mr. McCulloch reiterated some of the points the Judge made previously. He added that the stagnation with the trials is going to result in long-range problems throughout the court system. His office is continuing to do the best they can with what they have, Mr. McCulloch explained. He lastly touched on the issues of conducting trials with everyone, including jurors, masked.

COURT SERVICES REPORT 

DeKalb County Court Services Director Michael Venditti placed his monthly Adult, Juvenile, and Pretrial Reports on file with the Committee.

Mr. Venditti reported that the numbers in the adult report are steadily increasing, which is a sign that they are starting to see some resolutions come through within the courts. They have continued to see a very large number of transfer-in cases from other counties over the course of this year.

As far as the juvenile report, they have continued to avoid any placements this year. There are currently two juveniles in detention. He additionally added that as of July, the Department has spent 40% of its annual juvenile detention budget. For FY2021, that amount was budgeted at $120,000.

Mr. Venditti also shared that on August 20th, the Illinois Supreme Court announced that a new operational structure for pretrial services which will place all pretrial services under the authority of the Supreme Court’s Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts (AOIC), including employment of all pretrial officers. The AOIC will be tasked with the development and enforcement of all pretrial standards throughout Illinois in order to support the implementation of the Criminal Justice Reform Act (“SAFE-T Act”). The SAFE-T Act is scheduled to take effect in January 2023.

The Illinois Supreme Court, with assistance from the Supreme Court Pretrial Practices Implementation Task Force (Task Force), has determined that placing the operational structure for pretrial services under the supervision of the AOIC will best achieve consistent, statewide pretrial practices and ease the burden on counties facing unfunded mandates and decreased revenue with bond reform. The Court also seeks to ensure the procedures used in circuit courts throughout Illinois are fair, efficient, transparent, accountable and adequately resourced using legal and evidence-based practices. Projected costs for staffing pretrial services statewide are similar to current costs that cover staffing of pretrial services in only a fraction of Illinois counties.

This news comes as an upset to DeKalb County and the Committee. The Pretrial Program here is 1 of 5 nationally accredited programs and the first in Illinois. Mr. Venditti and Judge Waller both expressed how well and valuable the local Pretrial Program has worked here and how very upset and disappointed they are with it being handed over the Springfield. Mr. Venditti noted that because this is a grant program, the positions will no longer be funded. He will be looking at layoffs for his 3 Full-Time Pretrial Officers and 1 Pretrial Supervisor.

OVERVIEW OF SAFE-T ACT 

State’s Attorney Rick Amato shared that the Illinois General Assembly on Memorial Day passed the much-anticipated trailer bill to the SAFE-T Act, the crime reform bill signed into law in February by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Amato described the crime reform bill as the biggest amount of legal change he had ever seen.

Police and prosecutors statewide opposed and assailed much of the original bill, expressing concern that it contained language that either was ambiguous or impractical. The trailer bill’s sponsors, Sen. Elgie Sims and Rep. Justin Slaughter, willingly and in good faith worked with law enforcement to address many of the most egregious concerns. The trailer bill language makes training and implementation much easier moving forward. Gov. Pritzker is expecting to sign the revised bill.

The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police and the Illinois State Police supported the trailer bill, acknowledging a concern that many unresolved issues be addressed in the months to come, because most of the SAFE-T Act will not immediately be implemented, although some provisions take effect July 1.

The Illinois State’s Attorney Association, which was heavily involved in the re-write, took a neutral position, as did the Illinois Sheriff’s Association and the Fraternal Order of Police.

The trailer bill is HB 3443, SA5. State’s Attorney Amato has stated that, “Many of the changes we face resulting from this law are not necessarily ideal for police and prosecutors and the way we’ve been used to doing things. In many cases they make our jobs harder, and they will require time, resources and a new way of thinking. That is a reality we must accept and live with. The General Assembly and the citizens of Illinois have made their intentions and expectations known, and they expect us to follow through. I’m grateful that the lawmakers who strongly advocated for reform listened to our concerns and worked with us to make changes. We will work with police to make sure you understand new laws. We are in this together.” 

Mr. Amato reviewed a handout he produced with the Committee that detailed some of the updates that are within the trailer bill to the SATE-T Act. Some of the items he reviewed are Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Cameras, New Criminal Offense, Law Enforcement Misconduct, Resisting or Obstructing a Peace Officer, Prohibited Use of Force by a Peace Officer, Trainings, and the Use of Tasers.

The Committee and group discussed a bit more in-depth about the Sheriff’s Body Camera Program.

Mr. Amato noted that the handout he provided were changes that are happening now and they are able to adapt to those, but the changes that are coming in October of 2023 will be much bigger. He has begun training local law enforcement agencies now on those changes that will be coming. His advice to the County Board and to those who serve after them is to keep looking ahead to ensure they are all making the best choices. His hope is that there may be a way in the future to unify some efforts and for the County to look to a more unified vision. They need to begin to cut down the silos.

All the meetings that he has done with local law enforcement have ended with the understanding that there is a mental health problem. 50-60% of the calls that are being responded to are mental health related.

Looking ahead to January 1, 2023, Mr. Amato wanted the Board/Committee to be aware of a few items that are in the SAFE-T Act and some items they may need to discuss in the future throughout different Committees. Those items were Qualified Immunity, Class B & C non arrestable offenses, less severe charges for drugs, and no cash bond.

There are so many things to know going forward but Mr. Amato thought the key really is to begin breaking down the silos. Talks need to be happening with law enforcement and with different views of points in order to understand where we are all at to make the best solutions. The biggest opportunities are within the mental health arenas and looking at what we can do without arresting and without doing anything more than taking advantage of the systems and services that are currently in place.

It was additionally announced that at the October 4, 2021 Health & Human Services Committee Meeting, Abbie Ascencio and Kim Volk will be presenting on the Police Social Work Program. The City of DeKalb, City of Sycamore, and soon-to-be Sheriff’s Department are all a part of this program. The Law & Justice Committee is also welcome to attend that meeting to listen to the presentation.

Sheriff Sullivan briefly reviewed his Corrections Overtime Report. As of July 31, 2021, the overtime is at 57.5%. Overtime has been high due to being down 6 individuals in Corrections and 3 in Communications currently.

ADJOURNMENT 

It was moved by Mrs. Lampkins, seconded by Ms. Slabon, and it was carried unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 8:22 p.m.

https://dekalbcounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/min21-lawaug.pdf