DeKalb Times

DeKalb County Law & Justice Committee met July 25.

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. Ellingsworth Webb, Ms. Suzanne Willis, and Chair Dianne Leifheit. Mr. Larry West was absent. A quorum was established with six Members present and one absent.

Others present included Brian Gregory, Dennis Miller, Robert Carlson, and Chief Deputy Burgh.

APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA

It was moved by Mrs. Lampkins, seconded by Ms. Willis 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 23, 2022 Committee Meeting. Mrs. Lampkins seconded the motion and it was carried unanimously.

PUBLIC COMMENTS

There were no public comments.

EMERGENCY SERVICES DISASTER AGENCY (ESDA) ANNUAL REPORT

DeKalb County Coroner / ESDA Coordinator Dennis Miller joined the Committee to provide his ESDA Annual Report. Link to Full Annual Report

In 2021, the DeKalb County Emergency Operations Plan (EOP)was reviewed and updated. It will then be submitted to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency for approval. This plan, with its annexes, defines how DeKalb County analyzes, prepares for, and responds to an emergency event, whether natural or man-made. The ongoing mandates that are required by the National Incident Management System (NIMS) will continue to be addressed and implemented.

The Local Emergency Planning Committee (L.E.P.C.), continues to meet, quarterly. The purpose of the committee is to register and record all the facilities within the county that manufacture, use and or store hazardous materials. When a hazardous material (HAZMAT), incidence does occur, the responsible party must report the spill. With the assistance and cooperation of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA), and the local fire departments, every hazardous material incident is reported to this office. That information is then reviewed and entered into a database, which is then reviewed by the DeKalb County L.E.P.C.

The coordinator continues to distribute the majority of the PPE items to multiple agencies within the county. Including, but not limited to, first responders, school districts, long-term housing facilities, nursing homes, fire departments, county agencies; including the health department, Sheriff’s Office, maintenance, Judicial, communications, legislative, and administrative entities. Maintaining, storing and dissemination of all supplies was conducted/overseen by the coordinator.

As in previous years, much of the severe storm spotting responsibility was aided by a dedicated group of volunteers, (Sheriffs Auxiliary and the Amateur Radio Operators) in the DeKalb County area. In all severe weather watches, the communication assets of the ham radio operators enable the ESDA coordinator and the central warning point dispatchers to keep current of the weather conditions in our area. This capability was demonstrated this year in many of the 27 severe weather watches and warnings, which affected this county. With the aid of support staff, this office was able to arrange and conduct a weather spotter training program, within the county.

Over 72 people were trained in storm spotting. In the event of severe weather, these trained weather spotters are able to report to the Communications Division, of the sheriff’s office, of the approaching weather. With the information that is received from these spotters, it can then be disseminated to the affected areas of the county. This office planned and participated in several other exercises that took place throughout the county in 2021. Those consisted of table top exercises, functional exercises, full scale exercises, and pipeline safety training programs.

DeKalb County also hosted three IEMA training courses in 2021. This agency was notified and responded to 14 separate incidents this past year. Most were fuel leaks, while the others involved trains verses pedestrian mishaps, power outages, high winds, and four separate structure fires, which required sheltering of occupants.

Mr. Miller attended and participated in several training and miscellaneous meetings, throughout the area, which are mandated for accreditation. He assisted several long-term health care facilities with the development of their Emergency Operation plans. The Federal mandates that are required by the National Incident Management System, (NIMS), will continue to be addressed and implemented.

CORONER'S ANNUAL REPORT - Link to Full Annual Report

Mr. Miller additionally provided his 2021 Annual Coroner's Report to the Committee. He shared that last year he performed a total of 681 death investigations. There was a slight decrease from the previous year, which was 714 investigations. He also noted that suicidal deaths within the County are slightly up to 11 from 9 in 2020. It was also unfortunately shared that drug induced deaths are still fairly common.

Mr. Miller explained that due to a change in the state statute he hasn't had an inquest since 2008.

The only sources of revenue that the Coroner's Office has are cremation permits, which are on the rise with 587 permits issued in 2021. The permits are time consuming and have increased significantly. It is currently $50 per permit. Mr. Miller shared that he has been trying for the last 5-6 years to get those permits increased to $100 but has been unsuccessful at the state level. Mr. Miller lastly shared how he works with individuals and families who don't have the means to cremate or bury their loved ones or for those who have no other families, what may be some alternative options for dispositions.

Note: These minutes are not official until approved by the Law and Justice Committee at a subsequent meeting. Please refer to the meeting minutes when these minutes are approved to obtain any changes to these minutes.

PUBLIC DEFENDER’S REPORT

Assistant Public Defender Mr. Robert Carlson joined the Committee to provide a brief update on the office and place the monthly reports on file.

Mr. Carlson shared that the office is still down two lawyers. It has been very busy for those who are in the office but they are functioning. He explained that they are having quite a bit of difficulty filling the open positions, let alone getting anyone to apply for them. The thought behind this is the lower starting salary they are able to offer. Mr. Carlson noted that many surrounding counties are facing the same issues, so this is not just a DeKalb County problem. They are utilizing about 4 interns right now and they are extremely helpful but can only do what they are allowed to under their internships.

The June 2022 Public Defender’s Report was placed on file with the Committee. The report illustrated that there were 1,400 cases opened and 1,842 cases were closed.

COURT SERVICES REPORT

Mr. Venditti was unable to attend the meeting but his Adult, Juvenile, and Pretrial Monthly Reports were placed on file with the Committee. Mr. Venditti had passed along to the Committee that he and his staff are looking forward to being present next month to provide an overview of their grant programs.

SHERIFF’S OFFICE

Jail Population/Overtime Reports

It was reported that the average daily population for the DeKalb County Jail in June of 2022 was 119. This is an increase from last year at this time when the average population was 97. The Overtime Report is on target. As of July 1st, 49.8% of the budget has been expended.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

Mrs. Lampkins moved to enter into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing Collective Bargaining provided for in 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(2) at 7:17 p.m. Ms. Willis seconded the motion and it carried by a 6-0-1 roll call vote. Those voting yea were Ms. Cozad, Mrs. Cribben, Mrs. Lampkins, Mr. Webb, Ms. Willis, and Chair Leifheit. None were opposed and Mr. West was absent.

The Committee entered back into their Open Meeting at 7:45 p.m.

ADJOURNMENT

It was moved by Mrs. Lampkins, seconded by Mrs. Cribben, and it was carried unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 7:45 p.m.

https://dekalbcounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/minutes-law-07252022.pdf