Rep. Windhorst Leads Truth in Public Safety Working Group, Unveils New Legislation
SPRINGFIELD – House Republican Floor Leader and 117th State Representative Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) has been leading his fellow Republican lawmakers as head of the House Republicans’ Truth in Public Safety working group. The working group’s mission was to meet with various stakeholders involved with the criminal justice system to formulate a package of public safety legislation. Windhorst joined fellow members of the working group today for a capitol press conference to unveil multiple bills in the package.
“The Truth in Public Safety Working group has come up with a package of more than 20 bills through our work,” Windhorst said. “We have developed legislation centering around protecting crime victims, restoring cash bail with reforms, and recruiting and retaining police officers.”
The working group began meeting in January, and with the final product unveiled, Windhorst says he’ll push hard for hearings and votes on the package.
“Our police have been demoralized by anti-police rhetoric and criminal justice policies like those in the SAFE-T Act that prioritize the rights of criminals over the rights of victims. We have to stop the tide of officers leaving the profession and work to attract dedicated, talented, and capable officers to help keep our communities safe,” Windhorst said. “The package of bills we have introduced would move Illinois forward toward a safer, brighter future.”
The legislative package contains the following bills.
Law Enforcement – Recruitment and Retention
- HB 4046 (Cabello – Windhorst)
- Removes the ability to file anonymous complaints against officers. Add automatic expungement of the misconduct records where the officer has been found not to have committed any wrong doing or the complaint was found to be frivolous. Deletes provision that an officer has no property right in their certification, thereby ensuring the officer is afforded due process.
- HB 4047 (Cabello – Windhorst)
- Requires ILETSB to create a waiver process for out of state law enforcement officers who want to work in Illinois. In use of force, adds “back” as a place where an officer can discharge kinetic impact projectiles or other non-lethal or less-lethal projectiles in a manner that targets the back.
- HB 4048 (Friess – Windhorst)
- Creates a loan repayment program for officers who are working in under-staffed areas.
- HB 4050 (Tipsword – Windhorst)
- In body camera provisions, exempts undercover officers from the requirement of wearing body cameras, except they must wear body cameras when conducting interviews. Deletes prohibition on review of videos prior to writing reports. Adds the taking or attempting to take a body camera from an officer to obstruction of the justice offense.-
- HB 1542 (Ugaste)
- Appropriates $80,000,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Law Enforcement Training Standards Board for deposit into the Law Enforcement Camera Grant Fund.
- HB 3354 (Friess – Windhorst)
- Provides that, in matters a sheriff deems essential to preventing or assisting with disasters or events of civil disorder, the sheriff may authorize plain clothes to be worn by auxiliary deputies.
- HB 3358 (Tipsword – Cabello –Windhorst)
- Requires each member of the General Assembly annually complete a ride-along and a simulation training program.
- HB 3353 (Cabello – Tipsword – Windhorst)
- Increases the percentage of moneys that are transferred from the Cannabis Regulation Fund to the Local Government Distributive Fund to 15%. Provides that moneys allocated to counties under those provisions shall be directed to a fund under the control of the Sheriff.
- HB 1389 (Haas)
- Adds the taking or attempting to take a body camera from an officer to obstruction of the justice offense.
- HB 3217 (Bunting)
- Back the Badge Program – Creates within the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board a Recruitment Division. To assist local law enforcement agencies establish recruitment plans.
Victim Protection
- HB 3357 (Grant – Ugaste – Windhorst)
- Creates the offense of domestic assault
- HB 3356 (Grant – Windhorst)
- Adds a victim being 60 or older to the offense of aggravated domestic battery
- HB 1387 (Haas)
- Aggravated domestic battery by strangulation is a Class X offense
- HB 3352 (Cabello-Windhorst)
- Requires DNA collection at arrest instead of indictment or preliminary hearing for serious felonies including felony domestic battery
- HB 1390 (Haas)
- Sex offenders convicted of a felony sex offense are not eligible for probation
- HB 1388 (Haas)
- Creation of habitual misdemeanant – for those people who have 3 or more pending charges for misdemeanor domestic battery, battery, violation of an order of protection, or criminal damage to property when the property belongs to a family or household member.
- HB 3329 (Haas)
- Makes it a Class 1 or Class X felony for a hate crime committed with a firearm or if the victim is under 18 years of age.
- HB 3209 (McCombie – Windhorst)
- Protect Our Victims Act – deletes provision that allows a defendant from compelling a victim to testify at a detention hearing.
The Real Pre-Trial Fairness Act
- HB 4052 (Ugaste – Grant – Windhorst)
- Reinstate cash bail as recommended by the IL SC commission report. Hybrid system that has a presumption of release but allows for cash bail or detention.
SAFE-T Act Trailers
- HB 4049 (Friess – Windhorst)
- Removes day for day credit on EM, Reinstate provisions that make it mandatory instead of permissive for consecutive sentencing.
- HB 4051 (Tipsword – Windhorst)
- Clarifies the process for when a person is arrested on an out of county warrants.
- HB 4053 (Windhorst)
- 3 phone calls provision – adds protections for victims to the right to communicate and remove presumptions of inadmissibility and allows for it to be used in the totality of circumstances determination for voluntariness. Adds to the provision for release by citation that allows and officer to verify the identity of the accused.
Miscellaneous
- HB 3360 (Ugaste – Grant – Windhorst)
- Adds to registerable offenses, home invasion if a sex offense was committed during the commission of the home invasion.
- HB 3359 (Ugaste – Grant – Windhorst)
- Prohibits auto expungement for attempt to commit a disqualified offense, such as a sex offense, or Class 2 felony or higher.