SPRINGFIELD, IL … Legislation that will allow County Sheriffs to serve on local 911 boards sponsored by State Representative Patrick Windhorst earned unanimous support from the Illinois Senate on Thursday. Windhorst was joined by State Senator Dale Fowler in successfully advancing HB 5128 through the General Assembly.
“The need for this legislation arose when a question came about as to whether a county sheriff would be able to serve on a 911 board,” Windhorst said. “I worked with local stakeholders to bring forward this bill and worked with Senator Fowler to ensure it could pass the Senate.”
Windhorst says that County Sheriffs are well-qualified members of the law enforcement community and also very familiar with their how their county’s 911 system works.
“I believe this is a common sense measure which will clarify the law,” Windhorst said. “We will always need strong, qualified appointees serving on our 911 boards, and County Sheriffs meet these requirements.”
HB 5128 now heads to Governor JB Pritzker’s desk to be signed into law.