Kane County Board to call for reform of all local police departments

Kane County officials will call for more police accountability, minimization of the use of force and body cameras for all local law enforcement in a resolution the county board is expected to approve next Tuesday.

The county itself will have to change if it plans on following its own advice.

The resolution received unanimous preliminary approval Wednesday. It comes on the heels of calls for reform by both Kane County State's Attorney Joe McMahon and Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain. Board member Mo Iqbal worked with both McMahon and Hain in drafting the resolution.

"There is a wide, strong and open public outcry for policing reforms," Iqbal said in recruiting McMahon's and Hain's assistance. "It is incumbent upon us that we take the first step for the sake of justice."

Suggested reforms include banning chokeholds and application of force to the neck or head, as well as requiring de-escalation training.

Sheriff's deputies are already banned from using force on the neck and above. They also must step in and stop any fellow officer using too much force. New training also puts all members of the department who carry a gun through monthly de-escalation training.

Hain recently added the first female member of the department's merit commission. Jody Kanikula is a licensed social worker, giving her the added quality of being only the second member of the commission to not be a retired police officer.

The county board is also in the process of fitting all squad cars with cameras as a precursor to all deputies wearing body cameras.

But one of the biggest areas of reform left unaddressed is police officer discipline.

The agreement with the deputies union the county board signed just last month includes a six-step method of discipline with only the final step involving the firing of the officer. In the most severe cases, the sheriff does have the ability to skip steps.

However, keeping track of problematic officers and putting discipline records on public display are limited in the agreement.

The contract calls for all discipline records other than suspensions to be deleted two years after an offense if there are no other violations during that time. Records of suspensions are deleted five years after the offense if there is no discipline imparted for a similar offense.

Officers are suspended with pay for administrative suspensions. They are suspended without pay if it's an official act of discipline. However, the officer can avoid serving such a suspension by voluntarily deducting an amount of work time equal to the length of the suspension.

Hain said the idea of fully independent reviews of police use of force is too costly to implement. He said such reviews by outside agencies run up to $400 an hour. The department could afford that only in the rare cases of the highest use of force.

Lower and more common levels of force, such as displaying a Taser or firearm during an arrest, will use an interior review process by the department.

The agreement expires in November 2021.

Hain indicated he supports the goals of the county board's resolution.

"We certainly understand the public outcry for police accountability, and I have been outspoken about the professionalism of local police agencies," Hain said.