Police chief, state's attorney tell Elgin leaders how new criminal justice law is flawed

Criminal justice reform legislation put on the books in February contains flaws that may create dangerous situations for both civilians and police, according to Elgin and Kane County law enforcement officials who spoke with city officials Wednesday night.

Elgin Police Chief Ana Lalley and Kane County State's Attorney Jamie Mosser walked the council through several areas of "ambiguous" wording and unintentional consequences that both hope to address through amendments to the new state law.

For instance, Lalley said new limits on how and when officers can use Tasers are causing her, as well as other police chiefs, to look into no longer using Tasers at all. Lalley said the state law directs officers to use Tasers in ways that are contrary to the manufacturer's stated intended uses. That opens police departments to lawsuits. And it eliminates a non-lethal tool for officers.

Both Lalley and Mosser decried a portion of the law that makes it a felony for officers to review their body camera footage of an incident before writing a police report. The idea may have been to eliminate or expose intentional coverups of misconduct in reports, but the reality will be a weakening of the authority of a police officer's testimony or report whenever a mistaken detail doesn't exactly align with the video footage.

After hearing about the flaws in the bill for about 45 minutes, council member Tish Powell called for more balance in reviewing the impact of the legislation on the city. She pointed to the end of cash bail that allows wealthy murder suspects to go free while awaiting trial when poor people accused of non-violent crimes spend months in jail as a major victory for reform. She also praised mental health screenings for police and the restoration of driving privileges for people who are simply unable to pay traffic fines.

"I do support the majority of this bill," Powell said. "People have been asking and protesting and pleading for criminal justice reform for far too long. I caution us to not just look at what is problematic, according to some."

Lalley and Mosser agree there are several welcome reforms. Lalley said she supports the mandatory use of body cameras for police officers. Mosser said she supports the end of cash bail.

"If I listed all the things that I love about this bill, you would have to kick me out of here at a late hour," Mosser said.

Powell plans to have some of the state lawmakers who represent Elgin and supported the legislation speak to the council at a later date.