New 2016 laws in Illinois include directives for police
CHICAGO (AP) - Illinois police and sheriff's departments will have to abide by new laws beginning Friday, including guidelines on officers wearing body cameras and limiting their use of chokeholds.
The directives are among 237 new laws taking effect Jan. 1. Others crack down on drunk drivers, ban gay-conversion therapy for minors and allow terminally ill patients to try experimental drugs that are still years away from being sold.
The measures aimed at increasing police accountability passed in May in response to the deaths of two black men at the hands of white officers: the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in which the officer was not wearing a camera; and the death of Eric Garner, who died after an officer placed him in a chokehold in New York. Neither officer was charged.
Chicago's police department also faces intense scrutiny over fatal shootings, including another white officer shooting a black teenager in 2014 and the weekend deaths of 19-year-old Quintonio LeGrier and 55-year-old Bettie Jones, who was shot accidentally. Both LeGrier and Jones were black; the department has not provided the race of the officer or officers who fired the shots.
"I think one of the major things we hope to accomplish is to restore some confidence in law enforcement," said state Sen. Kwame Raoul, a Chicago Democrat who was among authors of the new laws for police. "I don't think it's a healthy situation for anybody that there's distrust in law enforcement.
"You have many law enforcement officers who do their job the right way and put their lives on the line and those law enforcement (officers) deserve the public to have confidence in them."
Chokeholds will only be allowed in cases of self-defense. And while police departments won't be required to use body cameras, officers in agencies that do must have them turned on when they're responding to calls or engaging with the public. A $5 increase in traffic tickets will fund a grant program to pay for cameras and officer training.
Another new law enforcement-related law is when officers stop and search someone, they'll be required to provide a "stop receipt" detailing why the person was approached, along with the officer's name and badge number.
Illinois is among dozens of states that have passed some type of police-reform legislation after the deaths involving officers. The package of law-enforcement measures in Illinois had bipartisan support and the backing of police unions.
Other laws taking effect include:
- Increasing the amount of time repeat drunk drivers have to use a device to test blood-alcohol content to operate their cars. A second DUI conviction will require people to have the device in their vehicle for five years instead of one.
- Making mental health professionals open to discipline by their licensing entity if they try to change the sexual orientation of anyone under 18. The law will also allow people to pursue civil damages from mental health providers that practice gay-conversion therapy.
- Giving terminally ill patients access to experimental drugs that the FDA has not approved yet. Illinois will join at least 12 states that have so-called right-to-try laws, in which patients will need to get a doctor's approval to use the experimental medication after they have exhausted all other approved treatments.
"For somebody who is terminal ill and has only a couple of months to live, this is their last best chance," said Rep. Greg Harris, a Chicago Democrat who was one of the sponsors of the bill.
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