Audio from interview with Winnebago County Sheriff Gary Caruana.
The Illinois House followed the state Senate to approve a stripped down set of reforms from the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus. It includes changes to police certification, the use of force and the cash bail system. The bill now goes to Governor J.B. Pritzker.
The original package drew early opposition from members of law enforcement including Winnebago County Sheriff Gary Caruana.
“This isn’t against law enforcement, OK. It s against the community, protecting the community, the victims’ rights and to keep you safe, and have you know, be able to function in society, ” Caruana said.
Chapin Rose / Courtesy
An education reform bill would force schools to test children even before they enter kindergarten. The Illinois Legislative Black Caucus spearheaded the measure, which passed the State Senate on a party line vote Monday.
Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood, is a chief sponsor of the bill. Lightford said the measure will require schools to assess and identify the needs of students starting with kindergarten. Schools would test incoming kindergarteners on literacy, language, math, and social and emotional development. Once this identifies what those needs are, there needs to be early intervention services that are available to those small children, so that once they arrive in kindergarten, they re assessed, and then they have the support for their families that they need, said Lightford.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker took questions on a massive criminal justice omnibus bill backed by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus on Monday, noting he was generally "in favor of the process and the work that the Black Caucus has done overall."
Illinois lawmakers spent much of their weekend session debating criminal justice reform bills.
The Illinois Legislative Black Caucus is using the lame-duck session to address a range of social equity issues, from healthcare to education to criminal justice.
On Saturday, for a combined seven hours, the House Judiciary Committee and Senate Executive Committee heard testimony on proposals to eliminate cash bail, decriminalize possession of small amounts of controlled substances, redefine the felony murder classification, change collective bargaining rules for law enforcement, and repeal qualified immunity statuses for members of law enforcement.
Throughout the weekend hearings, GOP lawmakers voiced concern the proposals were moving too quickly, given their overall length and calls for additional amendments.