New bill in committee would grant 'police powers' to General Assembly members

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by Patrick Andriesen, Communications Intern
Illinois Policy

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A bill in Springfield would grant “conservator of the peace” powers to all members of the Illinois General Assembly.

After Illinois state representatives and senators completed a law enforcement training course, House Bill 724 would allow them to:

Arrest or cause to be arrested, with or without process, all persons who break the peace or are found violating any municipal ordinance or any criminal law of the state

Commit arrested persons for examination

If necessary, to detain arrested persons in custody overnight or Sunday in any safe place or until they can be brought before the proper court, and

Exercise all other powers as conservators of the peace prescribed by state and corporate authorities.

State Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, has raised concerns about the proposed bill.

"Who’s going to carry the liability insurance? Who’s going to wear body cameras and when is that going to be required?" Caulkins said to WAND-TV. "Do you want political people with the power to arrest someone that they may not agree with politically? I mean, I think there’s a lot to be thought about."

The concerns Caulkins expressed over mixing the lawmaking powers of representatives with law enforcement echo criticisms long aimed at Chicago aldermen.

Alderman have been considered “conservators of the peace” under Illinois law since 1872, granting them the power to make arrests and carry a concealed handgun in the case they or someone else is under immediate threat of bodily harm. They also have badges.

But because Chicago is a home-rule municipality, city alderman were able to pass legislation making themselves exempt from the state-mandated firearm training required of law officers to carry firearms, despite possessing similar policing powers.

The bill was assigned to the House Executive Committee on March 2.

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Patrick is a communications intern with the Illinois Policy Institute. In this role, he focuses on creating and analyzing content to support our published research and experts in the media. Illinois Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research organization that promotes responsible government and free market principles. This story was originally published on March 9, 2021.

Basketball Player of the Week

February 21 - 27, 2021

~ Boys ~ Blake Kimball Unity Kimball dropped an impressive 30 points on Paxton-Buckley-Loda in Unity's 54-57 back on February 20. While he only collected 10 points in the Rockets seven-point victory over Olympia, he was instrumental attracting attention to get teammates into open scoring positions. Honorable Mention: Austin Langendorf, Unity Evan Ingram, SJO Jackson Rydell, SJO

~ Girls ~ Taylor Henry Unity The Rockets leading rebounder recorded a double-double performance in her team's conference game against Prairie Central. Two days later against Olympia, Henry scored 11 points and added another eight rebounds and three steals to her season stats. Honorable Mention: Atleigh Hamilton, SJO Payton Vallee, SJO Katey Moore, Unity

Baby steps toward 'sports normal', good news for local athletes

The Illinois High School Association made two announcements that made high school athletes, coaches and fans giddy.

The first on Monday, the high school sports organization said number of spectators allowed at outdoor events could increase to 20 percent of the facilities capacity instead of the 50 people only limit previously set by the IDPH. Indoor sports such as wrestling, volleyball and badminton were not affected by spectator expansion.

St. Joseph-Ogden goalkeeper Hunter Ketchum makes a save during the Spartans home game against Monticello. SJO's soccer season starts today with a home opener against Olympia.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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"We have been adamant in our discussions with IDPH that we believe we can safely and responsibly expand spectator guidelines without risking the general public to greater exposure to COVID-19," IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson said in are released statement. "This felt like a commonsense change, especially as we evaluated collegiate and pro sport spectator guidelines in the state, and are happy for the student-athletes who will be participating in IHSA outdoor sports this spring and summer, as well as for their families and friends."

Later in the day, the IHSA Board of Directors announced that there will be state finals competition held for badminton, baseball, softball, bass fishing, boys gymnastics, boys tennis, boys volleyball, girls soccer, journalism, boys and girls lacrosse, boys and girls track and field and boys and girls water polo.

This was even better news for St. Joseph-Ogden senior Crayton Burnett.

"When I found out we were going to have a full season and a postseason I was extremely grateful," Burnett said. "We as a team knew nothing was guaranteed with the pandemic. It means a lot to be able to put on a Spartan uniform one more time and to be able to compete alongside my teammates."

Burnett, who has committed to Dan Hartleb's Fighting Illini baseball program, and the Spartans will start official team practice on April 5.

This month, competition for three sports are already or will get underway. Boys soccer started practice on March 1. Unity played their first match yesterday against Bloomington Central Catholic. St. Joseph-Ogden's season opens today with home match against Olympia.

In preparing for the game, the Spartans' twitter feed announced the protocol for spectators: "New phase 4 guidelines are available on the parent face book site. Summary is: 4 spectators per athlete, masks, minimum 10 ft off game field, maintain social distancing. Blue x's have been marked to help facilitate spacing."