Governor J.B. Pritzker will be signing the controversial new police-reform legislation into law today.
Pritzker will hold the signing ceremony at Noon today on the campus of Chicago State University. He will be joined by members of the law enforcement community, lawmakers and community advocates.
The bill passed both houses of the Illinois General Assembly on January 13th. It was introduced by members of the House Black Caucus following the death of George Floyd in May 2020.
Many of the most debated aspects, such as ending qualified immunity for law enforcement, were reduced or removed from the bill following heavy opposition from law enforcement, labor unions, prosecutors and municipal representatives.
Effective in January 2023, cash bail would be eliminated in Illinois and replaced with pretrial release criteria. The bill provides that use of force is permissible only when an officer has determined it is necessary to defend either themselves or others from bodily harm when making an arrest.
A police certification provision backed by the attorney general’s office was also added to the bill. It gives the state more power over who can be a member of law enforcement and makes it easier to decertify and terminate the employment of problematic officers.
The bill also mandates body cameras on all law enforcement officers, and says that suspects in custody must be able to make three phone calls within three hours of being taken into police custody.
