Orland Park Asks State To Pass Bill Allowing Local Governments To Override State's Attorney's Decision To Not Prosecute Felony Charges

Orland Park IL

19 November, 2021

3:00 PM

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By Jon DePaolis, Richard Free Press: ORLAND PARK, Ill. — Orland Park officials are calling on state legislators to pass a bill that will allow local governments and police departments to override a state's attorney's office's decision to not prosecute a felony charge. The Village Board of Trustees voted 7-0 Monday, Nov. 15, to pass a resolution asking Illinois lawmakers to pass House Bill 4176. It would allow Cook County local governments and police chiefs to override felony rejections by the state's attorney if, according to the bill, "the evidence supporting the charge is clear and convincing." The state's attorney or assistant state's attorney can rescind the override within seven days, per the bill, unless "the court determines that law enforcement agency's decision to override was based on clear and convincing evidence." If that happens, "the State's Attorney must proceed with a preliminary examination or seek an indictment by grand jury within 30 days from the date he or she was taken into custody or, if he or she is not in custody, 60 days from the date he or she was arrested." The bill also requires that the state's attorney give notification to a victim or victim's family as to why the felony case was rejected. "Just a couple of weeks ago, while testifying before the Cook County Board, State's Attorney Kim Foxx was asked if having more individuals charged with violent crimes out on electronic monitoring would impact crime on the street," Trustee Michael Milani said during discussion of the resolution. "She said no. But from 2016 to 2021, for example, there has been an absurd increase in the number of Cook County defendants released on electronic monitoring. "Defendants charged with murder are up 444%, armed violence is up 767%, aggravated gun possession is up 436%, felons in possession of a firearm is up 1761%, and aggravated battery is up 178%. "Hearing those statistics, along with all of the violent crime on the rise and repeat offenders continuing to be arrested, do you believe [Foxx]?" Milani said he feels the Cook County State's Attorney's Office has not provided consistent charging of crimes, particularly violent ones. "This has definitely become a hindrance in the battle against crime," he said. "However, this legislation will help to balance the scales of justice and provide support to the local law enforcement agencies." He said the resolution asks the state legislature to "step up to the plate, do the right thing and act." "We need to keep these criminals off the street," Milani said. "The ever-present revolving door for repeat offenders needs to be closed. Accountability needs to be served, not only to these criminals but to the states attorneys office to keep these criminals off the streets." Trustee Sean Kampas said the justice system relies on a series of procedures and rules of law to work properly. "Our state has 118 representatives and 59 senators that write those laws," he said. "It takes 16 on a grand jury to indict someone and 12 on a jury to convict them. There are checks and balances to ensure due process and appeal processes, and we have a Supreme Court to interpret that law. There are seven Supreme Court justices. "But in Cook County, it takes just one person to set a policy of dropping charges to address not the law but their [own] personal political agenda. We need an appeal process for that. We need a check and a balance on that type of power for just one executive who has such a huge impact on our safety." Mayor Keith Pekau complimented the Orland Park Police Department for doing "an amazing job during these extremely tough times." He said the index crime in Orland Park is the lowest it has been since the Village began tracking those statistics 27 years ago. "We were No. 1 in lowest violent crime per capita for towns over 50,000 residents in the state of Illinois," Pekau said. "We were also rated the safest city in Illinois in 2020. Our department accomplished this in spite of many obstacles. There has been a push to defund the police from our state legislators and our congressional representatives. The passing of HB 3653, which tries to make criminals out of our police officers and prioritizes criminals over law-abiding citizens, also eliminated cash bail, so dangerous criminals are released to commit more crime while they are awaiting trial. Of course, it is after the next election that it goes into effect." Pekau also said Orland Park officers are confiscating illegal guns off the street every five days. "Because of our proactive policing, I'm thankful that we are finding them before they commit another one of those violent crimes," he noted. But because the state's attorney is not following through on prosecuting crimes, Pekau said the Village has had to resort to other avenues, such as pursuing federal charges for certain offenders. "[Foxx] and those who support her are responsible for … making Cook County a haven for criminals, putting our police and our citizens at greater risk," Pekau said. "Enough is enough. The house bill that we are supporting would allow our department and Village to bring charges directly to court if the state's attorney refuses to prosecute a case. The state's attorney would then need to respond in writing and inform the victims if they continue to decline the case." Pekau said the City of Chicago has that ability already, and HB 4176 would allow other municipalities to do the same. "In my opinion, this would bring more transparency to the process, since the state's attorney would have to put on public record why they are refusing to try cases and acting like a public defender instead of a prosecutor," he said. Richard Free Press is a one-stop destination for the news that most affects you, the southwest suburban resident. Be an informed citizen of the town you live in and love.