Suburban Chicago Chiefs Support Bill to Override Prosecutors' Lax Charging Decisions
"The frustration they have is profound," State House Republican Leader Rep. Jim Durkin said. "The crime in Chicago is moving out to the suburbs. We’re having carjackings at a record pace in suburban Chicago, kidnappings, murders."
October 27, 2021
Suburban Chicago-area police chiefs are backing a new bill that would allow officers to override relaxed charging decisions by Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx.
State House Republican Leader Rep. Jim Durkin, alongside state Republican Sen. John Curran, introduced House Bill 4176, which would allow police departments to override the state's attorney or the assistant state’ attorney’s decision to reject felony charges of designate continuing investigation, Fox reports.
Durkin held a meeting with over two dozen police chiefs from Cook County last week.
"The frustration they have is profound," he said. "The crime in Chicago is moving out to the suburbs. We’re having carjackings at a record pace in suburban Chicago, kidnappings, murders. Things you typically see in a large metropolitan area are making it into the suburbs. The same frustration you see with the Chicago police is now with the suburban police."
The bill was assigned to committee on Wednesday, and Durkin hopes that Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch, a Democrat, would see the value in the legislation because he lives in one of those suburbs that’s seen a huge spike in crime. Hillside police Chief Joe Lukaszek, who runs the department serving Welch’s neighborhood, has thrown his support behind the bill, Durkin said.
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