Rauner signs police reform bill banning chokeholds; guidelines for body, dashcams

Gov. Bruce Rauner on Wednesday signed a sweeping law enforcement reform bill that prohibits excessive force, including the use of chokeholds, and lays out clear guidelines for the use of body and dashboard cameras.

The legislation won support from the ACLU, Republicans and Democrats.

Past police incidentsin Texas, Maryland and Missouri that roiled the nation and raised concerns over racial bias drove the legislation in Illinois, SB1304. Illinois is the first state in the nation to pass comprehensive guidelines on police procedures for bodycams as well as adding reporting requirements for so-called “stop and frisk” tactics by police officers, according to the governor’s office and those who backed the legislation.

“Today we are taking steps to strengthen the relationship between our law enforcement officers and the public they protect with the Police and Community Improvement Act,” Rauner said in a prepared statement. “As a society, we must ensure the safety of both the public and law enforcement. SB 1304 establishes new and important guidelines and training for police departments and their officers, while protecting the public by prohibiting officers from using excessive force. I thank the legislators who sponsored this bill. It will have a lasting and positive impact on the people of Illinois.”

The bill bans Illinois police officers from applying chokeholds unless the use of deadly force is warranted. It also requires police to fill out “receipts” for those individuals — including pedestrians — who are “frisked” or patted down but not arrested. Police will have to detail the reason for stopping the person as well as the person’s race and log any contraband or other personal items taken from the person. The provisions work to place additional checks on police authority while also providing police officers evidence if they later face misconduct allegations.

“Police unions in this state stepped up to the plate and really led in a lot of the discussions involving the elements that were involved in this bill,” said Sean Smoot, Illinois Police Benevolent and Protective Association legal counsel and who also served on the White House task force on community policing. “I think that says a lot about our state and about our police officers and the people they put into position of leadership.”

The legislation does not require police officers to wear bodycams in Illinois. But it sets out clear procedures for those departments that opt to use them.

State Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, a lead sponsor of the bill, said he believes most police departments want the cameras and are looking for ways to pay for them. The new law includes a $5 increase in traffic and speeding ticket fines to help pay for cameras. Raoul said there’s also an effort to tap federal and state grant money.

“We believe we’ll reach the point sooner than later where the funds will be there to equip every officer out on the street,” Raoul said at a news conference Wednesday.