A police bill introduced this week in Illinois would ban officers from pulling people over for speeding or failing to present a license plate, calling it a “gift” to criminals and defunding police departments. A former Illinois police chief warned that it could become a “backdoor” method.
“Criminals will be happy,” former Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel told Fox News Digital about House Bill 4603.
Democratic state Rep. Justin Slaughter introduced a bill Monday that would prohibit police officers from stopping people for traffic violations such as: Driving with an expired registration sticker. No registration plates or stickers are displayed. Not wearing a seatbelt. Or you may drive with defective mirrors or overly tinted windows.
Slaughter told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that the bill aims to “start a conversation” on judicial reform and racial profiling, calling the bill as drafted “very broad.” It pointed out. He said he introduced the bill not to defend it in this Congress, but to open the door to dialogue on the issue.
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Tom Weitzel was the police chief in Riverside, Illinois. (Tom Weitzel)
However, the bill’s initial introduction sparked controversy among police leaders, who quickly denounced the proposal as further restricting police performance and community protection.
Weitzel served as police chief in Riverside, a rural Cook County village about 19 miles outside Chicago, from 2008 until his retirement in 2021. He served his 37 years in law enforcement, including in 1987 when he was ambushed and shot in the line of duty by criminals in Chicago.
The former chief explained that if passed, the new bill would encourage more crime in Illinois and prevent police officers from fulfilling the core tenets of their job.
“This is a back door to defunding the police, and they are shutting down a core function of law enforcement,” Weitzel argued.
He said the bill, if passed and enacted, would lead to an increase in road accidents and traffic accidents, show motorists a greater disregard for police and safe driving practices, and encourage an overall “reckless” culture.
“We’re definitely going to see an increase in speeding complaints to suburban police departments. Traffic enforcement is a core function, especially for suburban police departments. It’s one of the most common complaints we get to chiefs. Complaints about parking in neighborhoods, near schools, complaints about speeding in neighborhoods.” “That’s true in churches, even in large cities. It takes away the ability to control traffic and definitely increases traffic accidents and collisions.” It will increase,” he said.
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Traffic stops often lead to police discovering other criminal activity, such as outstanding warrants, and Weitzel said drivers without license plates often commit theft or change license plates to commit crimes. He specifically pointed out that other criminals who do
Chicago police vehicle on the city street. (Beata Saursel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“Individuals change their car license plates or steal license plates all the time. They steal a license plate from a shopping mall or movie theater parking lot, throw it at a car, then go out for a few hours and commit a crime. It’s very common for people to commit crime, they have that license plate on, and then when they’re done with the crime, they take off the license plate and throw away the car.Then they drive around without the license plate, and then they drive the car without the license plate. “You go throw it away or you put an actual license plate on it. It happens. Frequently,” he said.
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Weitzel also highlighted the “ridiculous” part of the bill, which would prohibit police officers who pull someone over for speeding more than 25 miles per hour from using evidence found during a traffic stop, even in court. did. He searched the vehicle with the driver’s consent.
“Even if you ask, ‘Hey, search the car,’ and the driver says yes, you can’t search the car because it’s on video. And even if you do, the evidence you get can’t be used by police.’ That doesn’t make sense,” he said, adding that the bill’s language is incredibly strong and open to interpretation.
“The bill also specifies that a police officer who stops someone speeding over 40 kilometers per hour cannot use evidence of the traffic stop in court, even if consent is given. “It doesn’t say anything about ‘maybe’ or anything; it clearly says ‘cannot be used,'” he said. .
Slaughter told local media this week that the bill aims to start a conversation about racial bias in Illinois at the hands of police.
Tom Weitzel was chief of police in Riverside, Illinois. (Tom Weitzel)
“For decades, Illinois has grappled with the challenge of racial bias in traffic stops and the disparate outcomes that too often result,” Slaughter said in a statement, according to WCIA. “At no point in this effort is the goal to take away the tools police need to keep their communities safe, but instead to continue having important conversations. House Bill 4603 continues that conversation. “We hope that in our discussions with law enforcement and advocates we will be able to identify “minor violations that do not, in and of themselves, require a traffic stop.” ”
Weisel said Slaughter’s portrayal of rampant racial profiling of drivers by Illinois State Police is “completely false.”
Democratic Illinois Congressman Justin Slaughter. (Illinois General Assembly)
“For decades, law enforcement has had to submit this traffic stop data through the Illinois Department of Transportation…and then have an independent organization review it and issue a report to the governor each year in the state legislature. The report “doesn’t show any bias or racial profiling. It shows things like how many traffic stops were made. It doesn’t show any racial breakdown, such as male or female. “There is,” he said.
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Slaughter told Fox Digital that he was inspired by former President Barack Obama’s 2003 bill while serving in the Illinois State Senate. President Obama sponsored a racial profiling law that would collect data from every police stop in the state, but it had a five-year expiration clause until Slaughter made it permanent in 2019.
“Racial disparities are widening. The data will show that this is a problem across Illinois. We are also seeing law enforcement agencies increasingly not complying with this law.” ,” Slaughter said. “…In fairness to law enforcement and in fairness to law-abiding Illinois residents, the bill as drafted is very broad. [It’s] Excessive prohibition regarding traffic stops. ”
“I understand the reaction, but it was more about getting that reaction than starting a conversation,” he continued. “And to start a comprehensive dialogue with stakeholders, law enforcement and the public on this particular subject. And the end result of any kind of bill or law will definitely be more narrow. Sho.”
Chicago traffic jam. (Patrick Gorski/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Weitzel said the effort is another attempt by local Democrats to defund the police and denounced it as a failed “disaster” that has led to plummeting recruitment and retention rates in the Prairie State. .
“Defunding the police is over. If you haven’t noticed, look around America. Defunding the police was a disaster. It was more of a talking point, a kind of 30-second soundbite.” he said. ”
“The problem is that the police force can’t recruit and retain anymore. So the damage was done beforehand. And now we’re going to have to pay for that for 10 years to staff and retain.” he said. “It seems almost [Slaughter’s] Portrays all law enforcement officers as biased. ”
On February 22nd, Gov. J.B. Pritzker joined lawmakers and community activists, including state Rep. Justin Slaughter (left) and state Sen. Elsie Sims Jr. (right), to introduce a sweeping criminal justice and police reform bill. HB 3653” was signed into law. , 2021. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) (Getty Images)
“Of course, there are idiots in our profession, like any other profession. We’re not perfect, as you know. But that’s a minority of police officers. And the best way to deal with it is to The chief needs to act immediately and remove those officers through legal means.” It is completely false to say that the majority of law enforcement agencies have some kind of inherent bias. ”
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Weitzel said more Illinois police officers are leaving the state for jobs in states like Florida and Texas, where they receive bonuses and support from local leaders who respect them. But he said the bill would only make recruitment and subsequent retention more difficult. officials.
The bill, proposed months after Illinois’ Safe-T law, which Slaughter played a key role in enacting, would complicate crimes and give criminals “gifts” to avoid justice. The former Riverside police chief insisted. Among other reforms, the Safe-T Act eliminated cash bail.
Chicago Police Department in Chicago’s West Inglewood neighborhood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images))
“lots of [suspects] You’d say to the officer, “Hey, Safe-T Act, I know you can’t detain me, so go ahead and handle me.” That’s true and you have to let them go. So they’ll see something like this and say, “Police, they can’t stop us.” So if I keep it under 40km/h, even if I’m wearing a fake license plate, a fictitious license plate, or someone else’s license plate, they can That cannot be used as a reason for suspension. ,'” He said.
In the wake of the 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the rhetoric about defunding the police, politicians in their home state of Illinois, particularly in Cook County, began to “disparage” police. I felt emboldened to push through legislation like the Safe-T Act without gathering proper insight from law enforcement. Mr. Weitzel claimed he asked police questions about how such a law would affect public safety and law enforcement.
With this bill, Weitzel said, Illinois lawmakers appear to be stripping police of their patrol duties and effectively turning them into firefighters.
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“They want this to be a firefighter,” he said. “Firefighters, they’re waiting inside the station until a call comes in. That’s not a criticism. That’s their job. So you know what they want their officers to do. Or? Just find a parking spot and sit there all day.” “Answer calls on the radio for a long time. That’s it. Don’t patrol. Don’t patrol aggressively. Preventative.” “We shouldn’t be on patrol,” he said.
Slaughter told Fox News Digital that he is “confident” that ultimately, although not in the near future, they will be able to have “the meaningful and fruitful conversations that we need” about the bill.
