Illinois Law Enforcement Training And Standards Board met March 3.
Here are the minutes provided by the board:
I. CALL TO ORDER & PUBLIC MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT
The Quarterly Board meeting was called to order at 10:01 a.m. by Chairman Mitchell R. Davis III, and the Public Meeting announcement was read:
This is a public meeting of the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board. Chapter 50, Act 705, Sections 1 through 12 of the Illinois Compiled Statues has allowed for the creation of the Board, and has defined its functions, powers, duties, and responsibilities. The Board is directed by the Act to meet a minimum of four times per year, and this meeting constitutes one of the four regularly scheduled quarterly meetings. Consistent with State Statute and Administrative Directive, this meeting has been announced to the general public by being posted on the Board’s website. The meeting Agenda has been properly published and distributed.
For purposes of facilitating the conduct of an orderly meeting, we intend to follow the published Agenda, so that we may complete our business in a timely manner.
In accordance with Section 2.06(e) of the Open Meetings Act, this meeting is being conducted as an audio and video conference pursuant to the Governor’s COVID-19 disaster declaration and the chairman’s determination that in-person attendance is not practical or prudent because of this disaster. Members and attendees are asked to remain muted unless speaking. Accordingly, all final actions will be conducted via a roll call vote.
The meeting Agenda allows for public input. This Board encourages public comment and opinion that is both relevant to the business of this Board and is directed toward fostering improvement of law enforcement training in this state. Anyone wishing to make a public comment may send an email to the Board at ptb.comments@illinois.gov - before the end of today. Any such email designated as a public comment, will be reviewed by Board staff and included or summarized in the meeting minutes.
Thank you for attending this meeting. Your interest in the business of the Board is appreciated.
Chairman Davis reiterated that anyone wishing to make a public comment should email their comment to the email that was given during the Public Announcement. During the Public Announcement portion of the meeting those comments will be summarized, he then asked for the email to be shared once again.
II. ROLL CALL – ESTABLISHMENT OF QUORUM
Roll was called by Michelle Mlinar, and a quorum of voting members was established.
Members in Attendance:
Mitchell Davis
Sean Smoot
Tim Gleason
John Idleburg
Brendan Kelly
Iris Martinez
Ghida Neukirch
Timothy Nugent
J. W. Price
LaDon Reynolds
Richard Watson
Designees in Attendance:
Antoinette Ursitti for David Brown
Marlon Parks for Thomas Dart
Pat Connolly for Rob Jeffreys
Josh Ward for Brendan Kelly
John Carroll for Kwame Raoul
Keith Calloway
Cheryllynn Williams
Michelle Mlinar
Kristina Shelton
Ellen Petty
Those Presenting Agenda Items
John Keigher
Heather Hotz
Paul Petty
Jennifer Wooldridge
Kelly Ingram
Due to WebEx format, there is no available listing of all guests listening in on the meeting.
III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
IV. MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR FALLEN OFFICERS
Chairman Davis asked for a moment of silence for our fallen officers
V. INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS & VISITORS
VI. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A. Special Meeting of the Board (Open Session Only)
December 8, 2021
B. Curriculum and School Standards Advisory Committee Meeting
December 8, 2021
C. Finance & Legislative Committee Meeting
December 8, 2021
D. Quarterly Board Meeting
December 9, 2021
Motion was made by Watson, seconded by Smoot, and carried by all members present via roll call to approve the minutes of the Special Meeting of the Board (Open Session Only), Curriculum and School Standards Advisory Committee Meeting, and the Joint Finance & Legislative Committee Meeting all from December 8, 2021, and the Quarterly Board Meeting from December 9, 2021.
VII. REPORT OF STANDING ADVISORY COMMITTEES
A. Curriculum and School Standards Advisory Committee – LaDon Reynolds
Committee Chairman Reynolds stated there were no applications received for school or course certification. There was a discussion regarding advanced and specialized courses for certification and recertification. Paul Petty, Manager of In-Service Training, gave a verbal report on the In-Service certified courses. Jennifer Wooldridge, Manager of Operations & Special Programs, gave a report on the CIT for Veterans program and the SRO Refresher course. There were no applications received for Lead Homicide Investigators 32-Hour courses. Under unfinished business, Executive Institute Director Heather Hotz reported on the Court Security Officer Special Certification course. Under new business Deputy Director Cheryllynn Williams spoke to the transitions forthcoming in the canine program. The Illinois State Police was recognized for their adoption of the 10 Shared Principles and their collaborative effort between the Illinois Chiefs of Police and the NAACP. The Illinois State Police is the first statewide law enforcement agency in the country to adopt the principles.
Motion was made by Smoot, seconded by Kelly, and carried by all members present via roll call to approve the Curriculum and School Standards Advisory Committee report.
B. Finance & Legislative Committee – Sean Smoot
Committee Chairman Smoot stated a Fiscal report was given by Kristina Shelton at their meeting earlier today, and details about her report will be given later in this meeting. Smoot stated he had attended both appropriations committee meetings for the Board and complimented Keith Calloway and staff on their presentation, they did an excellent job. The good news is that the Governor has included an additional $35M in our upcoming budget, we will have more resources than we have ever had. The committee discussed several initiatives scheduled to occur under the SAFE-T Act regarding training. The changes needed regarding officers training cycles need to be cleaned up and we need to make it so CIT trained officers can respond to the new 988 system. Also need to define roles of the investigators and clear up the modification of the camera grant to include storage.
Motion was made by Watson, seconded by Gleason, and carried by all members present via roll call to approve the Finance & Legislative Committee report.
C. Special Personnel Committee – Sean Smoot
Committee Chairman Smoot stated the personnel committee is meeting every three to four weeks. There was a discussion earlier this morning and Ellen Petty will be providing the Board with a full report later in this meeting. Smoot is satisfied that the new Executive Director job description has been approved by CMS and we are waiting for final approval to post. Once final approval is received it will be posted for 30 days. Staff is making progress with other positions, we have hired some and lost some but we are moving forward.
Motion was made by Neukirch, seconded by Idleburg, and carried by all members present via roll call to approve the Special Personnel Committee report.
VIII. EXECUTIVE MATTERS
A. Financial Items – Kristina Shelton
1. FY22 Expenditures through February 4, 2022
2. Cash Flow Analysis for Funds:
a. Fund 356: Camera Grant Fund
b. Fund 517: Police Training Intern Fund
c. Fund 879: Traffic and Criminal Conviction Surcharge Fund 3. FY23 Governor Proposed Budget
Kristina Shelton stated her reports can be found under TAB G in the Board Book. In the FY23 Budget there is an increase of $35M; $2.5 M in salary increases due to new hires and an increased headcount to 65 by end of FY23, $.5M increase in operations due to staff, a $10M General Revenue transfer increase for the Camera Grant Fund, and a $10M appropriation increase to spend that transfer, $10M appropriation into a new 743 fund which is a startup cost for the agency – unclear what the revenues will be for this fund so we are being cautious. We are working closely with the Department of Insurance regarding the surcharge fund as they are saying the fund will generate $30M. We are looking for it to generate around $10M as we remain cautious, we will know more by the end of June. There is also a $1.3M increased appropriation for training costs which is the direct payments to our training institutions.
Tim Nugent asked if we will need expanded/new facility with the increase in personnel. Shelton responded that we have no more room or places for people to sit. She stated we hope to use the new 743 Fund for space and equipment issues. Director Calloway stated we are looking at facilities in the Springfield area that would fit our needs. The projections are positive and we hope to move within the next year or two.
Ghida Neukirch asked for an explanation for the difference between the appropriations for training and training services, and could there be a narrative to go along with the budget to explain the differences. Shelton agreed to create a narrative to help explain differences in the budget. Regarding the differences in appropriations for FY21-FY23, we are bound by the amount of funds available and in FY22 the true money was not available so we made fund transfers with approval from the Governor’s office to cover costs. We did receive the approval to make the $5M transfer so we will get the full $8M and be able to make full payments.
Smoot commented for the public listening in that historically, we are at the end of a multi-year strategy to move the Boards funding from the Traffic Ticket Surcharge Fund, which was not a stable form of funding, to receive General Revenue funds from the state. There have been years when the money was budgeted and appropriated, but fines weren’t being imposed therefore money wasn’t in the fund to be distributed. General Revenue funds are dedicated funds from the state which provides the Board with a much more stable platform from which to operate.
Brendan Kelly asked how the funding looks for the MTU’s. Smoot stated during the Finance and Legislative meeting held this morning it was reported there will be an increase of $400,000 to pay out to the MTU’s. Shelton agreed and stated the MTU’s will be fully funded for FY22. The MTU’s payments are based upon their budgets, depending on the budgets they submit and the funding the Board receives, we hope they will be fully funded for FY23 as well. The MTU funding comes from the Traffic and Criminal Conviction Surcharge fund and a transfer from General Revenue, FY22 there was $8M and for FY23 it had increased to $8.4M. Kelly asked if any communication has been shared with the MTU’s regarding this.
Motion was made by Idleburg, seconded by Smoot, and carried by all members present via roll call to approve the Fiscal report.
4. Approval of the $2M Camera Grant Funds for FY22 - added to the Agenda during meeting
Shelton asked for the approval to open the FY22 Camera Grant and issue the FY22 funds.
Motion was made by Smoot, seconded by Watson, and carried by all members present via roll call to approve the $2M in Camera Grant funds for FY22.
B. Personnel Matters – Ellen Petty
In addition to the report in TAB H. In the last year since the passage of the SAFE-T Act; 26 job descriptions have been either created or updated, 11 new employees have been hired, three employees have been promoted, three employees have transferred to other agencies, four employees have retired, one employee has been discharged, one employee is pending discharge, one retired employee has returned on a 75-day temporary appointment, eight positions are currently in various stages of the hiring process and nine additional job descriptions are planned for development and possible posting prior to the end of FY22. Since our December meeting we have hired Paul Petty as our Manager of Mandated Training. He started on December 16th and comes to us from the Illinois Gaming Board, and prior to that he was Pike County Sheriff for 20 years. Kelly Griffith, General Legal Counsel, left us on January 15th and has taken a position with Illinois State Police. We hired two Certification Specialists who started with us this past Tuesday; Stormie DeJaynes from the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, and Jo Blackburn from the Department on Aging. We also had a FOIA officer hired, but she decided to not accept the transfer offer and stay with her current agency. We will be starting interviews for the two open fiscal positions and the FOIA Officer position. We are waiting for results from examining to invite qualified applicants to interview for the Network Administrator position. We are in the process of hiring a new General Counsel and Deputy Director of Professional Standards, both jobs have been posted and resumes are currently under review. The Executive Directors job description has been updated, approved by CMS and is ready to post. We are waiting the final level of approval then the posting will go live and stay live for 30 days. Andrew Oldfield has created a page on our website for job opportunities, and if you go to that page you can register to get notifications of job postings.
C. Law Enforcement/Corrections/Court Security Waiver Disposition Quarterly Report – Chairman Davis
Chairman Davis referred the Board members to the report under Tab I.
Motion was made by Watson, seconded by Neukirch, and carried by all members present via roll call to approve the Waiver Disposition Quarterly Report.
D. Legislative and Litigation Update – John Keigher
John Keigher stated he is very happy to report that the Board remains free of any lawsuits at this time.
The Board is involved in a pending claim before the Illinois Human Rights Commission involving our continued reliance on records that have since been sealed regarding the denial of a training waiver. The case was initially dismissed but then appealed, and now remanded for further evidentiary findings.
As to legislation, the General Assembly is moving quickly this year with the intention of completing its work in mid-April rather than late May. Last week we had our House Budget hearing and this week we appeared virtually before the Senate. Both hearings went very well, and we offered a thorough justification for the increased amounts we are scheduled to receive next fiscal year.
Several bills are being watched this year regarding mental health trainings and first responder wellness provisions, as well as a few that would codify the process for addressing out of state waiver requests. However, all of the bills we were watching along these lines failed to pass out of their respective committees.
Specific to the Police Training Act, the only bill we are monitoring is HB 4348 filed by Representative West which would amend the Camera Grant Act and allow us to grant awards to all police agencies of a unit of local government rather than just municipalities, counties, and universities. With this change, park districts, METRA, and certain other entities will become eligible for our awards. Given the increased funding appropriated for the program next year, this should not restrict or limit the awards we would ordinarily grant.
We have not seen much this session addressing criminal justice matters, likely as we wait for the revisions of the SAFE-T Act to come into effect in July. If we get the opportunity, we will ask for a few changes to be made that will allow the Board to better implement the modifications of the Police Training Act. During
today’s legislative meeting Keigher went into detail regarding a few of the items we wish to address:
• Clean up and clarify the annual and tri-annual in-service mandates
• Clarify the role of Illinois State Police’s investigations regarding Board investigators
• Address changes to the MTU funding structure in light of the new revenues anticipated from the Law Enforcement Training Fund
• Ensure that CIT officers are not wholly excluded from responding to mental health and behavioral disturbance calls
• Allow camera grant funds to be used for data storage
If the opportunity arises yet this session to pursue any of these, Keigher will inform the Board and likely reach out with a request for support.
Chairman Davis asked for a timeline/bullet points with effective dates to be available on our website. Keigher responded that we could do that, but we need to wait for the Legislative Reference Bureau. They are responsible for integrating all the different trailer bills into one version, and once complete we will put something up on our website.
E. Chairman Remarks – Chairman Davis
Chairman Davis attended the Southern Illinois Criminal Justice Summit in Effingham and was able to represent the Illinois Chiefs and the Training Board at the event.
Chairman Davis is going to form a task force to address concerns regarding part time police officers and the program. The task force would bring recommendations to the Board to address the existing part time program issues and help promote legislative reform to the existing system. This task force will include Chief Dan Ryan, from the Illinois Chiefs Association Board, and Director David Hayes from Southwestern Illinois Law Enforcement Commission (MTU 14), and he would like to have at least one Board member on this task force.
Regarding the SAFE-T Act training mandates, PERF (Police Executive Research Forum) has an ICAT (Integrating Communications and Tactics) program that focuses on the safety of officers. Davis would like it to be a standard in Illinois. It teaches officers to do their job in a less rushed pace especially around use of force. He has been through the train the trainer program and would like them to present their program to the Board.
Chairman Davis spoke to the 10 Shared Principles developed by the Illinois Chiefs Association and the NAACP. After two years of café meetings throughout Illinois they came up with these principles for adoption by law enforcement agencies. Almost 200 agencies and entities have signed on with Motorola being the first corporation, and Illinois State Police being the first statewide law enforcement agency in the country to sign on. ISP is now the first academy to make the 10 Shared Principles part of their curriculum. At some point, Davis would like the Board to consider adopting these principles.
IX. PROGRAM PROGRESS REPORTS AND CONCEPTS
A. Illinois Law Enforcement Executive Institute – Heather Hotz
Heather Hotz reported the Executive Institutes offerings in executive summits was up 300% last year. They created a virtual summit on Cybersecurity for Law Enforcement held in January. Hotz thanked Illinois State Police for their participation and City Manager Neukirch for the recommendation.
The Engagement that Meets Mission Summit is coming up in Bloomington, Illinois on March 24th for police executives and upper-level management regarding the eight levels of supervisory engagement.
The Women in Criminal Justice Conference is coming up in Bloomington Normal, Illinois on April 12-13. This is the 11th year for this conference.
The Online Learning Network (OLN) is a custom-built learning management system which offers courses created with the help of state, regional and national experts to create courses. Currently OLN is at 28,000 students, with a 558% increase in five years. Courses completed from March 2017 to March 2022 have increased 4,513%. Development of new courses to meet the upcoming mandates continues and the curriculum is constantly being updated.
Police Executive Role in the 21st Century is currently live and in its second of three weeks. This class is being held in Aurora and is an advanced professional level program. There is also a supervisory course starting in April.
OLN classes are offered as cost recovery, there is a small administration fee, but the cost is under the national standard cost.
B. A Statewide System of In-Service Training (ASSIST) Program and Specialized Training Programs – Paul Petty
Paul Petty introduced himself to the Board and noted his report is under Tab K. Attachment 1 discusses monies released to the MTU’s through the second quarter. Attachment 2 breaks down training, and Attachment 3 provides the current DRE status updated at the end December 2021. Attachments 4 & 5 address the IDOT Traffic Safety Grants. Petty noted he is just 60 days into his position, but thanked the MTU Directors for their support, leadership and willingness to provide the highest level of training to our professionals throughout the state.
IDOT Grant 401, considered non-alcohol grants, classes are disbursed by MTU 2, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15 & 16. IDOT Grant 1306, considered alcohol grants, classes are disbursed through each MTU.
C. CIT & SRO Training Update – Jennifer Wooldridge
Jennifer Wooldridge stated her report can be found under Tab L. She also reported that earlier today the Curriculum Committee approved a new 8-hour CIT Veterans course, and a 2-day SRO Refresher course for seasoned SRO officers.
D. Information Technology Update – Kelly Ingram
Kelly Ingram stated Tab M contains current projects, with other items to come. Our biggest issue right now is the acquisition of staff systems and servers. Also looking into cybersecurity assurance, we want to make sure all the necessary equipment is in place to protect the external as well as internal systems.
E. Part-Time Basic Training Update – Paul Petty
Petty stated this report in under Tab N, it lists the five MTUs that offer the part time basic academy. For clarification, in the report, the heading "enrolled" refers to all recruits enrolled, and "graduated" refers to those who have successfully graduated and passed the test. The graduation rate is a bit flawed as the number who walked in may not be the same as the number finishing the course. Going forward, Petty plans to update the report so these numbers will be documented more correctly. Director Calloway responded to Tim Nugent’s question regarding officers in the part-time program, those numbers will be sent out after the meeting.
Motion was made by Nugent, seconded by Watson, and carried by all members present via roll call to approve all Program Progress Reports.
X. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
A. SAFE-T Act Update – John Keigher
The second trailer to the SAFE-T Act was passed in early January and it pushed back the dates for the new certification and in-service training requirements to July 1st of 2022.
We have already implemented the changes required to the basic curriculums and several new in-service courses have been approved and are being offered ahead of schedule. We were also able to go live with the public portal before the new year – now anyone can look up certain general information for each active law enforcement officer in the state.
As previously mentioned, we are moving forward with new employees by bringing aboard 2 certification specialists this week. This will allow us to ramp up and streamline our background check process as we prepare for changes coming in to effect soon.
Our IT staff remains hard at work redeveloping our applications to working on the misconduct database so that it will track interagency exchanges of information that are required by law, so our system ensures each agency’s compliance with the Act.
Additionally, we have recently executed MOUs with other state agencies to share resources as our needs related investigations and printing are expected to grow exponentially.
Finally, we are in the early stages of planning a new training webinar with the Executive Institute that will be helpful to both the new Certification Review Panel as well as existing Board members when it becomes available.
B. Mental Health Screenings – John Keigher
John Keigher noted back in September, the Board issued a preliminary approval for a set of statewide mental health screening standards for us to comply with the first deadlines of the Safe-T Act. At our last meeting, Keigher mentioned we had received some comments regarding this version and the Board’s duty to establish mental health screening standards for new and experienced officers. The core components of this first version established a model policy that could function across the state as a baseline for addressing concerns and maintaining the confidentiality needed. Nevertheless, the comments asserted that we should give consideration to the concerns of management and service providers.
Since then, we have been watching a few bills in the House that would amend the underlying provision that establishes the Board’s mandate to create mental health screening standards. [HB 4497 would lower the requirements, while HB 4480 would take them further and make them statewide requirements for all police agencies and officers.] With these bills still pending and the General Assembly working on an accelerated schedule this year, it would be best to wait and see if this section gets amended before we make any further changes.
With that, it’s Keigher’s recommendation that the Board holds off on making any changes on these standards at this time. He recommends coming back before the Curriculum Committee either in June or earlier at a special meeting to collectively address the comments we have received and determine the best way to address them, keeping our preliminary approved standards in place. Currently our experts in CIT and Officer Wellness are providing feedback, as well as feedback from local agencies, and now the third group of trained service providers.
C. Camera Grant Rules – John Keigher
At the December Board meeting, we distributed a draft of proposed revisions to the Board’s Camera Grant Rules. Since then, we’ve received feedback from members as well as other state administrators who have suggested we update the rules to accommodate the changes to the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act. Keigher stated he made some changes to the December draft, and stated they are ready to go and be filed with JCAR to hopefully go in to effect immediately or to be put on an accelerated schedule so they can be in place for the remainder of FY22 grant program. JCAR and the Secretary of State must approve before we can go forward with these changes. We could wait to open the program to see if these changes can be approved, but we are able to open the program as it is now and hopefully the rules will be in effect at the close of the program.
Motion was made by Watson, seconded by Smoot, and carried by all members present via roll call to approve the amended rules for the Camera Grant.
Chairman Davis took a moment to thank the Board staff as they are reinventing the organization, and a special thank you was given to Director Calloway for his work. Davis also wanted to make it clear that the national search is in no way reflective of the work Director Calloway is doing, the Board is doing the search to remain transparent and to make sure everything is above board.
XI. NEW BUSINESS
• Sheriff Richard Watson asked, with the new focus on mental health, if we could come up with a psychological requirement for applicants before officers even enter the profession. Chairman Davis asked Director Calloway to put this on the list of things to review. Watson asked that it be considered as a possible statute.
• Chief LaD0n Reynolds asked to make a motion for the Illinois Law Enforcement Training & Standards Board to publically affirm and adopt the 10 Shared Principles. Reynolds asked this motion be included on the June agenda, and that today the Board would support a resolution showing support.
Motion was made by Reynolds, seconded by Watson, and carried by all members present via roll call to for the Illinois Law Enforcement Training & Standards Board to have a resolution to support the 10 Shared Principles.
Davis stated that with the adoption of the 10 Shared Principles, there is a ceremony with the Illinois Chiefs Association. At the next meeting the Board members will sign off on the principles.
• Clerk of the Circuit Court Iris Martinez asked for clarity on the laws created around the elections for sheriff. Martinez asked if corrections officers are law enforcement officers and Chairman Davis stated that they are not sworn law enforcement officers, though Sheriff’s Police are. Therefore Sheriff’s Police and Law Enforcement officers can run for Sheriff, but not Corrections officers. She asked for the role of the Board for waivers and certification when it comes to the election of a sheriff. Chairman Davis noted certification and waivers are two different processes; certification is when an officer graduates from a police academy, and a waiver is when someone is an officer and has completed an academy, equivalent to our academy, from another state. Keigher stated the Administrative rules account for the equivalency exam which allows us to establish a reciprocity process. When hired the agency decides the path an officer will take, law enforcement, corrections or court security, then the agency can request a waiver based on past experience. Eligibility to run for sheriff is not determined by the Board, it will be handled at the electoral level.
XII. PUBLIC INPUT
All public comments for WebEx format meetings should be emailed, prior to the meeting, to PTB.Comments@Illinois.gov, and all submissions received by the deadline will be attached to the meeting minutes.
John Keigher reported that there was only one submission for Public Comments from Marcus Hargrett. To summarize, Mr. Hargrett is a Cook County Correctional Officer advocating for those correctional officers to be eligible for the IROCC program. His entire email will be included as an attachment to the March 3, 2022 meeting minutes.
XIII. ANNOUNCEMENTS
A. Curriculum and School Standards Advisory Committee Meeting
June 1, 2022, Tinley Park, Illinois
B. Joint Finance/Legislative & Executive Committee Meeting
June 1, 2022, Tinley Park, Illinois
C. Quarterly Board Meeting
June 2, 2022, Tinley Park, Illinois
XIV. ADJOURNMENT
Motion was made by Watson, seconded by Gleason, and carried by all members present via roll call to adjourn the meeting at 11:54 a.m.
https://www.ptb.illinois.gov/media/1710/2022-03-03-final-march-quarterly-full-board-meeting-minutes.pdf
Alerts Sign-up