Shelby County, IL sheriff announces resignation, cites police reform

 SHELBY COUNTY, Ill. - Shelby County's sheriff announced his resignation from office, citing police reform legislation as the reason. 

In a letter making the announcement, Sheriff Don Koonce said he will step down on June 25, 2021. 

"This decision was not an easy one for me to make, but (was) reaffirmed by the imminent change in police reform," Koonce said. "It is my hope that Illinois legislators dive deep into this reform and make sweeping changes. The safety of the public is at risk." 

This follows a massive criminal justice reform bill of over 700 pages in length signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker in February. The law eliminated cash bail in the state and mandated police body camera usage for all officers. It limited the use of force, among other changes. 

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'Squad' Dems may unravel police-reform deal in push to end qualified immunity

The demands -- which stop short of a threat to vote against any bill that doesn't roll back qualified immunity but come close to that line -- could doom legislation that Republicans and Democrats have been negotiating for weeks. 

The letter is signed by Reps. Cori Bush, D-Mo.; Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass.; Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y.; Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.; Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.; Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J.; Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.; and Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill. 

Qualified immunity is a protection that shields government officials of all stripes from being personally sued for violating somebody's rights in the course of reasonably doing their jobs unless the breached rights are "clearly established in the law." In practice, this often means that police officers who go well beyond their authority in handling an incident cannot be held civilly liable for their actions. 

"We are concerned by recent discussions that the provision ending qualified immunity for local, state, and federal law enforcement may be removed in order to strike a bipartisan deal in the Senate," the letter said. "Given that police violence, as a weapon of structural racism, continues to have devastating and deadly consequences for Black and brown lives across our country, we strongly urge you to not only maintain but strengthen the provision eliminating qualified immunity as negotiations in the Senate continue."

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Sen. Shelley Moore Capito Backs Sen. Scott’s Police Reform Proposal

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) weighed in on the police reform debate on Capitol Hill. In an interview Sunday, Moore Capito said she supports Sen. Tim Scott’s (R-S.C.)’s efforts to bring forward a balanced bill.

Scott recently said lawmakers are focusing on a handful of issues, like ending qualified immunity, a federal ban on chokeholds, and no-knock warrants. Moore Capito said Scott has been across the aisle, and she believes “the time is now,” as there is a real desire to get legislation on the matter done and done right.

She added, qualified immunity is a hot-button issue right now.

“I think the way that Senator Scott has formulated some revisions to qualified immunity is on the table right now,” Moore Capito said. “I know he is in active negotiations on this piece.”

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New bill would end qualified immunity for police officers in Illinois

A bill that would put an end to qualified immunity for police officers is making its way through the Illinois House.

The Bad Apples in Law Enforcement Accountability Act of 2021 would allow for civil litigation against law enforcement officers if they ‘deprive any individual rights guaranteed under the Illinois Constitution.’

Officers who ‘fail to intervene’ could also be held accountable.

Governor Pritzker signed a police reform bill in February that included ending cash bail. The end to qualified immunity was included in an early version of Pritzker’s Illinois police reform bill but was left out.

Several local law enforcement agencies strongly opposed the measure and a petition urging Pritzker to veto the bill garnered more than 150,000 signatures.

Those who oppose the action say the bill prohibits peace officers from fulfilling their sworn oath and duty.

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