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The Bill includes the entirety of the PFA, reflecting the Coalition to End Money Bond‘s major policy priorities for pretrial reform: 

• No more detention for simple gun possession (allowing for only about 9% of people arrested in Chicago to be detained compared to about 57% currently); 
• Guaranteed free movement and sentence credit for electronic monitoring; 
• Reductions in penalties for violations of bail bond and electronic monitoring “escape” charges; 
• Mandatory citation (instead of arrest) for Class B and Class C misdemeanors and ordinance violations; and 
• A 30 day cap on jail time for technical violations of pretrial release, like missed court dates, electronic monitoring violations, or low-level arrests.

Although the Bill does not cover every imaginable pretrial issue, the inclusion of the PFA in its entirety offers a substantial set of pretrial reforms.

HB 163 also introduces a number of reforms in policing. The Bill increases training requirements and screenings – it requires increased training on de-escalation, high-risk traffic stops, first aid, and mental illness; it oversees what counts as mandatory training, barring officers from using external trainings that prioritize use-of-force instead of de-escalation to complete requirements; and it requires the Illinois Police Training Board to establish statewide standards for providing confidential mental health treatment to law enforcement officers and a mental health screening program for recruits. It also requires the use of universal body camera standards as a condition for police departments to receive full state funding. Although the Bill does not allocate money, both of these changes are likely to result in a substantial increase in the amount of money appropriated for law enforcement.

Current statute authorizes law enforcement-led “deflection” programs that build program partnerships between police, behavioral health treatment, and community members. The Bill expands the definition, also making non-law enforcement first responders—EMS and fire departments—eligible to lead deflection programs (still in collaboration with law enforcement, treatment, and community partners) and apply for grant funds. The expanded definition also acknowledges co-responder approaches that incorporate behavioral health, peer, or social work professionals at the scene. The Bill prioritizes grants in communities most negatively impacted by over-policing, the War on Drugs, and that have disproportionate access to mental health and drug treatment; builds public awareness of deflection; and supports effective program implementation through education, training, and technical assistance resources.

For years, the Civil Liberties Committee of Chicago Appleseed and the Chicago Council of Lawyers has worked with advocates in Chicago to identify issues in CBAs that contribute to police misconduct. Should it pass, this Bill would also modify the collective bargaining agreements (CBA) of police unions throughout the state. CBAs for officers would only include wages and benefits clauses; discipline-related disputes may not be sent to arbitration; all non-benefits and wages clauses lapse at the expiration of agreements; and residency requirements are allowed for mid-size cities (100,000-1 million). 

The Bill would also modify discipline for police officers. It introduces a new Class 3 felony charge for “law enforcement misconduct,” which includes knowingly and intentionally misrepresenting facts; withholding knowledge of the misrepresentations of another; failing to comply with the Body Worn Camera Act; or committing any other act with the intent to avoid culpability for oneself or another. Officer investigations are changed by: 

• Allowing anonymous complaints and requiring agencies to post procedures for how to submit on their websites; 
• Requiring that all police misconduct records (public and non-public) must be maintained permanently and that records of investigations of use of deadly force must be public; 
• Creating an officer misconduct database accessible to State’s Attorneys; and 
• Requiring officers to report to the State when they have resigned and been charged with any felony or sex offense. It also strengthens whistleblower protections for law enforcement reports of misconduct by broadening the definition of “retaliation.”

Notably, the Bill also modifies qualified immunity and use of force. The Bill creates a civil right of action for individuals against officers for rights violations and use of force, effectively ending qualified immunity; it allows the Attorney General’s Office to sue local police departments to investigate civil rights and use of force issues; and cities must publicly report all civil settlements with the name of officer and any discipline done or criminal charges made. The Bill introduces a requirement to investigate any death in custody (including custodial deaths in jails and prisons) or as a result of use of force and report to the Attorney General’s Office. Local agencies, as a condition for state funding, must report all uses of force that resulted in death or serious bodily harm to the Illinois State Police (ISP), who then must report to an FBI national database as well as notify the victim’s next of kin. 

The Bill includes a commitment to promulgate statewide use of force standards by January 1, 2022. Officers must make reasonable efforts to identify themselves and warn that deadly force is going to be used and may not use deadly force to prevent escape (unless the escapee poses an “imminent threat of harm” to someone) or for someone suspected of a property offense; the Bill bans, under any circumstance, the use of chokeholds, force as punishment or retaliation, rubber bullets targeted at individuals or fired indiscriminately into a crowd, and tear gas without warning given and sufficient time to disperse. Officers would have a duty to render medical care to a victim and the duty to intervene in and report another officer’s use of excessive force. It also bans resisting arrest charges unless the person was initially being arrested for an offense.

The Bill includes other miscellaneous reforms to policing, such as when a Special Prosecutor is appointed in Cook County, they must be from the State’s Attorney’s Appellate Division. It attempts to decrease law enforcement militarization by barring the purchasing of tanks, weaponized aircrafts, automatic weapons, grenade launchers, drones, tear gas, and some other categories of military equipment by police departments, and requiring the public reporting of all acquisitions from military surplus. It requires some additional attestations by law enforcement when seeking a no-knock warrant – although still allowing no-knock warrants (body cameras must be on, there must be plans for children/vulnerable people, and there must be reporting if the warrant was served on the wrong address).