Kendall County Times

Lawmakers in Springfield are considering legislation that would increase the penalty for the assault or harassment of a police officer to Class 3 felonies. 

James Marter, the Kendall County Republican chairman who is running for the 14th District Congressional seat, is stepping up to voice his support the Police Crime Bill, which is sponsored by State Rep. Marty Moylan (D-Des Plaines). Marter said he supports anything intended to protect law enforcement officials. 

“I'm not a huge fan of terms like hate crime because I think all crime is hate in one way or another,” he said. “Crime should be defined by a bad action and that's at all times. I think we should make criminal assault against an officer a serious offense and I think there are different degrees but any level of attack should be handled in a serious manner.”

According to the Washington News Post, the legislation also labels any incident in which a person attacks or stalks a law enforcement official as a hate crime. In addition to the Police Crime Bill, Mater said it may be time to reconsider legislation passed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Democrats in Springfield.  

“We need to repeal a multitude of laws that Pritzker and Democrats have passed in the last year, like no-bond bail,” Mater said. “There were all kinds of law enforcement agencies that were opposed to that, and Democrats passed it anyway.” 

According to the News Post, the proposed Police Crime Bill also has its detractors, among them the ACLU Illinois. Ed Yohnka, with that organization, that the proposals don't address the problems because studies show that increasing penalties for crimes rarely reduces incidents of that crime. 

Marter disagrees, adding that he isn’t surprised the organization would be against the proposal. 

“We don’t talk about these things as we should,” he said. “Laws do have effect on criminal action, but if we don't enforce them as we should, people feel immune, feel they have immunity no matter what. The deterrent has to be known; people have to know.”

A July 2020 protest over a Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park involving more than 1,000 people that turned violent, and Moylan told the News Post that serves as a clear indication that legislation to protect police is needed. 

The News Post also cited FBI statistics that show that more than 60,000 law enforcement officers were injured in the line of duty across the country in 2020. 

While being transparent and noting that she hasn’t had an opportunity to read the proposed legislation, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot told Illinois News Today it is important to send a message that tells people they will be held accountable for their actions. She also told the publication that the events surrounding the Grant Park violence will not soon be forgotten by her or those officers involved in the violence.