MINUTES

Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority

Budget Committee

Wednesday, January 21, 1998

120 South Riverside Plaza

Chicago, Illinois

Call to Order and Roll Call

The Budget Committee of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority met on January 21, 1998, at the Authority offices. Budget Committee Chairman Richards called the meeting to order at 1:45 p.m. Other Committee and Authority members in attendance were Authority Chairman Bensinger, Budget Committee Vice-Chair Engel (via telephone), Authority Vice-Chair Buckwalter, Mr. Apa, Director Goetten, Mr. Mark and Deputy Attorney General Stock.

Also in attendance were Acting Executive Director Candice Kane, Robert Taylor and other members of Authority staff.

Approval of the Minutes of the December 5, 1997 Meeting

Chairman Richards directed the Committee members’ attention to Tab 9 of the meeting packet and called for a motion to approve the minutes of the December 5, 1997 Budget Committee meeting. Such a motion was made by Vice-Chair Buckwalter, seconded by Mr. Apa, and passed by a unanimous vote.

Approval of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act FFY98 Plan

Chairman Richards directed the Committee members’ attention to three FFY98 funding charts entitled, State Detail, Local Detail, and Summary.

Mr. Taylor reported that the following new designations were addressed at the State Agencies meeting and are being recommended on the state level:

State Agency / Project / Amount
Illinois Department of Corrections / Cost of Living Increase / $114,790
Illinois State Police / Computer Evidence Recovery / $33,750
Illinois State Police / Child Abuse/Homicide / $168,787
Office of the Attorney General / Sexually Violent Predator / $250,000
Office of the State Appellate Prosecutor / Cost of Living Increase / $14,107
Office of the State Appellate Defender / Continuation of Current Four Projects / $3,800

He reported that all other state level projects are to receive a 2% increase.

Mr. Taylor stated that the Committee must decide how to address the $916,589 that are available to local agencies. He said that the Committee will need to decide whether or not there will be a 2% increase. He explained that if an increase of 2% is given to all of the local entities, there will only be $885,458 remaining. Chairman Richards asked Dr. Kane to address this issue.

Dr. Kane stated that she recommends the funding of the cost of living increase for the Office of the State Appellate Prosecutor and the earmarking of funds in the amount of $150,000 for statewide training at the local level, exclusive of the City of Chicago. She also suggested that staff is directed to continue to pursue the need of public defenders with respect to sex offenders. She said that she has concerns about whether match will be met if funds are made available for local public defenders. She explained that this is a significant problem in all of the small counties. She stated that the Authority frequently foregoes the opportunity to provide federal funding because of the local agencies’ inability to come up with match funds.

Since there was no specific request from the public defenders, she recommended that staff continue to monitor the situation, as the impact of the new Sexual Predator Law is unknown. She suggested that the remainder of the funds be designated at a subsequent meeting, after more information has been gathered regarding the issues raised about the MEGs and Task Forces. She further suggested that funds be reserved for training for the Chicago Police Department (CPD), local equipment needs, and prevention.

Chairman Richards asked if the proposed 2% increase was less than the current level of funding. Mr. Taylor responded that the 2% increase would give the Authority an available amount of $885,458 in local funds. Dr. Kane explained that equipment costs were factored out because the Authority had earmarked a significant amount of funding for it. She explained that the 2% increase would allow raises for staff. She said that if there are any remaining funds, consideration should first be given to the issue of equipment. She stated that the issue of prevention remains unaddressed. Mr. Apa said that it should be left in the overall plan and dealt with subsequently. Dr. Kane agreed that it should remain in the overall plan. She said that since the Violence Prevention Authority has become a viable entity with available revenue, the Authority needs to learn more about what they are doing and what kind of impact it is having.

Vice-Chair Engel stated that the Authority needs to step back and conduct more research on these issues before it can reach a decision making point. Dr. Kane agreed.

Vice-Chair Buckwalter asked if Dr. Kane is recommending that $150,000 be designated for local law enforcement training, $19,984 be designated to the State’s Attorney’s Appellate Prosecutor, and that the rest remain undesignated. Dr. Kane responded yes. She stated that the Authority is also the recipient of some funds from the Violence Prevention Authority. She explained that the funding was given to the Family Violence Coordinating Councils to gather family violence data that will be used to develop a comprehensive analysis of the issue.

Dr. Kane said that the Authority is making a concerted outreach effort and has already gathered a lot of information. She stated that the information will be provided to the Family Violence Coordinating Council, the statewide council, and the Violence Prevention Authority. She said that this should enable some thoughtful planning.

Vice-Chair Engel suggested that funding be set aside for the prevention program. She said that once additional research information and direction has been gathered, the Committee can then designate more funds to the program. Chairman Richards said that if the Committee accepts Dr. Kane’s recommendation, funds in the amount of $715, 458 will remain undesignated.

Vice-Chair Engel asked how much money will be designated for the Police Training Board at the state level. Mr. Taylor responded that $47,000 will be designated on the state level. Dr. Kane explained that these funds will be used primarily to improve interviewing techniques with a focus on enabling local law enforcement officers to have more positive interactions with victims and witnesses of violent crimes. She said that during the planning process, it became clear that the success of the investigation rides very heavily on the ability to elicit information from someone who is in crisis. She said that the board wisely identified the need to improve the effectiveness of officers responding to the scene and gathering critical information at a difficult time.

Chairman Richards called for a motion to approve Draft Resolution A. Such a motion was made by Chairman Bensinger, seconded by Mr. Apa and passed by a unanimous vote.

Designation of the FFY97 Local Law Enforcement Block Grant Funds

Chairman Richards directed the Committee members’ attention to a cherry packet at their places, entitled Recommendations for FFY97 Funding - Local Law Enforcement Block Grants Program. He called on Mr. Taylor to explain.

Mr. Taylor reported that the Authority has been designated $877,519 for the FFY97 Local Law Enforcement Program. He stated that $16,462 will be retained for administrative costs. He reported that an RFP for equipment grants was issued to over 2,000 entities. He said that the Authority received 356 proposals requesting a total of $5,601,477. He explained that 65 proposals were determined ineligible and eliminated because they did not meet the requirements set forth in the RFP. He stated that of the 291 proposals remaining, only 32 were from jurisdictions with a population over 25,000.

He reported that the proposals were reviewed and scored by two panels. He stated that Panel 1 had 14 groups consisting of two readers and Panel 2 had three groups consisting of three to four readers. He explained that the proposals with the highest scores from each group in Panel 1 were forwarded to Panel 2 for review, and that the proposals receiving the highest scores from each group in Panel 2 are the ones that are being recommended for funding.

Mr. Taylor said that staff recommends funding 59 proposals requesting a total of $861,057. He stated that eight proposals requesting a total of $131,038 are from jurisdictions with a population over 25,000, and 51 proposals requesting a total of $730,019 are from jurisdictions with a population under 25,000. He said that these recommendations include funding for 10 sheriffs’ departments and 49 municipal law enforcement agencies.

Mr. Taylor explained that the funds were distributed evenly to cover the costs of items such as vehicles, communication equipment, computers, radar equipment, and breathlizers. He directed the Committee’s attention to a map entitled, FFY97 Local Law Enforcement Block Grants Program. He said that the areas in blue represent direct federal awards, the areas in yellow represent the Authority’s competitive awards, and that the areas in gold represent the direct federal and competitive awards. He explained that the funds are well disbursed throughout the state.

The following charts represent staff’s recommendations for funding:

Jurisdictions with Population Over 25,000 (8)

Law Enforcement Agency / County / Total Request
Clinton County Sheriff’s Department / Clinton / $20,000
Niles Police Department / Cook / $6,114
Fulton County Sheriff’s Department / Fulton / $17,964
Morgan County Sheriff’s Department / Morgan / $17,625
Quad City MEG / Rock Island / $14,400
Whiteside County Sheriff’s Department / Whiteside / $17,685
Blackhawk Area Task Force / Whiteside / $17,250
Williamson County Sheriff’s Department / Williamson / $20,000
Total Amount / $131,038

Jurisdictions with Population Under 25,000 (51)

Law Enforcement Agency / County / Total
Request
Alexander County Sheriff’s Department / Alexander / $19,422
Tamms Police Department / Alexander / $10,212
Mahomet Police Department / Champaign / $17,235
Stonington Police Department / Christian / $19,530
Clay County Sheriff’s Department / Clay / $11,727
Albers Police Department / Clinton / $17,889
Mattoon Police Department / Coles / $20,000
East Hazel Crest Police Department / Cook / $17,290
Ford Heights Police Department / Cook / $19,749
Phoenix Police Department / Cook / $12,393
Olympia Fields Police Department / Cook / $13,420
Lynwood Police Department / Cook / $8,492
LaGrange Police Department / Cook / $12,897
Hodgkins Police Department / Cook / $6,800
Edgar County Sheriff’s Department / Edgar / $5,051
Zeigler Police Department / Franklin / $5,107
Cuba Police Department / Fulton / $18,802
Coal City Police Department / Grundy / $19,845
Hamilton Police Department / Hancock / $17,708
Onarga Police Department / Iroquois / $5,864
Hanover Police Department / JoDaviess / $17,978
Sugar Grove Police Department / Kane / $19,361
Maple Park Police Department / Kane/DeKalb / $19,117
St. Francisville Police Department / Lawrence / $5,089
Ashton Police Department / Lee / $7,020
Dixon Police Department / Lee / $16,614
Wilsonville Police Department / Macoupin / $17,551
Central City Police Department / Marion / $17,625
Salem Police Department / Marion / $15,080
Joppa Police Department / Massac / $13,142
Chenoa Police Department / McLean / $15,158
Lexington Police Department / McLean / $16,532
Athens Police Department / Menard / $19,241
Petersburg Police Department / Menard / $19,730
Panama Police Department / Montgomery / $6,411
San Jose Police Department / Morgan/Logan / $5,159
Barry Police Department / Pike / $13,050
Mounds Police Department / Pulaski / $16,801
Putnam County Sheriff’s Department / Putnam / $6,570
Ellis Grove Police Department / Randolph / $16,732
Hampton Police Department / Rock Island / $14,750
Thayer Police Department / Sangamon / $17,625
Green Valley Police Department / Tazewell / $16,461
South Pekin Police Department / Tazewell / $18,845
Ridge Farm Police Department / Vermilion / $8,485
Georgetown Police Department / Vermilion / $17,300
Wabash County Sheriff’s Department / Wabash / $18,102
Fulton Police Department / Whiteside / $15,307
Beecher Police Department / Will / $4,630
Manhattan Police Department / Will / $20,000
Shorewood Police Department / Will / $15,120
Total Amount / $730,019

Chairman Richards called for a motion to approve Draft Resolution B. Such a motion was made by Mr. Apa, seconded by Director Goetten, and passed by a unanimous vote.

New Business

Vice-Chair Engel asked if the evaluation of the gang crime project had been completed. Dr. Kane responded that there is a lot of written information that has not yet been put into its final format. She said that the Authority will make available the gathered information, which is short and user-friendly. Vice-Chair Engel expressed that she is interested in seeing it.

Adjourn

Chairman Richards adjourned the meeting at 2:05 p.m.

Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority

Budget Committee

January 21, 1998

Page 6