Kankakee Times

Kankakee County Criminal Justice Committee met Jan. 9.

Here is the minutes provided by the committee:

Members Present

Mr. Hess, Mr. Byrne, Mr. Liehr, Mr. LaGesse, Mr. Snipes, Mr. Fairfield, Mr. Carrico, Mr. Ekhoff, Mr. Smith and Ms. Zuccollo

Members Absent

Mr. Olthoff, Ms. Dunbar, Mr. Ritter, and Ms. Parker

In Attendance

 Board Members

Mr. Wheeler, Mr. Sirois, and Mr. Washington

 Department Heads

Sheriff Mike Downey, Robert Gessner, Tom Latham, Sandi Cianci, Wes Andrews, Jim Rowe, and Kevin Duval

Media

Present

1. Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by the Committee Chairman, Mr. Hess at 7:31 a.m.

2. Public Comment

None

3. Approval of Minutes: December 12, 2018

Mr. Byrne made a motion to approve the minutes, and Mr. Ekhoff seconded it.

Motion carried with a voice vote

4. Judicial - Chief Judge Michael Kramer

Chief Judge Kramer was not present.

5. Circuit Clerk’s Office - Sandi Cianci

 Monthly Report

Mr. LaGesse made a motion to approve the monthly report, and Mr. Carrico seconded it.

Ms. Cianci reviewed and discussed the reports with the committee.

Motion carried with a voice vote.

 Computerization Update

Ms. Cianci reviewed and discussed the update with the committee. Ms. Cianci stated that they are still working on the integration, but is still progressing. Ms. Cianci stated that on July 1st there will be a new fine and fee structure. The Circuit Clerks are being trained heavily on that. There will be more updates to come on that new structure.

6. State’s Attorney’s Office – Jim Rowe  Grand Jury Report

Mr. Liehr made a motion to approve the report and Mr. Byrne seconded it.

Mr. Rowe reviewed the report with the committee.

Mr. Rowe stated that he put together some year-end comparison statistics at the request of a board member from the last meeting. The information was included in the packets for the committee. Mr. Rowe noted that there was a 20% reduction in misdemeanors filed from 2016, due in part to the Diversion Accountability Program.

Mr. Rowe stated that he brought Assistant State’s Attorney, Val Gunderson to the meeting. She has been leading the effort on the No Refusal DUI policy. Mr. Rowe requested Ms. Gunderson speaks at the meeting in regards to the DUI efforts.

Motion carried with a voice vote.

Ms. Gunderson reviewed the State’s Attorneys DUI case statistics with the committee. Ms. Gunderson stated that there were only two dismissals for the entire year. There were 170 DUI convictions. There were trial runs of the No Refusal DUI in November and December, as a result, there were five DUI cases filed.

Mr. Rowe wanted to add a special thank you to everyone on Law Enforcement appreciation day. On behalf of the State’s Attorney’s department, he appreciates the relationship between all of the departments and they appreciate the work that they do.

7. Public Defender’s Office – Gus Regas

Mr. Fairfield made a motion to approve the report and Mr. Snipes seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

Mr. Regas was not present.

8. Sheriff/EMA Department – Sheriff Mike Downey

 Monthly Report

Mr. Carrico made a motion to approve the monthly report, and Mr. Byrne seconded it.

Sheriff Downey wanted to start by expressing gratitude for the work done by the State’s Attorney’s office.

Sheriff Downey reviewed the monthly report with the committee. Sheriff Downey commented that the committee should not expect the revenue to increase due to the fact that they only have so many numbers of beds. The US Marshall’s number of inmates has also increased over the past year. There is not just one part of the population that creates revenue.

Regarding Transportation, the Sheriff is not transporting out of county with the older vehicles and maintenance is doing a great job of maintaining those vehicles.

A concern for the Sheriff is that in December, there were 91 inmates from Illinois Department of Corrections released into our community. If that number was to remain consistent, and there is no reason to think it won’t, that would put Kankakee at having over 1,000 people released from IDOC back into the community. Sheriff Downey added that it’s obvious to hope that those released do not reoffend, but most of the time that is not the case. This is a concern on the Sheriff’s end.

Sheriff stated that citations are up by 170. Sheriff commented that the number of citations is not a revenue issue, but a safety issue.

Motion carried with a voice vote.

Sheriff Downey stated that the annual statistical report will be ready for the committee in February.

Lastly, Sheriff Downey wanted to compliment the work of Wes Andrews and his staff.

Mr. LaGesse stated that he appreciates Sheriff Downey being timely with his report and getting it out to review before the meeting.

9. Probation – Tom Latham

 Monthly Report

Mr. Liehr made a motion to approve the monthly report, and Mr. LaGesse seconded it.

Mr. Latham reviewed and discussed his report with the committee.

Mr. Wheeler stated that having the detention day’s decrease for River Valley Detention Center is a big achievement and appreciated.

Motion carried with a voice vote.

Probation receives Grant and Aid that can affect the salaries for the department. There is a concern with the Federal Shut down and the impact on the Grant. The government shut down will not effect this quarter.

Mr. Wheeler stated that the largest effect that is seen from this would be in the year end statement. There are other grant funded positions within the county as well.

10. Coroner’s Office – Bob Gessner

 Monthly Reports

 Monthly Receipts of Money

Ms. Carrico made a motion to combine and approve the monthly reports and monthly receipts, and Mr. LaGesse seconded it.

Mr. Gessner reviewed and discussed the coroner’s report with the committee. There were no questions or comments from the committee in regards to the reports.

Mr. Gessner also added that the total of overdoses in 2017 was 56 and in 2018, there were 29.

Also, Mr. Gessner stated that the department was able to give back a total of $84,000 to the County through Grants and reimbursements. Mr. Gessner stated that this commitment to save the County money took time effort, and work out in the field and he is very proud of that.

Motion carried with a voice vote. 11. Old Business/New Business

Mr. LaGesse inquired about an establishment that has been problematic and the concern of it effecting development that is going up within that area.

Mr. Rowe stated that nuisance properties will continue to be looked at. The properties with the most calls for service are the trailer parks than the establishment in question.

Sheriff Downey confirmed that the call volume for that establishment has dropped significantly and the owners want to run a good business there.

12. Adjournment

Mr. LaGesse made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:18 a.m., and Ms. Zuccollo seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

http://www.co.kankakee.il.us/files/committees/criminal_justice_1919.pdf