Kankakee Times

Kankakee County Criminal Justice Committee met Nov. 13.

Here is the agenda provided by the committee:

Members Present

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

Members Absent

Mr. LaGesse, Ms. Dunbar and Mr. Sirois

In Attendance

· Board Members

Mr. Wheeler

· Department Heads

Sheriff Mike Downey, Jim Rowe, Robert Gessner, Tom Latham, Wes Andrews, Anita Speckman, Kevin Duval and Ed Pentuic

Media

None

1. Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by the Committee Chairman, Mr. Hess at 7:30 a.m.

2. Public Comment

None

3. Approval of Minutes: October 9, 2019

Mr. Smith made a motion to approve the minutes, and Mr. Byrne seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote

4. Judicial – Chief Judge Michael Kramer

The Chief Judge was not present.

5. Circuit Clerk’s Office - Sandi Cianci

Ms. Cianci was unable to attend the meeting for this month.

· Monthly Report

· Computerization Update

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

Motion carried with a voice vote.

6. State’s Attorney’s Office – Jim Rowe

· Grand Jury Report

· Grand Jury Statistics Report, October 2019

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

Mr. Rowe reviewed and discussed the reports with the committee.

Mr. Rowe spoke about the Grand Jury being backed up and how they are prioritizing the cases. There will be 900-1000 cases by the year end.

Motion carried with a voice vote.

Mr. Rowe stated that they have received a grant for mental health training for school district 111, which includes training for the students to educate and assist in mental health education. In years 2 and 3 it will be in every school within the county.

7. Public Defender’s Office – Ed Pentuic

· Monthly Report

Mr. Pentuic reviewed and discussed the report with the committee.

Mr. Fairfield made a motion to approve the report and Mr. Carrico seconded it.

Mr. Pentuic stated that they are up to date with the report which is reflected within the report.

There are more cases being taken than being resolved, which is something that the office is working on to correct.

Kristen Steeves is resigning on January 3, 2020. Mr. Pentuic stated that part time employees will be replaced with full time employees which will be more effective than having 2 part time employees.

Motion carried with a voice vote.

8. Probation – Tom Latham

· Monthly Report

Ms. Parker made a motion to approve the monthly report, and Mr. Ekhoff seconded it.

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

There were no questions or comments from the committee.

Motion carried with a voice vote.

Mr. Latham advised that there was more salary subsidy by the state. For the first time, the department is fully funded.

Mr. Wheeler asked if Mr. Latham could talk about the GPS program.

Mr. Latham stated that there are multiple juveniles in the program that were involved in a case. It would be beneficial and effective to have GPS monitoring on high risk juveniles.

Mr. Byrne asked if the parents could be liable for the cost of the GPS.

Mr. Rowe advised that this is different than adults. The choices are either home detention with GPS or home detention without GPS.

Mr. Wheeler stated that if the GPS is requested by the state, it is our responsibility to make sure the tools are in place. Mr. Wheeler suggested that the GPS monitoring be brought to the Finance Committee with information that Mr. Latham could provide.

Mr. Latham stated that it would be about $10,000 per year.

Mr. Hess asked what the committee would like to do.

The committee agreed to bring it to the Finance Committee for review.

Mr. Snipes spoke in favor of the GPS monitoring for the juveniles.

Mr. Smith spoke in favor of the GPS Monitoring system and asked if a motion was necessary.

Mr. Wheeler advised that the committee could send to finance.

Mr. Hess confirmed that the committee would like the issue heard at the November 27th , 2019 Finance Committee meeting.

9. Sheriff/EMA Department – Sheriff Mike Downey

· Monthly Report

Mr. Fairfield made a motion to approve the monthly report, and Ms. Parker seconded it.

Sheriff Downey reviewed and discussed the report with the committee.

Motion carried with a voice vote.

Sheriff Downey stated that he will be giving a presentation on the State of the Sheriff’s Office at next month’s meeting.

10. Coroner’s Office – Bob Gessner

· Monthly Reports

· Monthly Receipts of Money

Mr. Ekhoff made a motion to combine and approve the monthly reports and monthly receipts, and Mr. Byrne seconded it.

Mr. Gessner reviewed and discussed the reports with the committee

Motion carried with a Voice Vote.

11. Old Business/New Business

12. Adjournment

Ms. Parker made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:00 a.m., and Mr. Fairfield seconded it. Motion carried with a voice vote.

http://www.co.kankakee.il.us/files/committees/criminal_justice_111319.pdf