Chief Mitchell gave us an update on the 2020 crime statistics.  Additionally, the board passed a resolution to call for Governor Pritzker to veto the HB 3653 crime bill.
 
First Chief Mitchell’s update:Index crimes in 2020 were 691, down 29% from the 974 in 2019, the lowest in 26 years.Violent crime remained the lowest in the state for towns over 50,000, with 25 violent crimes in 2020 compared to 24 in 2019.  When you consider Chicago and the rest of Cook County nearly doubled their violent crime rates this year, this is amazing.Property crime is down from 1357 in 2016 to 661 in 2020 (less than half).Theft at the mall is down from 563 in 2016 to 393 in 2020.Our service calls, which include our proactive business checks, are up to ~275K in 2020, compared to ~209K in 2019, and ~184K in 2016. Last year our total complaints were 28 compared to 38 in 2016.  Of those 28, 5 were considered founded.  Two were policy violations and three were demeanor where an officer’s temper got the better of them and they raised their voice and yelled.Last year we also received 171 letters of appreciation from citizens.I asked Chief Mitchell 2 questions:How many of the criminals that we arrested had a prior record?  He said 80 to 90% approximately.What is the biggest impediment to keeping crime down?  Chief Mitchell said Kim Foxx.  Last year her office dismissed over 25,000 felony cases that had already met the evidence threshold to be classified as felonies (which is not an easy hurdle).  During her tenure, over 30% of felony cases are being dropped by her office.We then discussed the following resolution:

RESOLUTION SUPPORTING LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND THEIR MEMBERS WHO SERVE OUR COMMUNITIES, DISAPPROVING OF EFFORTS TO DELEGITIMIZE THE LAW ENFORCEMENT PROFESSION, REDUCING MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY, PRIORITIZING CRIMINALS OVER THE SAFETY OF LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS AND POLICE OFFICERS, AND CALLING ON GOVERNOR J.B. PRITZKER TO VETO H.B. 3653
 
(see the whole resolution below)
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Village President and Board of Trustees of the Village of Orland Park, Cook and Will Counties, Illinois, as follows:

SECTION 1: The above recitals are incorporated by reference into this Section 1 and made a part hereof as though fully set forth herein.

SECTION 2: The Village President and the Board of Trustees of the Village of Orland Park resolve to oppose efforts to defund or abolish police departments, or reduce municipal authority

SECTION 3: The Village President and the Board of Trustees of the Village of Orland Park further resolve to oppose any efforts to prioritize criminals over the safety of law-abiding citizens and police officers.

SECTION 4: The Village President and the Board of Trustees of the Village of Orland Park further resolve to call on Governor J.B. Pritzker to veto House Bill 3653 and ask the legislature to address the bill properly and not the way they have done with 3653.

SECTION 5: This Resolution shall be effective immediately upon its adoption as provided by law.
 
Trustee Fenton tried to amend the document by taking out Section 3 and the same language out of the title.  The language she wanted removed was “The Village President and the Board of Trustees of the Village of Orland Park further resolve to oppose any efforts to prioritize criminals over the safety of law-abiding citizens and police officers.”  Trustees Calandriello and Dodge also voted to remove this language.  The amendment failed as the other 3 trustees and I voted no.
 
Trustee Dodge then tried to amend the resolution to eliminate everything except:  “SECTION 4: The Village President and the Board of Trustees of the Village of Orland Park further resolve to call on Governor J.B. Pritzker to veto House Bill 3653.” and add to this section “and ask the legislature to address the bill properly and not the way they have done with 3653.”  Trustee Fenton joined him in voting for this while the rest of us voted against. 
 
Trustee Milani then amended the document to add “and ask the legislature to address the bill properly and not the way they have done with 3653.”  This amendment passed 7-0.
 
Then the village board unanimously passed the resolution.
 
As of this update, my opponent has yet to take a stand on HB 3653 like I did almost 2 weeks ago and the village board did last night. So far, his statement is one of a career politician.  He continues to refuse to answer whether or not he supports H.B. 3653.

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