Sangamon Sun

Illinois lawmakers are hoping to increase the penalty for the assault or harassment of a police officer with legislation which, if approved, would make these crimes Class 3 felonies. 

The Police Crime Bill, which is sponsored by state Rep. Marty Moylan (D-Des Plaines), has the support of a number of lawmakers, including state Sen. Steve McClure (R-Springfield). 

“I support that because we are seeing horrible attacks on officers all over the state and we need to try to stick up for them the way they stick up for us each and every day,” McClure said. 

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, McClure noted that Senate Republicans recently proposed a massive crime package. 

“We proposed the Fund the Police Bill with a $100 million investment for law enforcement,” he said. “We need to get this voted on in the Senate and moving ahead.” 

McClure blamed Democrats for stalling the Fund the Police legislation, keeping it from a vote. The News Post reported that the Police Crime Bill also has its detractors, including the ACLU Illinois, with that organization’s Ed Yohnka telling the publication that the proposal doesn’t address the problems, with studies showing that increasing penalties for crimes rarely reduces incidents of that crime. McClure disagrees.  

“Nothing from the ACLU is reliable to me,” McClure said. “They have a very anti-law enforcement and pro-criminal attitude. The organization has turned into a far-left group that’s political and not at all ideological.”

Moylan told the News Post that a July 2020 protest over a Christopher Columbus statue in Grant Park involving more than 1,000 people turned violent, serving 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 pointing out that she has yet to read the legislation, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot told the News Post it is important to send a message that tells people they will be held accountable for their actions, adding that the events surrounding the Grant Park violence will not soon be forgotten by her or those officers involved in the violence.