§ 2.11.05

Illinois § 2.11.05

• Jurisdiction: Illinois
• Topic: GOVERNMENT
• Ch. 70: SPECIAL DISTRICTS
• Act 70 ILCS 3615/: Regional Transportation Authority Act.
• Art.: Article II - Powers

Text

(This Section may contain text from a Public Act with a delayed effective date ) Sec. 2.11.05. NITA Law Enforcement Task Force. (a) The Cook County Sheriff shall establish a multijurisdictional NITA Law Enforcement Task Force led by the Cook County Sheriff's Office in cooperation with the Chicago Police Department, the Metra Police, the Illinois State Police, the sheriff's offices of other counties in the metropolitan region, and other municipal police departments in the metropolitan region. Law enforcement agencies within the metropolitan region not explicitly named in this subsection may participate on the Task Force upon request of the Cook County Sheriff. (b) The Task Force shall be created under an intergovernmental agreement and be dedicated to combating violent and other types of crime with the primary mission of preservation of life and reducing the occurrence and the fear of crime on the public transit system of the Northern Illinois Transit Authority. The objectives of the Task Force shall include, but shall not be limited to, reducing and preventing violent crimes and other illegal activities. The Task Force shall also assist and coordinate with the Chief Transit Safety Officer in the Chief Transit Safety Officer's efforts to enforce the Authority's and Service Boards' codes of conduct and to solve quality of life issues for transit riders and staff. (c) The Task Force may develop and acquire information, training, tools, and resources necessary to implement a data-driven approach to policing, with an emphasis on: (1) preventing violent crime in known hotspots, property crime, and code of conduct violations that are crimes; and (2) identifying and arresting persons accused of violent crime. (d) The Task Force may use information sharing, partnerships, crime analysis, and evidence-based practices to assist in the reduction of violent crime, property crime, and other code of conduct violations. (e) The Task Force shall recognize and use best practices of community-oriented policing and procedural justice. The Task Force may develop potential partnerships with faith-based and community organizations to achieve its goals, including, but not limited to, partnering with social service organizations, to assist persons experiencing homelessness obtain shelter and other services and to assist persons experiencing a mental health or behavioral crisis in connecting with appropriate services. (f) The Task Force shall identify and use best practices in deflection and diversion programs and other community-based services to redirect low level offenders and persons charged with nonviolent offenses. (g) The Task Force shall engage in violence suppression strategies, including, but not limited to, details in identified locations that have shown to be the most prone to gun violence and violent crime, focused deterrence against violent gangs and groups considered responsible for the violence in the transit system, and other intelligence driven methods deemed necessary to implement the Task Force's objectives. (h) To implement this Section, the Cook County Sheriff may establish intergovernmental agreements with law enforcement agencies in accordance with the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act. (i) Law enforcement agencies that are party to an intergovernmental agreement established under subsection (b) or (h) and that participate in activities described in subsections (c) through (g) may claim funds to defray increased costs incurred by participation in the Task Force from any available moneys provided in support of the Task Force. (j) The Chicago Police Department shall use any resources provided for participation in the Task Force to supplement, not supplant, existing force strength currently assigned to the Mass Transit Unit within the Chicago Police Department. (k) The Authority shall provide technical, operational, and material assistance to the Task Force as necessary. The Authority's Chief Transit Safety Officer or the Chief Transit Safety Officer's designee shall participate in the Task Force to facilitate information sharing. (l) The Task Force shall coordinate with the Chief Transit Safety Officer to identify which code of conduct violations and quality of life issues shall fall under the Task Force's purview, which shall fall under the transit ambassadors' purview, and which shall require the Task Force and transit ambassadors to respond. (m) Within 6 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 104th General Assembly, the Task Force shall prepare a report of recommendations for ongoing law enforcement strategies, tactics, and best practices for the Northern Illinois Transit Authority transit system. The report shall also make recommendations to be used by the Authority in implementing a sworn law enforcement officer crime prevention program on public transportation and a crime prevention plan to protect public transportation employees and riders in the metropolitan region. The Report shall be submitted to the Coordinated Safety Response Council created under Section 2.11.20. (n) The Task Force shall disband 3 years after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 104th General Assembly or upon the Authority's transition to a sworn law enforcement officer crime prevention program on public transportation and a crime prevention plan to protect public transportation employees and riders in the metropolitan region, whichever event occurs first. (o) Prior to disbanding, the Task Force shall cooperate with the Office of Transit Safety and Experience to develop a plan to transition from the Task Force to a sworn law enforcement officer crime prevention program on public transportation and a crime prevention plan to protect public transportation employees and riders in the metropolitan region.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 104-457, eff. 6-1-26.)