Mandatory hate crimes training for police awaits House approval

CHICAGO — Representatives of civil rights nonprofits and state committees met Monday to urge state lawmakers to pass a bill requiring police to undergo hate crimes training.

The legislation — Senate Bill 3552 and its identical House companion, House Bill 5368 — passed the Illinois Senate by a 58-0 vote in April, and passed a House committee by a 15-0 vote in May, but has not been brought up for a vote. .

At a press conference at the Chicago Urban League, the coalition of groups called on state representatives to pass the bill during the lame-duck session in January. The push comes as Illinois has seen a 362 percent increase in reported hate crimes in recent years, rising from 70 incidents in 2019 to 324 incidents in 2023, according to data voluntarily provided to the FBI by law enforcement agencies. .

Speakers pointed to disturbing examples of bias-motivated violence, including last month's shooting of an Orthodox Jewish man on his way to synagogue, an attack targeting two pro-Israel college students and two men who were allegedly shot because they were believed to be doing so. be gay.

There are, essentially, three types of hate acts — not all of which qualify as hate crimes under state law, said Ilana Kahn, executive director of the Illinois Discrimination and Hate Crimes Commission.

“There has to be a motive, a bias motive, and it has to be a crime. Then there are what we call bias-motivated civil rights violations. So: discrimination, harassment, being refused service in a restaurant, being denied a promotion, etc.” Khan said. “Then there are things that are hateful but legal. You know, when you're walking down the street, you can call someone whatever you want, as long as you don't scare them or threaten them.”

Mike Zerri, public policy director for Equality Illinois, cited FBI data showing a 16 percent rise in the number of hate crimes based on gender identity from 2022 to 2023.

“Attacks based on sexual orientation rose by 23% between 2022 and 2023. In fact, more than one in five hate crimes are motivated by bias against the LGBT community,” Ziri said.

However, many hate crimes and bias incidents go unreported, he added.

“There are many reasons for this, including a lack of trust between the community and law enforcement and a lack of adequate training for law enforcement on hate crimes,” he said.

Shobhana Johri Verma, executive director of the South Asian American Policy and Research Institute, described the findings of her organization's recent research on hate crimes and discrimination against members of the South Asian community in Chicago.

“We have been targeted because of the color of our skin, the way we look, the way we dress, the way we pray. However, when we spoke to members of our community, most of them said they had never reported a hate crime because of the minority myth,” Johri Verma said. “The model and the baggage we carry as well, we don't want to make noise.”

One local small business owner told her that an employee had been targeted and injured by a customer who told them to “go back to where they came from.”

“The employee had to seek medical attention as a result of this incident, and the incident was never reported, but then the employer said to me, 'We've kind of learned to embrace our pride and move on,'” she said.

“So that says a lot. And that explains why a lot of people in our community don't report hate crimes. They largely lack trust with authorities. They have prior experiences with law enforcement agencies. They have language. There are cultural barriers that prevent them from reporting, but I think This (new law) will be a step in this direction.”

The bill is sponsored by Senator Sarah Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) in the Senate and State Rep. Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield) in the Illinois House of Representatives. The order requires the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board, or ILETSB, to develop or approve training programs to help law enforcement officers accurately identify, respond to, and report hate crimes.

Training should include instruction on distinguishing between hate crimes and other crimes, supporting and understanding victims, and ensuring they are reported accurately. Law enforcement officers will be required to complete this hate crimes training every three years as part of their minimum in-service training.

The proposed law encourages the ILETSB to adopt model police policies for tackling hate crimes in consultation with the Discrimination and Hate Crime Commission and to maintain training in line with national best practice “within a reasonable period of time.” The board must also host periodic educational conferences to inform law enforcement leaders, community service providers, and other stakeholders about hate crime issues and responses.

Although more than 40% of hate crimes are believed to go unreported, the number of reported hate crimes nationwide has been on the rise since 2015, according to David Goldenberg, Midwest regional director for the Anti-Defamation League.

He noted that nearly 200 law enforcement agencies in Illinois do not voluntarily report crime data to the FBI, with Chicago and other major cities recently reporting no hate crimes to the feds for an entire year.

“Now, even though Illinois is one of the first states in the country to have a state hate crimes law, we are not among the 14 states that require our police officers to be trained in this law,” Goldenberg said. “This has to change.”

“Our communities have already lost six months since the General Assembly adjourned in June without passing this bill,” he said. “This was the time when training could have been prepared. This is the time when training could have been promoted.” “We cannot waste any more time, and we cannot allow Illinois to fall further behind the rest of the country when it comes to combating hate crimes.”