MINUTES
Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
Budget Committee Meeting
Wednesday, October 16, 2002
10 a.m.
Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
120 South Riverside Plaza
Chicago, Illinois
Call to Order and Roll Call
The Budget Committee of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority met on October 16, 2002, at the Authority offices, 120 South Riverside Plaza, Chicago, Illinois. The meeting employed a teleconference link that allowed off-site participation. Authority Budget Committee Chairman Michael Waller, participating via teleconference, called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. Other Authority members, Budget Committee members, and designees in attendance were Mr. Morales representing Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court Brown, Ms. Healy representing the Cook County State’s Attorney Devine, Mr. Bouche representing the Illinois State Police Director Nolen, Director Goetten, and Director Gottfried. Participating via teleconference call were Authority Chairman Bensinger, Ms. Engel, Mr. Piland, and Ms. Josh. Also in attendance were Executive Director Kane, Mr. Taylor, Ms. Egger and other members of the Authority staff.
Approval of the Minutes of the August 7, 2002, Meeting
Director Goetten made a motion to approve the minutes of the August 7, 2002, Budget Committee meeting. The motion was seconded by Director Gottfried and passed by unanimous vote.
Approval of the Consent Agenda Items:
· FFY01 Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grants Program Plan Adjustment
· FFY98, FFY99, and FFY00 Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Program Plan Adjustments
Budget Committee Chairman Waller introduced Tab 2 of the meeting booklet, which included a memo from Dr. Kane dated October 2, 2002, regarding the proposed adjustments to the FFY01 Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grants Program and the FFY98, FFY99, and FFY00 Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Program plans. Authority Chairman Bensinger motioned to approve the consent agenda items. The motion was seconded by Mr. Bouche and passed by unanimous vote.
Approval of the FFY00 and FFY01 Anti-Drug Abuse Act Plan Adjustments
Budget Committee Chairman Waller introduced Tab 3, which included a memo from Dr. Kane dated July 24, 2002, regarding the Anti-Drug Abuse Act (ADAA) Program plan adjustments for FFY00 and FFY01.
Ms. Egger stated that several state agency programs are lapsing funds at the end of their periods of performance. These lapsing funds and undesignated state level funds available for programming are summarized in the table on page 1 of the memo.
Ms. Egger noted that at its August meeting, the Information Systems Committee discussed a proposal from the Illinois State Police to migrate local police departments to a router that will allow LEADS agencies access to the ISP Disaster Recovery Site at the Central Management Services Harris Facility. The Information Systems Committee supported this proposal. A funding recommendation is detailed in the memo.
Ms. Egger said that staff recommends a designation to the Lake County Public Defender’s Office for a specialized program to address drug and violent crime in their felony division. This designation would use all but about $4,700 of the FFY01 funds set aside to fund projects at public defender’s offices.
Mr. Piland noted that ADAA fund distribution to multi-jurisdictional narcotics units or counties often does not reflect the size of the populations served. He requested that these discrepancies be addressed.
Dr. Kane suggested that Authority staff prepare a memo detailing the funding history of task forces and MEGs, the steps taken in the past to fund these programs, and recent feedback from these units concerning unmet needs. She said that this would be a good starting point in determining whether reallocations are necessary.
Mr. Bouche pointed out that when the funds for MEGs and task forces were approved, all units received what they asked for. He suggested contacting the units to determine unmet needs. Mr. Taylor added that funding was based on needs.
Mr. Morales pointed out that when initial fund amounts are proposed, they are really only estimates of what might be needed. He added that unforeseen events or changes might require an increase in funding. He said that proper justification and a chronology of events will yield a clear picture as to why a given grantee receives its funding and that there may be a good reason why funds awarded is not in direct proportion to the size of the population served.
Budget Committee Chairman Waller suggested that details of the funding history be presented at the next Budget Committee meeting. Mr. Morales motioned to approve the plan adjustments. Ms. Josh (joined the meeting at 10:12 a.m.) seconded the motion. The motion was approved by unanimous vote.
Approval of the Illinois State Police Proposal – Videotaping Confessions and Eyewitness Identification Procedure Training
Budget Committee Chairman Waller introduced Tab 4, which included a memo from Dr. Kane, dated October 10, 2002, regarding the Illinois State Police Proposal – Videotaping Confessions and Eyewitness Identification Procedure Training. He called on Ms. Egger to explain.
Ms. Egger stated that the Illinois State Police (ISP) is requesting ADAA funds for a videotaping confessions and eyewitness identification procedure training. A proposal for this project was included in the supplemental mailing.
Ms. Egger said that staff is requesting permission to make a fund year determination for this designation after a complete review of funds available including lapsing funds from completed projects. This action will allow staff to make the best use of funds available. Staff would report at a later date as to the fund year or years used for this designation.
Director Goetten expressed wholehearted support for the training proposal. He added that videotaped confessions would help keep the criminal justice system open or transparent; that confessions would be documented for public review.
Ms. Engel said that she felt that the public defender was omitted from the focus group process. She said that the public defender supports this proposal, but the public defender’s input is necessary to develop a program that works in concert with the whole criminal justice system. She said that everybody needs to be on board.
Mr. Bouche stated that he would ensure that Director Gottfried or a designee would be invited to any focus groups assembled by the ISP.
Mr. Morales asked if, once this program matures beyond pilot status, it will be integrated into the standard training for new police officers or be offered with college course credit for those seeking criminal justice degrees.
Mr. Bouche added that the Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board supports integrating this training into a core curriculum.
Authority Chairman Bensinger pointed out that the state’s attorneys for participating agencies must agree to assist in the development of local procedures. He asked if any state’s attorneys had developed a format so that police agencies will be adhering to a plan that prosecutors are comfortable with.
Budget Committee Chairman Waller replied that while no explicit procedures have been developed, the State’s Attorneys Association is in favor of pilot projects and the expansion of those projects. He mentioned that the proposal is well thought out and that training and identification techniques are needed as they have been overlooked in the past in police training.
Authority Chairman Bensinger said that if this pilot project is going statewide, then it should adhere to some standards to ensure that the project is handled similarly in each participating county.
Mr. Piland raised a concern that since urban and rural law enforcement agencies have different levels of need, they should not be held to a protocol that, if not followed, might imply misconduct on the part of an agency should such a protocol not work in an agency’s best interest.
Budget Committee Chairman Waller said that this is one of the reasons why the program will begin as a pilot project. He added that interviews and confessions have been either videotaped or audiotaped for years. He also noted that a recommendation of the Death Penalty Commission was to provide funding to properly equip interview rooms with videotaping equipment.
Ms. Healy added that Mr. Devine wanted to go on record as wholeheartedly backing the ISP proposal. She said that Mr. Devine believes that the approach should be statewide and that he would lend his support wherever it might be needed.
Director Goetten motioned to approve the ISP proposal. Ms. Healy seconded the motion. The motion was approved by a unanimous vote.
Old Business
Mr. Taylor stated that at the August 7, 2002, meeting staff indicated that an update on Violence Against Women Act lapsing funds would be presented. He said that it was not included in this meeting because staff is still in the process of finalizing what federal fiscal years to place some of the funded projects under as well as the fact that staff does not yet have final figures. Progress toward those goals is being made. He said that the Authority is providing scholarships to the state’s attorney’s offices for the National District Attorneys Association domestic violence training, the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners training, and the Regional Community Policing Institute domestic violence training programs. He said that a full accounting of these issues would be presented at the next Budget Committee Meeting.
Mr. Taylor also noted that the Authority has received notice from the Violence Against Women Office that the FFY97 funds will expire on December 31, 2002. He said that staff is working to utilize as much of those funds as possible. He added that the FFY98 and FFY99 funds will be extended for one more year.
New Business
Dr. Kane announced that it appears that Congress will pass an authorization to institutionalize the Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grants program and make some changes to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. She said that the primary focus will remain rehabilitative in nature with an emphasis on prevention, but there have been some changes. She said that further information would be passed on to Authority members as soon as the Authority receives an indication that the authorization will go forward. She said that the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment program would also be included in the re-authorization
Adjourn
Ms. Josh motioned to adjourn the meeting. Director Gottfried seconded the motion and the meeting was adjourned at 10:27 a.m.
Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
Budget Committee
August 7, 2002
Page 5