State Rep. Tom Morrison | Contributed photo
State Rep. Tom Morrison | Contributed photo
Veteran GOP state Rep. Tom Morrison (R-Palatine) is striving to be a voice of reason in the maddening police reform debate that now has some calling for departments to be defunded.
“We are in very turbulent times, and we need to maintain civil order and safety within our communities,” Morrison told the North Cook News. “Those who are calling for defunding the police need to clearly state their mission and motives because the slogan at face value would be a recipe for greater chaos and terror for law-abiding citizens and communities.”
The great debate stems from the recent Memorial Day death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, sparking protests and violence across the country. Minneapolis City Council members were among the first to raise the prospect of permanently dismantling their city's police department, and the idea quickly gained the support of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) and the leaders of the Chicago Public Schools.
“Individuals and communities have a right to safety, and the officers who patrol those communities deserve to be protected, as well, with proper training and equipment,” Morrison added. “The vast majority of men and women in uniform perform very difficult and dangerous duties day-in and day-out professionally and carefully. Elected officials should oversee and address individual officers or departments that have abused their authority.”
Morrison said he worries some proposals being thrown out, like the one endorsed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot that would mandate that all officers be licensed, may do more harm than good.
“Rather than creating a new bureaucracy of licensing, individual municipalities should use existing best practices to root out rogue officers,” he said. “There should be standardized hiring practices including background checks to prevent rogue officers from leaving or getting fired from one department only to be hired by another. If necessary, the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards board could be given additional funding to hire investigators.”
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