"As a society, we've lost the respect for our law enforcement officers and we’re seeing that all over, especially in Chicagoland," state Rep. Chris Bos said. | Chris Bos
"As a society, we've lost the respect for our law enforcement officers and we’re seeing that all over, especially in Chicagoland," state Rep. Chris Bos said. | Chris Bos
Republican state Rep. Chris Bos supports stepping up penalties in the wake of legislation being filed that seeks to have violent attacks on police officers declared a Class 3 felony hate crime.
“Obviously, we need to do what we can to support and encourage law enforcement officers putting their life on the line to protect our families,” Bos told the Lake County Gazette. “I don’t know what would qualify as a hate crime in this, but if potential violence increased because they're officers the penalty should be enhanced.”
With FBI statistics revealing more than 60,000 law enforcement officers were injured in the line of duty across the country in 2021, the Washington News Post adds that the bill also labels any offense where an individual attacks or stalks an officer as a hate crime.
Bos finds claims by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which charges that recent studies show enhancing a penalty for a crime doesn't reduce the likelihood of that crime occurring, to be dubious.
"It's a combination of enhanced penalty and consistent enforcement that lowers crime,” he said. “We need to be doing all that we can. As a society, we've lost the respect for our law enforcement officers and we’re seeing that all over, especially in Chicagoland. We need to let officers out there doing their jobs be able to do it.”
In sponsoring the bill, state Rep. Marty Moylan (D-Des Plaines) points to a July 2020 episode in Grant Park, where upwards of 1,000 people rushed the Christopher Columbus statue in an attempt to topple it as proof the legislation is needed. Moylan’s bill also asks for $100 million for modernize police departments across the state.
Bos wants to see even more.
“I think there's a lot beyond legislation that we should be doing to stand behind officers doing good to protect our communities,” he added. “At the same time, we need to empower law enforcement to remove bad cops in an expedited manner. It's going to be a challenging cycle to see what gets done, but hearing the voice of the people rise up to say this is enough as crime spills over says a lot.”
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