DEAR ILLINOIS STATE POLICE: ‘Choose Wisely’

The men and women of the Illinois State Police now find themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place.  Unfortunately for them, the day is coming when they should choose wisely when it comes to enforcement of the Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA) gun and magazine ban.  “Choose wisely” aren’t GSL’s words, either.  They’re from Second City Cop.

Governor JB Pritzker and his merry band of gun control jihadists passed the PICA gun and magazine ban last January.  The Dems running the Illinois General Assembly took an insurance bill, gutted and replaced it with a gun and magazine ban known as PICA and then passed that into law in the middle of the night.  The governor signed it a few hours later.

PICA is patently unconstitutional.  It disarms the law-abiding.  Meanwhile it does nothing to stop gang members from (illegally) wielding guns.  Yep, the same gang members who drive much of the serious violent crime in Chicago and other cities across Illinois continue to brazenly ride around (illegally) brandishing (illegally) “possessed” and (illegally) carried firearms.  Many of these gang member guns are equipped with (highly illegal) “switches” making them full auto.  And they (illegally) carry them with magazines that PICA has banned for the good peeps.  Here’s some young scholars driving just south of Chicago Mayor Big Brain Brandon Johnson’s home just days ago.

Hood Rich, Four Corner Hustlers (4CH) on 5800 West Madison, just south of @ChicagosMayor‘s Austin home.

Honors students driving to a SAT prep class. pic.twitter.com/SV7XqeBF7S

— Chicago Contrarian (@ChicagoContrar1) November 11, 2023

Instead of targeting gang members with guns, the Governor sends the State Police to target law-abiding FOID holders.

The governor will no doubt order the Illinois State Police (and other state agency LEOs including DNR Conservation Police, Secretary of State Police, University cops and plenty more) to rigidly enforce the PICA gun control law at some point soon.  Most of these LEOs will forsake their  oath to defend and uphold the Constitution of the United States, just as the pols who voted for this measure did.

Let’s face the brutally honest truth: it’s a lot easier to arrest someone than to risk one’s job, pension and benefits to do the right thing.

Those highly trained state cops will use their verbal judo on you, as though you’re an idiot criminal.

They’ll tell you that if you play nicely with them they will be “as lenient as possible” with you as they’re putting you in cuffs, writing that report, taking your gun(s) and ultimately wrecking your life (and potentially livelihood as well) with a felony conviction.  Welcome to “felon” status.

Gentle readers, I remind you that a “lenient felony” is still a felony.

And if local prosecutors won’t run with the case, then look for Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to appoint a special prosecutor to handle it.  This issue is a high enough priority to Pritzker and Kwame.

Breaking up is hard to do…

At the same time there’s one demographic that, at least until now, has shown itself generally very pro-police.  Pro-police to the point of risking personal injury or death to come to the aid of cops in trouble in a meaningful way.  Like this instance involving a Trooper on I-55 near Chenoa from a couple of summers ago.

Yes, it’s a single incident, but it’s one of many that happen each year.  This is just one where we have nice, crisp video to pull some stills.

It’s a pretty safe bet that if ISP starts arresting FOID holders with unregistered guns, that goodwill will evaporate.

Breaking up is hard to do, as is ignoring decades of support of law-enforcement.  But it can happen.

If ISP starts sending out “compliance details” to start making home visits to “bring gun owners into compliance” with the law, gun owner goodwill towards cops will evaporate.   And if “enforcement” continues, the “bucket of goodwill” will be refilled with lots and lots of animus.

Eventually, those compliance details will pick the wrong person to run a compliance detail against.  It’s going to result in dead gun owner(s).

And dead cops.

What’s more, this isn’t going to help ISP recruiting.  The State’s cops are already have trouble (and then some) finding enough recruits to fill the seats at the training academy.

I got this email from a retired trooper from Central Illinois.

There was a time when an ISP cadet class averaged 50 cadets.  Sure, there were some double classes of 100, but very few.

As one of the 50 cadets seated at the academy when I went through, we were told there were at least 50 applicants for each seat.  Written and physical exams attracted hundreds and were held at university-sized venues.

Fast forward to today:  I just got a text from a troop I know still on the job.

Nobody wants to be an ISP Trooper anymore.

Currently there is an academy class (new kids, no LEO experience) of 18 cadets!

There is a lateral transfer class (already LEOs with another agency) that started with 3 cadets and now is down to 2.

They are retiring 100-200 per year, and struggling to get 50 to replace them.

The problem is the Tier 2 pay/pension system they adopted. New retirement age is 55 to collect $$. Not 50 like the old Tier 1.

ISP starts troops out at 68K. Half of that for 6 months while a cadet in the academy.

$17 an hour to bust your ass at the academy?  LOL.  No wonder they can’t fill fifty seats.  I remind you that the minimum wage in Chicago is $15.80/hour.  Those that signed up for ISP must either have a very strong sense of duty and dedication to the department (maybe kids of troopers past) or they ain’t the sharpest tools in the drawer.  (But at least they have diversity!)

Meanwhile many of the larger police departments are starting guys out closer to 85K, which puts them at or over 100K by year two or three. A current ISP troop will work 10 years to get to 100K.  So what’s the incentive for a lateral transfer?

There is none.

Then if a trooper is involved in an incident where force is used, they are not allowed to view body cam footage until AFTER they write the initial report. WTF!!!  After they view the footage they can write a supplement.  Why?

August 18, 2023