By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – With four days to go in the session, House and Senate Democrats now have some bills which would make it easier to be a cop.

A reporter noted that the presentation featured an all-white cast. What progress is the cop community making to earn the trust of the Black community?

State Rep. Dave Vella (D-Rockford) called it a start. “These ideas are smart, next-century ideas about policing,” he said. “We hope this will give young Black youth the ability to trust police officers in the future.”

From training initiatives to recruitment and retention enhancements to allowing a retired cop to keep his or her badge or gun, this was yet another “something for everyone” news conference at the Capitol.

Unlike other events, this had the backing of officials from the Illinois Sheriffs Association and Illinois Troopers Lodge 41.

It did not have the backing of House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), who called it another Democratic attempt to rewrite history, and said any criminal justice legislation should start with the repeal of last year’s comprehensive “Safe-T Act.”

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]