The Illinois Sheriff’s Association is taking exception to comments made by Gov. J.B. Pritzker that federal dollars may be held up at the state level for counties in which law enforcement refuses to enforce the stay-at-home order.
Pritzker said at his daily press conference on Thursday that county sheriffs that refuse to enforce his order are, “putting people at risk, they’re making their communities unsafe, and they’ll be subject to liability as a result.”
The ISA calls it “outrageous that the Governor is threatening retaliation against these leaders and the men and women of their offices.”
The statement goes on to say that Pritzker is “insulting heroic police officers, corrections officers, and local voters.”
Warren County Sheriff Martin Edwards writes on his department’s Facebook page that the Governor “stopped all transfers from the county jails to the Department of Corrections on sentenced persons, effectively dropping the issue back on the individual sheriffs and by extension the local taxpayer populace.”
He says the ISA has made repeated efforts to bring about a reasonable solution to the problem, and establish a FAIR reimbursement to the local taxpayers, but it has been an uphill battle.
Executive Director of the Sheriff’s Association, Jim Kaitschuk, says bluntly, “We’re not going to be threatened.” He says if Pritzker wants local law enforcement to enforce his executive orders they should be included in the decision-making process.
Kaitschuk says Pritzker’s threats are associated with a loss of federal funding, specifically, the federal CARES Act.
There is no “legislated law” for sheriffs to use to take action against businesses, churches, and groups that meet in violation of the order.
State’s Attorney in Piatt and Douglas County have told entities closed under the order that they can open at their own. risk.
They’ve said there could be serious consequences from other entities, like loss of state licenses, liability claims, or worker’s compensation, but both prosecutors say they won’t seek court orders to bar anything from opening.
Knox County Sheriff David Clague was until February President of the ISA.
