By BEN SZALINSKI
Capitol News Illinois
[email protected] 

SPRINGFIELD — An Illinois House committee on Tuesday moved to overhaul how Illinois police officers execute search warrants in response to the botched 2019 raid at Young’s home, which includes banning what’s often called “no-knock” warrants. 

“What happened to her did not need to happen, and in fact, should never happen again,” bill sponsor Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, said. “Situations like this don’t just erode public trust, they also increase the danger to officers who are entering an unknown environment without reliable intelligence. That unpredictability puts them at a great risk of confrontation or injury.”

The House Judiciary- Criminal Committee voted 8-5 to pass House Bill 1611, but lawmakers in both parties expressed concerns about the logistics of implementing the new limitations. 

Under the proposed law, police must knock, announce themselves and allow a person at least 30 seconds to answer the door when executing a warrant at a residence. Entering a home without police announcing themselves or waiting 30 seconds for an answer would only be permitted in emergency situations to prevent injury or other harm others.

However, judges can sign off on an exemption to allow “no-knock” warrants if law enforcement successfully presents evidence that announcing themselves at the door would jeopardize a person’s life or evidence in the case. 

The 2020 death of Breonna Taylor in Louisville set off national calls to ban “no-knock” warrants. Taylor was killed during an exchange of gunfire between police and Taylor’s boyfriend.

“It is long past time to stop protecting bad policing and start protecting the people who you are paid to protect and serve,” Young said.

Police would also be required to execute residential warrants between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m., unless they can convince a judge to approve the warrant for another time of day. Police would be required to be uniformed or be wearing a badge and have body cameras recording. 

Rep. Dennis Tipsword, R-Metamora, who is also chief deputy of the Woodford County Sheriff’s Office, said he worried the 30-second rule and limiting warrants to certain hours of the day when more people are around could pose safety hazards to police and the public. He stressed nighttime or early morning raids give police more secrecy and preserves the element of surprise. 

“I don’t think we can put a time frame on law enforcement officers standing on the front porch and what could be a very dangerous situation,” Tipsword said. 

Other new requirements would including having paramedics close to respond to medical issues, prohibiting police from pointing guns at minors and a ban on handcuffing parents or guardians in front of children unless they are an “immediate threat.” 

The bill would also limit when police can obtain search warrants for drug-related offenses. Residential warrants could only be executed for manufacturing, sale or distribution of narcotics, not drug possession. 

Warrants would also have to be executed by a trained tactical team in counties with 90,000 or more people.

“This is not about tying hands and I really do believe that,” Buckner said. 

Young was captured on Chicago police officers’ body cameras surprised as officers entered her home in early 2019 to carry out a search warrant looking for a man with a gun. The footage shows police approaching her door and knocking and announcing themselves before forcing their way into the house. Young was handcuffed while naked as she had been getting ready for bed, but officers had entered the wrong house and she was eventually released.

“None of us who wear the badge ever want to hear a story like this,” Tipsword said. “I think we’re all interested in tightening this so these situations don’t happen.”

The Chicago Police Department sergeant who oversaw the raid was later fired, and Young reached a $2.9 million settlement with the city. 

“Money cannot erase the case,” Young said. “A check cannot restore our dignity. Let me be clear, we don’t want the money, we never wanted the money. We want to feel safe in our homes. We want to trust that law enforcement will do their jobs without violating our rights.”

Young has pushed CPD to make more reforms to their warrant policies, but the Chicago City Council has not taken up an ordinance championed by Young and Ald. Maria Hadden. 

“It shouldn’t take six years for them to stand up and put some real policy in place that prevents police from harming black and brown communities,” Young said at a Capitol news conference Tuesday.

The Illinois State Rifle Association, normally a conservative advocacy organization, also supports the bill. Association lobbyist Ed Sullivan told the committee banning “no-knock” warrants will improve safety between armed residents and police.

“What happens if they don’t hear that this is law enforcement?” Sullivan said. 

Buckner said he expects to make further changes to the bill to address concerns police have presented before the House takes a vote on the legislation. 
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.