By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – As President Trump was in Kenosha, some Illinois lawmakers Tuesday heard about police training and the use of force.

Did they ever.

“We must take into account the federal warnings that too many white supremacists and white nationalists are serving in our police forces all around the country and represent a very clear threat to public safety,” said Samuel Jones, a professor at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Law.

But the people who run the police academy say they have a handle on things.

“Use-of-force training is taught early in the academy as a stand- alone legal block,” said Kelly Griffith, counsel to the Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board, “as it prepares them for the use-of-force training that’s going to be integrated throughout the entire academy training.”

Jones said it’s after graduation from the academy that rookie cops get the “real” training; the unwritten customs passed along by the veterans.

A retired police chief, Chuck Gruber, characterized use-of-force as heavily under-investigated, without even a trip to the scene to gather evidence.

And, Senate Criminal Law Committee chair State Sen. Elgie Sims (D-Chicago) noted, as evidence of what a hot topic this is, the scheduled two-hour hearing lasted well past three hours.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected].